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Holiness, to which all Christians are called — “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14) — is defined by Samuel Davies succinctly in words that have been quoted by others* writing on the nature of the “practice of piety.”
Preaching on that verse, Davies explains in a sermon titled “The Connection Between Present Holiness and Future Felicity” (Sermons, Vol. 1):
The most intelligible description of holiness, as it is inherent in us, may be this: “It is a conformity in heart and practice to the revealed will of God.” As the Supreme Being is the standard of all perfection, his holiness in particular is the standard of ours. Then we are holy when his image is stamped upon our hearts and reflected in our lives; so the apostle defines it, and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Eph. iv. 24. Whom he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Rom. viii. 29. Hence holiness may be defined, “A conformity to God in his moral perfections.” But as we cannot have a distinct knowledge of these perfections but as they are manifested by the revealed will of God, I choose to define holiness, as above, “A conformity to his revealed will.” Now his revealed will comprises both the law and the gospel; the law informs us of the duty which we as creatures owe to God as a being of supreme excellency, as our Creator and Benefactor, and to men as our fellow-creatures; and the gospel informs us of the duty which we as sinners owe to God as reconcilable through a Mediator. Our obedience to the former implies the whole of morality, and to the latter the whole of evangelical graces, as faith in a Mediator, repentance, &c.
From this definition of holiness it appears, on the one hand, that it is absolutely necessary, to see the Lord; for unless our dispositions are conformed to him, we cannot be happy in the enjoyment of him; and on the other hand, that they who are made thus holy, are prepared for the vision and fruition of his face, as they can relish the divine pleasure.
But as a concise definition of holiness may give an auditory but very imperfect ideas of it, I shall expatiate upon the dispositions and practices in which it consists, or which naturally result from it; …
Even the best, most succinct, definitions require further elucidation, as the rest of Davies’ sermon illustrates (which can be read here). But as it helps to define the topic under consideration, and because this topic is crucial to the Christian life, we do well to start with Davies’ definition in our understanding of what holiness consists. In conformity to God’s revealed will, may his image indeed be stamped upon our hearts and reflected in our lives.
* For example, Charles D. Cashdollar, “The Pursuit of Piety: Charles Hodge's Diary, 1819-1820.” Journal of Presbyterian History (1962-1985), vol. 55, no. 3, 1977, p. 267; Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Vol. 5, p. 163; Elwyn Allen Smith, The Presbyterian Ministry in American Culture: A Study in Changing Concepts, 1700-1900, p. 148.
