A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. (John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 90:2; James 1:17; Rev. 4:8; Ps. 89:14; Exod. 34:6,7; 1 Tim. 1:17)
God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in holiness.
I. LET US UNDERSTAND THE HOLINESS OF GOD
I) God is Holy
1 John 1:5 “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
John MacArthur: “God’s holiness is His inherent and absolute greatness, in which He is perfectly distinct above everything outside Himself and is absolutely morally separate from sin.”
Isaiah 6:3 “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’”
Revelation 4:8 “Day and night [the angels] never cease to say, ’Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”
God the Father is Holy
Jesus, in John 17:11: “Holy Father.”
God the Spirit is Holy
Again, Jesus ,in John 14:26: “The Holy Spirit.”
God the Son is Holy
Paul, in Acts 13:35 (quoting Psalm 16:10): “You will not let your Holy One see corruption.”
II) God’s Works are Holy
Exodus 15:11 “Who is like [the LORD], majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”
Psalm 145:17 “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.”
III) God’s written Word is Holy
Romans 1:2 “[Jesus was] promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,”
IV) God’s Commands are Holy
Romans 7:12 “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
V) God’s Promises are Holy
Psalm 105:42 “For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.”
VI) God’s Covenant is Holy
John the Baptist’s father Zechariah calls God’s covenant, “his holy covenant” in Luke 1:72.
II. LET US APPLY GOD’S HOLINESS
I) You will not be accepted by God unless you are perfectly holy
Habakkuk 1:13 “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
II) You will not escape God’s wrath if you stand before Him in your unholiness (sin, wickedness)
Nahum 1:3-5 “3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; . . .5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt.”
III) You must go to Christ in faith so that God will count you holy
Colossians 1:21-23 “21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel…”
IV) In Christ, you must sanctify God as Holy
Leviticus 10:3 “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’”
V) In Christ, you must be Holy
Leviticus 14:44-45 “44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. . . 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (The Apostle Peter repeats this in 1 Peter 1:16)
VI) In Christ, you must worship God in Holiness
1 Chronicles 16:29 “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”
VII) In Christ, you must be motivated toward holiness by God’s promises
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”