GOD IS HOLY

One of the greatest problems in modern day Christianity is our low view of God. God is holy. In Hebrew, to be holy means "to be separate". Therefore, when the Scriptures speak of God's holiness, it does not only pertain to His morally perfect character but also to His uniqueness, being separate and different from everyone else.

How it grieves my heart to see ignorance abroad and the crafts of Satan at work in this present generation! When God appears to man, He always presents Himself as a holy God. If only we could understand such holiness, we would not doubt the sufficiency of Scriptures. Knowing the Bible comes from a holy mouth, every professing believer would look at it with a holy reverence that causes them to cultivate their lives with it. Neither would men think less of the Gospel or reduce it when they know it is a message delivered and made true by an infinitely holy Being who deserves all praise.

Men need to know how holy God is because that is what God truly is! God is holy. He is different. He's not just a bigger or better version of you. He is completely different from you. If only we could understand this, it will change everything: our view on sin, our worship services, the way we preach, the way we live... everything!

Knowing God is holy is seeing the enormity of your sin. Such applied understanding will make you esteem His Name above all other names. As Isaiah, upon hearing the cries of the seraphs "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!" cried out "Woe is to me!" so shall you, blessed believer, call curse on yourself and be broken over your sin when you grasp His holiness. How I am ashamed of myself. If not for the cross, I would find no reason to get up in the morning. I would simply cry out under my blanket for mountains to bury me and hide me from His just and holy wrath.

Knowing God is holy will also change the way you worship Him. You will never have to decide between wearing dress shoes or sandals when attending Sunday services. You will never have to ponder about what to wear or how to act. With a firm, Scripture-grounded understanding of His holiness, you will run to your closet and choose the best clothing that you can find. And even after finding it, you will look upon it in disgust and shame knowing that even though it is fit to wear, it brings no true pleasure to the Father.

How you would live trembling with a holy reverence all the days of your life if you truly knew His holy Name through His holy book by His Holy Spirit! There would be no need for you to ask, "How then shall I live?" You will fear Him, acknowledge Him, cherish Him and worship Him, hating everything that He despises, from curse words to swearing, from worldly movies to ungodly character, from Gospel reductionism to pop cultural Christianity. For the instinct of the regenerate heart is to fall flat on the ground in worship, pursuing eternal things that magnify His glory while the instinct of the flesh is to run in the opposite direction, masquerading dislike for holiness as freedom.

Ah, yes! Holiness means to be separate. To live separated from the world unto Christ, abandoning oneself and the pleasures of this world while dwelling in the holy presence of God with a humble confidence that stems from Calvary. This is what freedom truly is: not to be your own master but to be a slave to a holy Being who is eternally good. True freedom is to bring every thought in submission to His Word and to subdue every ounce of your will, bringing your entire existence in captivity to Christ Jesus. Ah, how this will finally be a reality when He comes again!