God, Holy and Rightoues

Please turn with me to Psalm 111

English Standard Version Psalm 111

Great Are the LORD’s Works

111  Praise the LORD!

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

2  Great are the works of the LORD,

studied by all who delight in them.

3  Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures forever.

4  He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and merciful.

5  He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever.

6  He has shown his people the power of his works,

in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

7  The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy;

8  they are established forever and ever,

to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

9  He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name!

10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!

Tonight we will take a short look at God’s Holiness.

But what does Holiness mean? A. A. Hodge defines Holiness like this, “The holiness of God is not to be conceived of as one attribute among others. It is rather a general term representing the conception of God’s consummate perfection and total glory. It is His infinite moral perfection crowning His infinite intelligence and power.”

Thomas Watson said “Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of God’s crown, it is the name by which He is known.”

R.L. Dabney said, “Holiness is to be regarded not as a distinct attribute, but as the result of all God’s moral perfection together.”

God’s Holiness is really who he is, he is perfect in every way. He is perfect in Love, he is perfect in justice, he is perfect in knowledge, he is perfect in power, he is perfect in mercy and grace, and he is perfect in thought and action.

As I prepared for tonight, I had to take special care to not make this an academic exercise, but I want tonight to be much more practical as we look God’s holiness.

If we were to ask most people we meet how they would describe God’s character, what would they say? We normally get the same responses, God is Love. God is good. God is compassionate. God is loving. All of which are true. God is absolutely the standard by which we measure love, goodness, and compassion. God himself described his name and glory to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7.

Exodus 34:6-7

English Standard Version Chapter 34

6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Now most people want to stop their definition of God with forgiving sin and transgression; however, God continues and says that he will not clear the guilty. I actually like the way the NIV renders this section saying He will not leave the guilty unpunished.

This statement exposes the flaw in the thinking of most people. Many people make statements like this, “God will not punish my sins and wickedness because that is not loving?” Over and over again Scripture tells us that God is a God of justice and righteousness.

Psalm 11:7 tells us that

English Standard Version Psalm 11

For the LORD is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 33:5 declares, “He loves righteousness and justice.” And two psalms go so far as to proclaim, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne” (Pss. 89:14; 97:2)! Do you see what those verses are saying? God’s rule over the universe, his sovereign lordship over creation, is founded upon his remaining forever perfectly righteous and just.

It’s always interesting to watch what happens when people who insist that God would never judge them come face to face with undeniable evil. Confronted with some truly horrific evil, then they want a God of justice—and they want him now. They want God to overlook their own sin, but not the drunk driver who took their child or spouse. “Forgive me,” they say, “but don’t you dare forgive him!” You see, nobody wants a God who declines to deal with evil. They just want a God who declines to deal with their evil. Scripture tells us, however, that because he is perfectly just and righteous, God will deal decisively with all evil.

Habakkuk 1:13 says

English Standard Version Chapter 1

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?

God can not do anything other than punish evil because he is Holy and Righteous. This Holiness necessitates his perfect Justice.

But if there were any more evidence of God’s Holiness needed, there is no greater example than the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God the Son existing in perfect harmony with the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity past, lowered himself and took on human form. The Creator himself entered the creation all with one purpose, to reconcile wicked and rebellious man to himself. And we will look more closely at that in a couple of weeks.