A Holy And Righteous God Compared To Us

Are you holy? Do you consider yourself to be holy? Today I want to look at the concept of being holy as we turn our attention to and worship the Holiness of God.

Are you religious? Have you ever been referred to as being religious? When someone says that to me, I almost consider it an insult in a way. Let me explain. There are many religions throughout the world. There are the Muslims, the Unitarian Universalists, the Hare Krishnas, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses. Even Satanism and Atheism are religions. Yeah, even Satan is religious.

A well-studied man examined each of these religions and he found that there was one primary truth that stands out. The God of the Bible is holy. Holiness is what distinguishes God from all other so-called gods. Let's spend a little time today and take a deep dive and learn more about the only true God. I want to use Psalm 99 as the background for this message. Prayer.

God inspired King David to write Psalm 99. This Psalm is now one of the most popular Psalms, or sacred songs in Scripture. The Psalm writings have been used since the Old Testament days by the people of Israel in devotional and liturgical settings—much like we use our music today to worship God. The Psalms invite us to worship. This worship is to include the adoration of God in private, and personal situations, and in corporate worship. Let's begin with the first three verses of Psalm 99.

Psalm 99 1-3 – “The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned between the cherubim. Let the earth quake. 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted above all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awe-inspiring name. He is holy.

The Psalm begins with depicting God as King. It speaks of His greatness as the King of kings. As David wrote this song, he had an understanding of what being a king was. After all, David himself enjoyed many of the entitlements of being a king. During this time in history, it wasn't uncommon for earthly kings and Pharaohs to be perceived as divine and to receive worship. But in Scripture, God is utterly set apart from all other sources of human authority. Holiness refers to something that is set apart from the rest, and God is certainly set apart from anything and everything else.

Along that same line, we are set apart for worship when we recognize God's holiness and offer Him our worship. So, are you holy? In the sense of being set apart, yes, we are holy as we set ourselves apart from the world and recognize God's holiness. But David is writing about God's holiness. And that Holiness doesn't even come close to us and our set-spart holiness.

During this time in history, the worship of non-existent, human created gods occurred throughout the geographical area where King David was trying to bring the 12 tribes of Israel into one nation. King David had actually brought the people together under a single government through his political and military expertise. But in these first three verses, David is pointing to the King of kings who was not only to be worshiped by the people of Israel, but by all the tribes and nations on earth.

So in that effort, David presents God as holy, exalted, and set apart. But as we read about this in God's Holy Word, these truths require us to respond in the same way that David instructed Israel to respond by recognizing the Holiness of God and offering a sacrifice of worship.

Now let me clarify something. As we gather and pour our hearts out to God in worship, even this is not enough for us to reach complete, personal purity and righteousness on this side of heaven. No, being in church will not get you to heaven. But one thing it does do, it sets us apart for God's use in advancing His kingdom in the world. Being in church might not get you to heaven, but it will surely show you how to get there.

As we gather each week and join our voices in song, join our hearts in prayer, and join our souls in complete worship to God, we realize that holiness is not just an aspect of God. Holy is who He is through and through. We worship a Holy God.

In these opening verses of this Psalm, David exclaims that God is the One and only God worthy of adoration. He exclaims that everyone owes God worship. He pretty much said so in verse 3 when he said, "Let them praise your great and all inspiring name." Also, in verse 3 it seems that David was anticipating a question that might be on the minds of the people as to why the God of Israel deserves such praise. He responded very simply, "He is holy." Now, let's talk about righteousness.