Man’s Response to God’s Holiness

Man would have never created a God as Holy as the one described in the Bible. His holy nature distinguishes Him from all the man-made gods. “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11). Throughout the scriptures those who have come in contact with God’s holiness and see His glory become very uncomfortable. Why? Because it remains us all of how little we are like the Holy One. From the very beginning of sin man hid himself for the Holy God. Job realizing his relationship to the Holy One said, “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth” (Job. 40:4). When the Holy One of Israel appeared at Mount Sinai the whole mountain shook violently and the people made Moses approach God for them out of great fear (Ex. 19:16-18). Isaiah witnessed the Holy throne of God and responded with “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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts” (Is. 6:5).

God is so holy in comparison to His creatures that man often responds to God in hate. God is too holy for sinful man to maintain an egotistical self-esteem. The correct response to how holy God is, is for man to recognize his sinfulness and confess his sins before God. When Peter witness the great catch of fish at the Lord Jesus’ command “he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’” (Luke 5:8). John warned Christians of the need to recognize the fact that they will sin and need to confess this fact before God. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. …If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10).

Just as Moses explained to Aaron when his sons were destroyed by fire from heaven, the God of Heaven “must be regarded as holy.” The first thing Moses learned about approaching God is that He is holy and even the ground before Him is holy. Therefore, Moses was told to take off his shoes (Exodus 3:5). All the saints should gain a knowledge of God’s holiness. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). Attaining such knowledge will produce reverential fear. “Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested” (Rev. 15:4). Such a Holy God should be praised. “Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name” (Ps. 30:4). God is worthy of all worship for His holiness. “Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy” (Ps. 99:9). “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” (1 Chron. 16:29). Not everything a Christian does is Worship. Worship is a special separate time when one approaches God as He has commanded. The sanctified sons and daughters of God must even present their bodies as holy before their Holy Father (Rom. 12:1,2; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 6:19).

Once an impeccably dressed Englishman was standing in line at an airline reservations counter when a pushy woman cut in front of him, smacked down her ticket and insist on an upgrade to first class. “Madam,” the Englishman said as he picked up the ticket and pressed it back into her hand, “First Class is not a boarding pass. It is a way of life.” Likewise, holiness is a way of life not just a privilege we are born into
We have been called to be holy. “He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:15,16). Peter used the word “called” often in his first letter (1:15; 2:9; 2:21; 3:9; 5:10). He presents Leviticus 11:44,45 demonstrating that Israel was called to be holy. They were to separate themselves from the pagan population restraining themselves from idolatry and immorality. The book of Leviticus is a book on holiness. It tells God’s holy people how to be separated unto a Holy God. For example, they are took in detail what to eat and even how to prepare their food.

All our conduct is to be holy. Being holy is not something that we can restrict to one place or one building. To the Christian, every day is supposed to be a holiday or “holy day.” Holiness is to encompass all thoughts, all words, and all deeds. Whether it be Sunday morning at worship or Saturday night at the ball game or Monday morning at work, God’s children must be holy.

The motive for being holy is because God is holy. God, Himself is our standard of holiness. The standard of holiness is not conforming to the world’s standard. God does not conform to man’s idea of holiness. He is the standard. Only God can be our standard of holiness. The word “I” in the quotation “I am holy” is emphatic in the Greek text, signifying, “I, myself, apart from all others, am holy.” He is the grand model. The sole ground or basis for holiness. God is not just holy, holiness is the essential nature of God’s character (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7). Although we do not reach the prefect state of holiness in that we never sin (1 John 1:7-10) we strive to be holy just like God. He is so holy that He cannot be tempted by sin (Js. 1:13f), yet we can. God is so Holy He never tempts man to sin. God cannot sin. God is so holy He does not separate Himself from the truth and tell or support a lie. Being holy like God demands we be truthful at all times. Being holy like God is holy consists of thinking as God thinks and making God’s Will our will. So, the better we know God the better we can be holy. To be holy even involves the sons and daughters to accept the chastisement of God the Father. “For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Heb. 12:10).

The only way any man will have access to God or have hope in life eternal is for him to be holy. Christians are to “pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). We have access to the Father through Christ. We put on Christ in baptism. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). A sinful man must clean up his life before being able to approach the Holy Father. The only cleaning agent able to accomplish this task is the blood of Christ.

– Daniel R. Vess

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Categories: The Forum