Holiness?

First, God does not, indeed cannot, desire holiness from anyone; holiness is a status, not a set of behaviors. Second, it is not a moral status; most holy things have no moral agency. The altar and lampstand are not living in accord with the desires of God. Third, holy status is conferred, not earned.— The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, 116

<idle musing>
OK, I come from a Wesleyan/holiness tradition, with a strong emphasis on holy living and holiness. But I see this as a healthy corrective to the common checklist mentality about holiness. And if you read Wesley, he always is stressing that it is God living through you that does the living. It is a gift.

Even so, though, I'm wondering if they aren't creating too strong a binary here. Or perhaps not allowing for a development of the idea throughout the course of scripture?
</idle musing>