February 2020  by Sheologie

Holiness: Who God Is

What do you think a holy person is supposed to look like and act like? Some people might say you have to wear a long skirt and no makeup, or don’t have sex, or tell no jokes.

But according to Scripture, holiness simply means to be separate, different, or set apart from evil. Holiness is a moral goodness that’s so good you can’t conceive of it, purer than the purest gold, more beautiful than the most perfect diamond.

Of all the attributes of God described in Scripture, His holiness is mentioned the most. Holy is who He is. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!'” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

Holiness is the only attribute of God that gets this kind of emphasis in Scripture. Nowhere else do you read of God’s mercy, mercy, mercy; tolerance, tolerance, tolerance; or love, love, love. God is incomparable in this area. There was and is no one like Him. He dwells in indescribable glory and unapproachable light (see 1 Timothy 6:16), and He is a consuming fire (see Hebrews 12:29). Habakkuk said, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk 1:13).

And because God is holy, everything He does is holy. James wrote that God cannot be tempted by evil (see James 1:13), and John said, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God is completely, morally free of evil. He is pure and blameless—and not just in His essence, but in His motive toward you. He created you, loves you, and wants you to be with Him forever in heaven. But here’s the problem: there is a separation between you and Him because of His holiness and your sinfulness.

Sometimes we treat Holy God with too much laxness in our lives. We just think, God wants to be my best friend and hang out with me. Well, to have a relationship with Him, you have to start by recognizing that your sin separates you from Him. As Isaiah 59 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (v. 2).

God is holy, and He wants to have fellowship with you. But you cannot attain to this relationship on your own; it’s impossible. Only God can bridge that gap of holiness through His Son, Jesus Christ, and His blood that was shed on the cross. So this is my question for you today: Have you put your trust in Jesus yet? Only then can the Lord begin His true work of holiness in you.