Each Lord’s Day, there will be a series of topical devotionals entitled A Word Fitly Spoken. The title is taken from Proverbs 25:11 which says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”
The current study from Scripture concerns the subject of holiness. Today’s essay asks the question, what is holiness?
“ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14 (ESV)
3 “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 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 15:3–4 (ESV)
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early In The Morning Our Song Shall Rise To Thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy, Merciful And Mighty!
God In Three Persons, Blessed Trinity! – Reginald Heber
“Any sin is more or less heinous depending upon the honor and majesty of the one whom we had offended. Since God is of infinite honor, infinite majesty, and infinite holiness, the slightest sin is of infinite consequence. The slightest sin is nothing less than cosmic treason when we realize against whom we have sinned.” — Jonathan Edwards.
“Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.” — John Calvin
What is holiness? Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs contain compositions about it. Pastors and evangelists preach sermons on it. Authors write articles and books exploring the depths of it. What exactly does the Bible mean when it speaks of holiness?
Holiness, or to be holy, is a doctrine found throughout the Scriptures; in both the Old and New Testaments. Therefore, an understanding of this truth is important for the converted, and unconverted, to know what holiness is, and what it is not.
In the Old Testament (OT), the Hebrew word for holy, or holiness, is kahdosh (קָד֧וֹשׁ׀). It means to be ceremonially and morally sacred, set apart, or uniquely consecrated. When referring to God, the term calls attention to the LORD’s unique and awesome splendor (Isaiah 1:4).
Holiness is the primary attribute of God and a quality for His people. “Holiness” and the adjective “holy” occur more than 900 times in the Bible. The primary OT word for holiness means “to cut” or “to separate.” Holiness, or to be holy, is a cutting off or separation from what is unclean and a consecration to what is pure.
The holiness of God refers to His transcendence over creation and the moral perfection of His character. God is holy because He is utterly different from His creation and has sovereign majesty and power over it. God’s holiness is especially prominent in the Psalms (47:8) and the Prophets, where “holiness” is a synonym for Israel’s God. Thus, Scripture ascribes to God the title “Holy” (Isaiah 57:15), “Holy One” (Job 6:10; Is 43:15), and “Holy One of Israel” (Ps. 89:18; Isaiah 1:4; 60:14; Jer. 50:29).
God’s holiness means the Lord is separate from all evil and defilement (cf. Job 34:10). His holy character is the standard of absolute moral perfection (Isaiah 5:16). God’s holiness is examined in Psalm 99. Verses 1 through 3 portray God’s distance from the finite and earthbound, whereas verses 4 and 5 emphasize his separation from sin and evil.
“In the OT God demanded holiness in the lives of his people. Through Moses, God said to the congregation of Israel, “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2, RSV). The holiness enjoined by the OT was twofold: (1) external, or ceremonial; and (2) internal, or moral and spiritual. OT ceremonial holiness, prescribed in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT) included ritual consecration to God’s service. Thus, priests and Levites were sanctified by a complex process of ritual consecration (Ex. 29), as were the Hebrew Nazirites, which means “separated ones” (Num. 6:1–21). Prophets like Elisha (2 Kgs. 4:9) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) were also sanctified for a special prophetic ministry in Israel,” explains Old Testament scholar Walter Elwell.
“But the OT also draws attention to the inner, moral, and spiritual aspects of holiness. Men and women, created in the image of God, are called to cultivate the holiness of God’s own character in their lives (Lev. 19:2; Num. 15:40).
Next Lord’s Day, we will examine the New Testament’s treatment of holiness. Today’s article concludes with thoughts from biblical scholar and theologian Herman Bavinck (1854–1921).
To correctly assess the benefit of justification, people must lift up their minds to the judgment seat of God and put themselves in his presence. When they compare themselves with others or measure themselves by the standard they apply to themselves or among each other, they have some reason perhaps to pride themselves in something and to put their trust in it. But when they put themselves before the face of God and examine themselves in the mirror of his holy law, all their conceit collapses, all self-confidence melts, and there is room left only for the prayer: “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you” (Job 4:17-19; 9:2; 15:14-16; Ps. 143:2; cf.130:3), and there only comfort is that “there is forgiveness before you, so that you may be revered” (Ps. 130:4). If for insignificant, guilty, and impure persons there is to be a possibility of true religion, that is, of genuine fellowship with God, of salvation and eternal life, then God on his part must reestablish the broken bond, again take them into fellowship with him and share his grace with them, regardless of their guilt and corruption. He, then, must descend from the height of his majesty, seek us out and come to us, take away our guilt and again open the way to his fatherly heart. If God were to wait until we – by our faith, our virtues, and good works…- had made ourselves worthy, in part or in whole, to receive his favor, the restoration of communion between him and ourselves would never happen, and salvation would forever be out of reach for us.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 