GOD IS – HOLY!

GOD IS – HOLY!

Ps 99:9

9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

Isa 6:1-3

6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

           For the past several days we have been talking about things that “Our God is.” We talked about the fact that God is near. Then we mentioned that He is the God of salvation and that he provides an exit from death. Today we look at an essential part of His nature to which humans only aspire. God is Holy!

           In the Old Testament the word is qadosh and means “that which is separate or sanctified; that which is pure or ceremonially clean.” With God all these things and much more are true of Him without any effort. Nowhere do we read that God became holy by great effort and personal discipline. No, we only read that God IS holy. Holiness emanates from Him; flows from Him as part of His being. Everywhere we see an encounter between God and man we see man fearfully hiding; removing his sandals because the ground had been made holy.

Ex 3:3-6

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

           In the New Testament we are commanded to be like God in holiness but holiness does not flow from our nature as it does from Him. Holiness, as it relates to us, refers to moral purity. The apostle Peter said that it relates to “all manner of conversation.” Conversation, of course, is an old English way of referring to our behavior.

1 Peter 1:15-16

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

           Someone defined human holiness as “enforced abstinence from evil and an outward compliance with good due to a dread of consequences.” (R. S. Candlish) Perhaps that is all that we sullied humans can hope for! However, it is always the desire of God that our abstinence from evil and compliance with good be produced by a pure conscience and a sanctified mind and spirit.

Heb 10:22

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

           Now, grace is that aspect of God’s nature that understands our inability to perfect holiness and provides the sacrifice to make up our debt. When we fall short He makes up the difference Himself. Oh! I am not holy as He is holy. Not only have I fallen short, but in doing so I have broken the commandment to be holy. All that I may do is to practice holiness. He offers me a relationship with Him without the dread of consequences. I may draw near to Him without fear, not because I am holy but, because He has pardoned my fractured holiness and given me His own.

Titus 3:5-7

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Oh! Holy God! I am not worthy to stand before you even in prayer. I hide my face in shame at my failure and appeal to your holiness and your grace. Thank you for taking note of this unworthy sinner and making me fit to sit at your feet. AMEN