GOD IS . . . HOLY
“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7).
Isaiah 6:1-8
6:1In 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.
2Above 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.
3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
KJV
Opening statement.
What would the world be like without the influence of a Holy God?
Crime unchecked
Attitudes running wild
No church
No peace
No love
No Fullness of joy
You get the picture. Now let us continue on.
If you look up the word holy in the Strong’s Concordance. It appears approx 597 times. If you look up the word holiness in the Strong’s it appears aprox 43 times.
As you see the Bible places great importance on this subject.
We cannot attain the holiness of God on our own. No matter how hard we try, we cannot measure up to the standards of God’s holiness. God must give holiness to us freely. We must allow God to live His holiness in us in our daily lives.
God is “perfect light,” which does not know darkness. Words we experience like murder, lust, and dishonesty never even enter the mind of God as options.
God has many different attributes. The Scriptures tell us that He is love, light, merciful, grace, faithful, just, perfect, good, gentle, righteous, and holy. The attribute of holiness is an essential and integral part of the character of God.
He requires us to be holy (Leviticus 20:7). 7Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
KJV
He could not do this if He were not holy Himself. The term holiness in relation to God reveals His purity, perfection of character, and freedom from any form of evil. John tells us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). God is holy in a way we will never be. He is holy in and of Himself.
The writer of Hebrews stated that faith is mandatory to pleasing God (Hebrews 11:6). 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
KJV
That faith consists of two elements: believing God is, and believing He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
The first part of this belief is a faith that God is.
But is what?
A). The emphasis is on God’s nature of independence.
B). He is God alone and does not need anyone else to help Him be God.
C). He does not depend on anyone to help Him be love or light.
D). He does not need anyone’s help to be Holy.
E). He is Holy all by Himself.
We have been made holy because God freely imputed His holiness to us. But without God making us holy there is no way we could be holy.
James clearly declares God’s nature as unchanging and the Father of lights (James 1:17). 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
KJV
In other words, God was holy yesterday, He is holy today, and He will be holy tomorrow.
Isaiah was a prophet and a preacher. He was also a servant in the court of King Uzziah. During the year in which the king died Isaiah received a vision from the Lord. He saw the very throne of God and host of angels worshiping and praising God. The angels were saying to one another, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3) It is interesting that of all the attributes God possesses, the one the angels were extolling was the holiness of God.
BE YE HOLY—INWARD and OUTWARD
Inward Holiness-pure thoughts, attitudes, and motives
Outward Holiness-modest clothing, clean language
When a person is inwardly holy it will be reflected in his appearance and behavior.
A person can look completely godly on the outside and yet be like a Clean grave full of white bones.
Let me tell you a story. While serving in the Coast Guard I was stationed in Petaluma CA. While there I was being introduced to my new 1st Class petty officer whom I noticed later never washed the inside of the coffe cup he used every day. The outside was a white cup wich was always clean but inside contained the years of coffe stains. I would not use his cup to drink out of would you.
We can all be clean on the outside wich is needed , however the inside needs to be just as clean. How much more will GOD us a dirty cup than you.
Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God has been working toward the ultimate goal of restoring the human race to right relationship with Him. But because one of God’s essential attributes is holiness or perfect purity, He cannot tolerate darkness or sin in someone’s life. He will not maintain a relationship with someone who lives a lifestyle of sin. This sounds horrifying when we think of the constant mistakes even Christians continually make. But God has other attributes besides holiness. Remember He is love, full of grace, and merciful.
These characteristics have caused God to make a way for sinful man to be freed from his sin and its consequences—to be made holy. Through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross man has been offered a restored relationship with God and freedom from the curse of sin, which is eternal death. Because of what was accomplished on the cross, man has been offered the holiness of God as a free gift.
We cannot be holy in and of ourselves, but we can allow God to give us His nature of holiness by his miraculous power. Once we come to the Lord and are washed clean of our sins, we are to live out the holiness that God has given freely. We must be holy on the inside first and then manifest this holiness on the outside. Internal sin, such as thoughts of lust, greed, or pride detracts from the holiness God has given to us freely. It also leads to external sinfulness, such as wrong words or actions. When maintaining a right relationship with a holy God, we are required to live a holy lifestyle (Leviticus 20:7).
The word holy means “separate, “ “different,” and “set apart.” When we say God is holy, we mean that He is without evil; to be like Him we must be set apart from evil. The gods of this world promote hate, envy, greed, and lust. God promotes love, holiness, and mercy. When we say we are holy, we mean we have been set apart by God to be different and separate from the sinfulness in the world.
This does not mean we are not to live in the world. Christians need nourishment the same as sinners do. They need clothing and shelter the same as sinners do. But there is a difference; holiness governs all areas of the Christian’s life, while unbelievers seek after carnal pleasures.
BENEFITS OF HOLINESS
Paul told the church at Rome that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)
When we live a life of sin, we reap sin’s consequences.
In other words, when our lives are yielded to sin, we will be paid by sin for our works of sin. It is interesting that Paul does not say the wages of living a good life is eternal life. He makes it clear that eternal life is a free gift from God. The benefit, if it can be called that, of sin is death. But the benefit of allowing God to give us the free gift of salvation is eternal life. Along with salvation God gives us many other benefits. When God makes us holy and we are living out that holiness in our lives, we will also be free from condemnation and fear to live full of joy, victory, and freedom from sin and its consequences. Who would want to miss out on a life of peace, joy, and righteousness?
