The Lord who makes you Holy
Leviticus 20:7-8
The holiness of God is a deep theological subject. That does not mean we need to use deep theological language. For the holiness of God we need to use the Albert Einstein rule of simplicity. Everything must be as simple as possible and no simpler.
When we use high-falutin theological terms we make the issue hard to understand. In one case a man was talking about the nearness and set-apartness of God through and interpreter and using high-falutin terminology.
He began by saying, God is both immanent and transcendent. The interpreter said, so far he has not said anything yet, but I will let you know when he does. Our goal here is to address the holiness of God as simply as possible.
The holiness of God is a vital part of our study on the character of God. Holiness of God is used as a prefix more than any other prefix describing God. He is Holy God. The name we will study Jehovah-M’kaddesh occurs in Leviticus 20:7-8.
‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy. (Leviticus 20:7-8).
Jehovah-M’kaddesh: The Lord is our Holiness. (Leviticus 20:8)
The other names is this study are:
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord is our provider. (Genesis 22:14)
Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord is our healer. (Exodus 15:26)
Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord is our banner, our victory. (Exodus 17:15)
Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is our peace. (Judges 6:26)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6)
Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is present (Ezekiel 48:34)
I recently was visiting Nepal where you could see the snow-capped Himalayan mountains. I used the mountains as an illustration of God’s holiness. God’s holiness is like the snow on top of the Himalayan mountains. We are unholy like the mud puddle on the dirt road. How can the two mix? How can we like the dirty water relate to God, who is more pure than the snow on the mountain? How can we relate to God?
Leviticus defines the way sinful people can relate to God. It is a call to be set apart as God’s people. To become holy is known by its fancy term sanctification.
Some versions of Leviticus 20:7 say, Sanctify yourselves. Other versions say, consecrate yourself or set yourself apart. Those other terms help us understand the term sanctify. Another helpful way to understand sanctification is as cleansing or to be dedicated. It means to center your life around God and his presence. It is how God’s people should live.
The process of sanctification could be compared to a refiner’s fire. There is the burning of dross from gold to produce pure gold. The process may be painful. Isaiah speaks of his purification as burning coals touching his lips. (Isaiah 6:6-7)
God’s holiness is unique. He is set apart from all else. We cannot fully comprehend the holiness of God. Our illustrations of God’s holiness break down because God’s holiness so exceeds them. It is an unobtainable holiness because God alone is perfect in holiness.
It is important to grasp an understanding of God’s holiness, even though not a complete understanding, because when we understand and accept God’s perfect holiness we don’t question God and his judgement. Without our best understanding of God’s perfect holiness, it will distort our understanding of God.
When we understand God’s holiness we do not have the conclusion of Rabbi, Harold Kushner in his book, When Bad thing happen to Good People, “Even when He has let you down and disappointed you and permitted bad luck and sickness and cruelty in His world and is permitting some of these things to happen to you, can you learn to love and forgive God despite his limitations?”
We disagree with Rabbi Kushner. We proclaim that God is perfectly holy. We say that God has no limitations. He cannot lie, he cannot act unjustly. These are consistent with his nature of perfect holiness. He is holy and he is perfectly holy. His holiness is like pure light with no trace of darkness.
Holiness constitutes the fulness and perfection of God. Holy, Holy Holy, is the Lord God Almighty. (Isaiah 6:3) His holiness is pure; it burns, it refines. Jehovah-M’Kaddesh. The Lord our holiness. He is the one who makes you holy. It is because, first of all, God himself is holy.
The Lord says, “Be holy because I the Lord God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
For it is written, “Be holy because I the Lord God am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
We are called to be holy. If we believe the gospel is for all then we must also believe that God calls all to holiness. If God’s holiness is unique then how does he call us to this holiness? He does not say be holy as I am holy, but he says be holy because I am holy.
We are no more going to achieve God’s unique holiness as we are going to become all powerful. In sanctification, which is becoming holy, there is a process by which we are cleansed and dedicated to God.
If God is separate and Holy, it is on this basis he calls his people to be separate and holy. There is no hope for holiness apart from God. He is the one who makes you holy. The heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked. We may deceive ourselves into thinking we are holy.
We like to compare ourselves to others. Compared to them we look holy. White laundry looks clean hanging on the clothesline. If a snow falls while the laundry is on the line it will look dingy compared to the pure white snow.
We can learn to accept un-holiness in our lives. But it is God who makes you holy. There is a passive and active role in your sanctification, becoming holy. Leviticus is law for God’s people to follow to make them holy.
The active pursuit of holiness is found in Leviticus 20:7, consecrate yourselves. Keep my laws, says the Lord. Take an active role in your sanctification. This means refraining from what God hates. All that is unholy. It means pursuing that which is pleasing to God.
We keep that active pursuit of holiness in perspective with Leviticus 20:8, Jehovah-M’Kaddesh. God does the work of sanctifying. But you are called to be different. You are to be set apart.
Without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. (Habakkuk 1:13)
God’s commitment to holiness runs deep. God commissioned his own son, Jesus Christ to die that you might experience holiness.
The reason why is found in Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God’s standard of holiness was breached. It was breached by Adam and Eve. It was breached by each one of us.
Your call to purity is more than forsaking outward acts of impurity. It is an inward response of your heart. It is a process that continues with the work of God. The Holy Spirit works in the life of a believer making us holy.
Adrian Rogers said, “Holiness is not the way to Christ, rather Christ is the way to holiness.” The Lord will make you holy. You must first be made holy now through Christ.
The absolute first step in holiness is making a commitment to Jesus Christ as your savior. Only then can you begin to walk in a manner worthy of your calling to holiness. Believers must no longer live by sinful worldly passions but by the will of God.
