It is important that we learn all we can learn about God from the scriptures.
Why?
• Because we really cannot WORSHIP GOD unless WE KNOW HIM.
• Because we really cannot SERVE GOD unless WE KNOW HIM.
• Because we cannot BECOME if we do not know what kind of God He is.
You see, a lot of folks do not know the God of the Bible. The god they know is a figment of their imagination and that means they serve a FALSE GOD.
Today we want to look into the scripture and see what kind of God He is.
We want to concern ourselves with what some refer to as one of God's attributes, and that is, HIS HOLINESS.
If you ever have to do a Sunday school lesson or a sermon on "The Holiness of God" you will discover something immediately - that there are not many resource materials available on the subject.
Probably the reason this is because MANY DO NOT KNOW THE GOD OF THE BIBLE.
So that we might know about the GOD OF THE BIBLE let us look at...
I. THE HOLINESS OF GOD IN THE SCRIPTURES.
We all have different ideas about what the word "holiness" means.
For example:
• If you were reared in a formal church when you think of holiness you think of a holy sanctuary where people meet to worship.
Why?
Because that is considered to be a holy place, where people worship God, and out of reverence for God everyone whispers.
• If you come from a holiness background you think of holiness as a denomination in which the women dress in long dresses with long sleeves, wear no makeup, and wear their hair stacked high on the top of their heads.
I mention these things only to show you that people have different ideas about what holiness is.
But the fact is, the way we define "holiness" does not have anything to do with the holiness of God.
For example:
• You can have a church building that cost millions of dollars, and you can whisper all you want to and could have the most corrupt gathering of people in any building in town.
• You can have every woman in the church wearing long dresses with long sleeves and no makeup and there might not be a holy woman in the building.
• You may belong to a denomination that calls itself "Holiness" and still not be holy.
• The word "HOLINESS" has been replaced by some today with the word "SEPARATION,” Still the fact is, you can separate yourself from the world completely and still not be holy.
Illus: Suppose we go out on the street and find a prostitute.
As vile as she may be…
• We buy her long dress with long sleeves
• Give her a hairdo with her hair stacked up on top of her head.
• Suppose she joined a holiness church
• And out of respect for the house of God, she whispers
HAS SHE BECOME HOLY?
Of course not!!!
She is as unholy as she has ever been!
She does not become holy just because she separates herself from the world.
I mention these things, not because I am trying to be unkind to anyone, but to show you that folks have all kinds of ideas about holiness, but so often, not only are they not holy, but they do also not know what the word "holy," according to the Word of God, means.
Let's go to the Word of God to see what it tells us it means to be holy so we can understand that the God of the Bible is a HOLY GOD.
The holiness of God as defined in the scriptures.
The root meaning of the Hebrew word translated "holy" comes from a verb that means, “To cut off."
In order that we might understand this, we need to go to the scriptures for an accurate definition.
For example,
Look at Exodus 35:2, “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death."
The Jew's day of worship was on Saturday; this was their Sabbath.
Did that mean Saturday was different from any other day?
That is, would that always be a day when the sun would shine and there would be a soft breeze as people went to worship God on that very special day?
Absolutely not!
Illus: If you notice, our day of worship is just like any other day during the week.
Sometimes the sun shines, but also often we have to come to church in the rain, and sometimes even in the snow.
Why?
Because God's Day is like any other day in the week.
However, remember the word "holy" means, "To cut off."
That is, God says we have six days to work, shop, hunt, play golf, go fishing, etc., but we "cut off" one day from the other days of the week.
This day:
• Women do not hang out their laundry.
• Men do not cut their grass.
This day is CUT OFF from all the other days.
We cease doing these things that we do on other days, and we set aside this day to worship God and have our spiritual batteries recharged.
In the Old Testament God saw this as such an important thing that He commanded, “...whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death."
That gives us some idea of how important God considers it to be that we have a CUT OFF day in our lives each week.
To help us understand that the word "holy" means: "To cut off," let me give you another Bible example.
Look at Exodus 3:5, “And he said, draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
When God told Moses to take His shoes off because he was standing on "holy" ground, did that mean the dirt that he was standing on was different from the dirt that surrounded that area. Absolutely not!
It was just like any other soil in the area.
God was saying, "Cut off this piece of ground because this is where I will meet with you."
Not over here, or over there, but right where you stand
I want you to make that place a place where you meet me. In other words, "Cut off" this from all the rest.
The Bible definition of the word "holy" is to "cut off," and when we say THE GOD OF THE BIBLE IS A HOLY GOD, what we are saying is that GOD IS CUT OFF FROM ALL THE REST! There is no one LIKE HIM!!!
The Bible says that the righteousness of every person is a filthy rag. God is not like us.
Another way of saying it is to say that GOD IS IN A LEAGUE ALL BY HIMSELF.
Isaiah 40:25 says, “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One."
When we are talking about God's HOLINESS, we are saying that:
• All we have
• All that the world has is filled with evil.
But in God there is no evil, or darkness, at all!
THAT IS THE HOLINESS OF GOD AS DEFINED IN THE SCRIPTURES.
Also, let us look at...
B. The holiness of God as DEMANDED in the scriptures.
Why is it important that God be a holy God?
If He was not holy, He would not be any better than we are and He would not be worthy of our WORSHIP and our SERVICE.
The Bible says, “There is NONE righteous, no not one."
Listen, not one of us are worthy of WORSHIP or DIVINE SERVICE.
Illus: Many times, you will find people in a church who are faithful because they love their pastor.
They will tell you unequivocally, “Pastor, if you leave the church, I am leaving also!"
While every pastor appreciates the love and kindness of his people, there is no pastor that is worthy of people's WORSHIP and SERVICE.
When Christians start growing in the Lord they come to church not because of the pastor, but because they recognize the Holy God of the Bible is worthy of WORSHIP and SERVICE.
-Psalm 145:17, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works."
That is, God has never done an unrighteous act; He is altogether in a league by Himself.
-I John 1:5, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."
HOLINESS IS THE CHIEF ATTRIBUTE OF GOD!
When the seraphim worshipped God, in Isaiah 6:3, they cried, “...Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts..."
Notice, they did not cry, “God is love, God is love, God is love," nor "God is immutable, God is immutable, God is immutable." They cried out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts..."
GOD IS A HOLY GOD.
There is no one like him. There is no one to even compare Him to.
Illus: This is why I hate to hear anyone say of God as THE MAN UPSTAIRS.
HE IS TRULY IN A LEAGUE ALL BY HIMSELF!
This is the way the scriptures describe Him.
We have looked at THE HOLINESS OF GOD IN THE SCRIPTURES.
But now look at...
II. THE HOLINESS OF GOD IN THE SERVANTS.
Illus: It is always exciting when a couple joins hands in "Holy Matrimony." Before the wedding there are a lot of things to do and get in preparation, such as, setting the date, getting rings, choosing and sending invitations, deciding on location, minister, singers, ushers, bridesmaids and matron of honor, best man, clothes, reception, and planning the honeymoon.
Then that long-awaited-for day comes. They stand before the "holy altar" and make a commitment to each other, "...for better or for worse, richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.
This is one of the most important parts of the ceremony, but there is one more part that is equally important, if not more, important and that is that they VOW TO GOD AND TO EACH OTHER they will "FORSAKE ALL TO BE FAITHFUL TO EACH OTHER."
This is exactly what we Christians do when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. We vowed to God that we will cut ourselves off from all other spiritual lovers. We will be faithful to Him and Him alone.
Listen, we are kidding ourselves if we think we can have the joy of a happy relationship with God if we constantly practice spiritual adultery!
God is a Holy God and we have to have a proper relationship with Him.
Illus: One great honor, which only a few can boast of having had, is to be invited to attend one of the garden parties that Queen Elizabeth has at the Buckingham Palace.
Probably, of the few who have been invited, many have been shocked that they would have been invited to be in the presence of royalty for one evening, and that they would have a chance to meet the queen and go to her palace.
Once they receive and accept the invitation they then are given specific instructions concerning what they should wear, when they should arrive and just where they should come to.
Along with those instructions:
? They are reminded that it is appropriate for men to bow and women to curtsy.
And also…
? That it is good court etiquette to speak to the Queen only after they have been spoken to.
Why are they given such instructions?
Because there is a certain way people should conduct themselves when they are in the presence of royalty.
It would be totally inappropriate for them to show up late in a pair of blue jeans and a T shirt and walk up to the Queen and slap her on the back and say, “Hello Liz, how are you doing!"
As Christians we are part of a royal family. It is required that members of this family conduct themselves properly and that they be HOLY.
We want to have a proper relationship with the King of Kings, and we cannot unless we are HOLY AS HE IS HOLY.
He is in a LEAGUE all by Himself and we are absolutely foolish to think we can wear our filthy rags of unrighteousness into His presence.
I Peter 1:16, says, “Because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy."
Why does God require that we be HOLY AS HE IS HOLY?
A. Because Of His blessings.
God tells us in Isaiah 1:19-20, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
The HOLY GOD OF THE BIBLE wanted to bless Israel but notice God's condition - if they would not be willing to "cut themselves off" from the sinful people around them, (God said, “...if ye refuse and rebel...") then God promised they would be "devoured" by those around them.
Some of you, in this congregation, have REFUSED and REBELLED against becoming a "holy vessel" and you have been consumed by the world around you.
You are just like the rebellious people of the Old Testament, and, like them, you are without the blessings of God on your lives.
You are kidding yourself if you think God is going to bless you if you are not willing to "cut yourself off" from the way of the ungodly. You can REFUSE and REBEL against what God has commanded you to do, but you will never know what it is like to have the blessings of God on your life. God cannot bless the ungodly!
Illus: That would be like Jesse James asking God to bless him before he robbed a bank.
God told Israel, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Are you willing to cut yourself away from the ungodly, and obey the Lord? IT IS YOUR DECISION AND NO ONE CAN MAKE THAT DECISION BUT YOU!
Another reason God requires that we BE HOLY as HE IS HOLY is...
B. Because Of His fellowship.
Exodus 15:11 says, “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"
The Psalmist asks, “Who is like unto thee, O Lord..."
God's holiness places Him in a league all by Himself and this same Holy God of the Bible commands us to be Holy as He is Holy.
We all have things that distinguish us from others.
For example, some people can knock the flies off their food and still eat it while, because of their makeup, others' stomachs will not allow that.
For example,
Illus: It is a custom in America that when someone has a birthday, we bake him a cake, place candles on the cake, light the candles, and before the cake is cut the birthday person gets to make a wish and then blows the candles out.
The only problem with that is when a person blows over a cake; the cake is no longer fit to be eaten.
One preacher, who has a weak stomach says, “Every time I see someone do this, I make a wish before he blows out the candles. I wish he would not blow out the candles because once he blows on the candles and spit all over the cake, I am not going to be able to eat any of it."
Is he being hard to get along with? Absolutely not!
That is the way he is made up. He cannot stomach his food being contaminated with germs and spit.
It may offend the person who is having a birthday. He said, and then he should not have spit all over the cake.
And then some pranksters put one of the candles you cannot blow out and this idiot continues to spit all over baptizing that cake with spit. Then they ask you do you want a big piece or a small piece?
I do not know who came up with this idea of blowing out candles of a birthday cake, but it is the most idiotic custom I have ever heard of.
He despises that custom and considers it to be ridiculous. That distinguishes him from others.
I mention that to mention this; the GOD OF THE BIBLE IS A HOLY GOD. This is what God is. He is altogether HOLY and there is not any evil in Him, and He despises evil. In Him is no darkness at ALL!
He certainly cannot fellowship with those who are evil. It is not because He does not want to but being the holy God of heaven, He cannot associate Himself with evil.
In Psalm 7:11, we read, “...God is angry with the wicked every day."
He loves them, but He CANNOT BLESS THEM or FELLOWSHIP WITH THEM!
Some here perhaps are wondering why you do not have that close fellowship with God that others have, and the answer is because God is ANGRY with the wickedness in your life. He despises that wickedness.
Conclusion:
Perhaps someone is saying, “Alright, I understand God is a Holy God and I understand that God requires that I live a holy life, but I have tried and failed. How can I do what He requires?"
All over the world there are folks who have tried to live "holy" lives, and they have found out they could not.
Why?
In Matt. 7:17-18, Jesus said, “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
What you need to do is REPENT OF ALL YOUR SINS and ASK THE LORD TO FORGIVE YOU OF THOSE SINS AND MAKE YOU INTO A TREE THAT WILL BRING FORTH GOOD FRUIT.
I. THE HOLINESS OF GOD IN THE SCRIPTURES.
A. The holiness of God as defined in the scriptures.
B. The holiness of God as demanded in the scriptures.
II. THE HOLINESS OF GOD IN THE SERVANTS.
A. Because of His blessings.
B. Because of His fellowship.
