The Holiness of God

Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

(Revelation 15:4 ESV)

God’s attribute of holiness is a characteristic that constitutes who God is and is considered a moral attribute that can have corresponding characteristics found in human nature. God is above His creation and is without sin, thus all He does is right and holy. God cannot allow sin to be in His presence, for He is not stained by the evil in this world (see Habakkuk 1:13). As a child of the Father, and a repository of His Spirit you have the ability to live the holy life that God desires. However, unlike God, this is not part of your nature but a characteristic that you must train yourself to achieve. Godly perfection is the basis of living you are to seek, but can only be done, as you begin to understand what it means to fear the Lord. When Isaiah came to the presence of God, he became aware of how impure and sinful he was (Isaiah 6:5). To fear God is to command a holy, reverent respect for God that causes us to take Him seriously as you understand whom God is (all-knowing) and what He can do (all-powerful). As you fear God, your actions and thinking transform. This transformation will cause you to pause before beginning to say something that you should not and will help you in making wise decisions. The fear of the Lord, will help you gain wisdom (see Proverbs 8:14). An aspect of living a holy life is the manner you pursue this. Paul tells those whom God has called to separate themselves from unclean things and be perfectly holy (2 Cor. 6:14 – 7:1). You are to live a life that is separate, yet, be very careful not to do this in a legalist manner. Seek the Lord for your direction so that you may be successful in being holy from your heart. It is in this manner God will accept your worship as you give Him all the glory. Know that in the end times, when God’s judgment occurs, all will fear and worship Jesus but for some it will be to late.

For Thought:

1.    Do you think being holy is an unattainable goal?

2.    Can your Sovereign, who is Creator and LORD, give you the help to live a life of holiness?

3.    As a believer in the Most High God not only are you to fear God, but you are to live a life of holiness.

As you begin your time with the Father, ask Him to direct you in holy living. To reveal to you His attributes so you can understand what it truly means to fear God. Then teach you how to learn His ways to do that which God desires so your worship will be pleasing to Him.

All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. (Isaiah 26:9 NLT)

[Ideas taken from: Christian Theology, Millard J. Erickson, Baker Book House 1987]