Obedience as Worship

I have had the huge privilege to teach most of you multiple times a month for several months now. This is a privilege Ido not take lightly, and I love that you all, and Rick especially have put trust in me for this honor. For those who have been with us since the CC third service days,

you have heard me teach often on how although we are not deserving of salvation because of our rebellion against a Holy God,

He still has chosen to come down to us and make a way for us to have a relationship with Him.

This is not by any works of our own, but purely through His work on the cross.

I will continue to teach this message over and over again,

but I do fear that a focus on this has maybe not given enough focus on our responsibility to live Holy lives.

This is not to say that we work towards our salvation,

but rather that,

as Rick taught a few weeks ago when preaching on sanctification,

we are to be working out our salvation daily,

growing closer and closer to Him in Holy living.

So with that, today’s message is on the Holiness of God and our role as His people to live Holy lives. It is a message showing how we worship God in our obedience to Him.

We shall do this with just two points today.

I. The holiness of God revealed (19:1-25)

II. The call to obedient Worship and Holy Living. (20-23)

I. The holiness of God revealed (19:1-25)

It is hard to read through scripture and not come face to face with one undeniable truth, we serve a Holy, Righteous, God.

We see this in every section of scripture.

From the prophets of old to the gospels of the New Testament.

We see it everywhere because it is a crucial doctrine of our faith that we simply can not afford to miss.

But what exactly does this mean?

"As defined by ChatGPT,

'In the context of God, "holy" refers to His absolute purity, separateness, and perfection. God's holiness means that He is completely distinct from all creation—morally and ontologically—and is without any sin or imperfection. It highlights two key aspects: God's moral perfection and His transcendence, being completely "set apart" and unique.'"

Holiness. God’s holiness means that he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor.

Wayne Grudem

Holiness is a dimension of God that consumes his very essence.

R. C. Sproul

But what does our passage today show us about God’s Holiness?

Exodus 19:12–13 (ESV)

12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.

13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

This may seem harsh to us. But what we must understand is that God is simply too Holy and righteous for our sinfulness to come before Him.

They were told to wash themselves and put on new garments, as a way of purifying themselves before God,

but this could never be enough for a sinful people to come before the presence of God.

This is what we have been trying to convey to you from the early days of Hutong, even in the third service days. That God’s Holiness is too great for a Holy people to come into His presence.

We often get uncomtable at the idea of God’s righteous wrath, but we can not separate it from His Holiness.

God’s wrath is a function of his holiness.

D. A. Carson

God’s anger is not capricious, irrational rage but is the only response that a holy God could have toward evil. God could not be holy and not be angry at evil. Holiness cannot tolerate unholiness.

John F. MacArthur

We then see this Holiness shown in small parts, expressed in physical ways in verses 16-20.

English Standard Version Chapter 19

16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain.

God is showing the people His greatness, His Holiness, through thunder, lightening and a shaking ground. This is only a part of His Glory, and only a physical manifestation, or physical appearance of it.…

as the fullness of God’s glory would have killed them all.

But it was enough to show them who they were to worship. It was enough to show them the Glory of God.

It showed the people of Israel the extent of God’s grace,

that such a Holy and powerful God would save such a rebellious people.

Holiness is the only possible response to God’s grace.

Charles Colson

This leads us to our second point.

II. The call to obedient Worship and Holy Living. (20-23)

It was at this time that God begins to give Moses, and the people of Israel His laws. These laws included

ceremonial worship laws, to ensure that they were set apart and ceremonially clean. These were meant to show God’s people the extent that they were spiritually unclean, and in need of an outside force to cleanse them.

Civil laws, to ensure that the nation of Israel was governed with justice and fairness.

and Moral laws, to ensure that Israel understood the Holiness of God and His very nature, and so that they could too strive to live Holy lives, knowing the standard for Holiness.

On the mountain, God gave Israel all three of these types of laws. They were to keep all of them, but we today are going to primarily focus on God’s moral laws.

That is not to say that the other two are not important,

they reveal much of God’s character and are therefore important for us to study.

we are in fact going to spend the next three weeks looking at these.

But the civil and ceremonial laws were meant for a certain people for a certain time, and although we can learn much if God from them all…

The laws that we are bound to today are God’s moral laws.

These laws define good and evil, and are the standard for Holy living.

It is important that we understand that these laws are not arbitrary.

God did not just decide that lying is bad,

adultery is bad,

coveting is bad, etc. etc.

No, these moral laws are given because they are the very essence of God’s nature.

Lying is wrong because God’s nature is truth.

Sin is sin because it goes against the very nature of who God is.

Holiness is not just an attribute, it is God’s very essence.

R. C. Sproul

So when we lie, we are going against the very nature of God.

When we steel, we are rebelling against the essence of who God is.

Are you starting to see the seriousness of sin?

Guys, I know that our culture teaches that sin is not a big deal.

This has seeped into the church as well with this idea of easy believism, what Bonhoeffer called cheap grace.

We have churches today that affirm homosexuality, instead of being a beacon of loving truth that we need to repent from sin, they manipulate scripture to say that God did not mean what He clearly said.

We have churches today that ignore the truth and teach that divorce is fine and acceptable, and that one can divorce and remarry regardless of the reason for the divorce.

We have churches today that treat gluttony and dishonoring our bodies as normal everyday acts that have no moral bearing.

This one is difficult for me, since I grew up in a Church tradition that glorifies overeating.

Chapters 20-24 are given to us to show the character of God, which is the standard for Holy righteous living.

Many get confused in this though because they see that we are incapable of fully doing this, which is true, and a big part of the gospel.

But the wrong application of this is that we do not need to worry about living Holy lives since God made a way to make us righteous before God.

This wrong way of looking at the gospel is not new, since Paul had to address it himself when writing to the Romans.

Romans 6:1–2 ESV

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

For those whom God as called out to Himself and made a new creation, we are no longer living as slaves to sin.

We are no longer dead in our sins, but are now alive in Him.

Colossians 2:13 (ESV)

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

We have been called out of sin and into Righteous Holy living.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (ESV)

15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Peter quotes Leviticus here as He is trying to tell us that we are to be a Holy people because God is a Holy God.

Those who have been called out of their sin and into Christ are going to show fruit. If your life does not show any fruit since salvation, you need to come humbly before God and seek Him, because there should be fruit.

If we have been made a new creation, we are not going to live as our past creation lived.

Does this mean we will be perfect?

No, but it does mean that Christians will have a deep desire for Holy living, and will be turned to repentance when we fail.

Philippines 2:12 tells us that we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12 (ESV)

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Why should we do this?

Is it because we may not know if we are saved, or that we could lose our salvation? No.

He is saying that we are serving before a Holy and righteous God and just as the Israelites shook with fear before His presence, so should we have a level of fear and trembling before a righteous Holy God.

We work out our salvation not by earning it, but by the constant work of the spirit in us working towards sanctification, just as Rick taught us a few weeks ago.

We live Holy lives because we are commanded to live Holy lives.

We live Holy lives because God is Glorified in our living Holy lives.

We live Holy lives because there is great joy in living Holy lives to the Glory of God.

We live Holy lives because it is Worship to the one who has saved us to live Holy lives.

So let us worship Him today HC.

As we lift up our praises to Him, be praying to your Savior for whatever sins you need to repent from.

Turn away from your sins as an act of worship this morning.

Don’t go into worship here with hearts of unrepented sin, but give it all to Christ who has given us the freedom to say no to sin, to run from sin.

We are going to take a minute or two with just some soft music playing,

no singing yet,

so that we have time to repent of our sins. If you are being led to confess your sins to one another,

pull a brother or sister aside and confess your sins to them.

This is not so that they can hold it over you,

but rather hold you accountable to staying away from this sin in the future.

When we do come to the time of worshiping in song,

sing your praises loud this day,

knowing that your sins have been paid for by a Holy and righteous God,

and has not only saved you for good works, but has given you the power over sin to perform these good works.

So let us worship Him in our repentance now together.