The God That Created You Is Holy

The God That Created You Is Holy

Text: 1 Peter 1:15-16 (KJV) 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Introduction:

1). It’s a shame when words that have strong spiritual connotations become part of the slang language of a culture.

“holy cow,” “holy smoke,” “holy Joe,” “holy mackerel,” “holy Toledo,” and “holy roller.”

2). My father recognized that Satan was using the television to strip the word Holy of is awe and reverence by making it a by-word or a slang word. He wouldn’t let me watch Batman.

3). Christians have lost touch with the concept of holiness.

4). Many Christians view God as a lenient grandfather who winks at our indiscretions from his rocking chair in heaven.

5). Church history reveals that every major revival in the history of the church was sparked and fueled by the concept of the holiness of God.

6). Great church leaders like John Wesley, Andrew Murray, F.B. Meyer, Oswald Chambers, and Amy Carmichael kept the holiness of God at the center of their ministries and writings.

7). We begin with the holiness of God because it is the fundamental attribute of God. God is called “holy” in Scripture more than anything else.

8). Someone has said that His arm of power tells us of His strength, His all- seeing eye tells us of His knowledge, and His heart of duration tells us of His eternity. But it is the beauty of His holiness that captures us when we really see him as He is. The holiness of God, according to the Scripture, is His beauty. Nearly every book of the Bible touches on the holiness of God in some way (see, for example)

Exodus 15:11 (KJV)

11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Leviticus 19:2 (KJV)

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

1 Samuel 2:2-3 (KJV)

2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

Psalm 22:3 (KJV)

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

9). In order to regain a proper understanding of the holiness of God, we need to understand this Biblical term.

“complete purity and goodness; the absence of anything dark or sinful or evil at all”

1 John 1:5 (KJV)

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

10). “Holy” comes from a word that means “to cut apart” or “set apart.” Therefore, holiness refers to something that is separate, not attached to, or different from. God is like a foreign being compared to the sinful nature of humanity. He is totally set apart and different in His nature.

11). In the Bible we have the accounts of several individuals who found themselves in the presence of the holy. They didn’t define “holy,” but their responses provide clues to what it means.

I. Moses’ Experience of the Holy.

Exodus 3:1-6 (KJV)

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

II. Job’s Experience of the Holy.

Job 42:5-6 (KJV)

5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Job 40:1-14 (KJV)

1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, 2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. 3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. 5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? 10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. 11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. 12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. 14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

III. Isaiah’s Experience of the Holy.

Uzziah died, a great king in Israel who had reigned for 52 years. Uzziah served God faithfully until near the end of his reign when, in a moment of pride and arrogance, he usurped the role of priest in the temple which was an offense to God. As a result, Uzziah broke out in leprosy

Isaiah 6:1-5 (KJV)

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

IV. Paul’s Experience of the Holy.

Paul’s encounter with the glory of God is perhaps the most life-changing instance recorded in Scripture. (Acts 9:1–16; 22:1–21; 26:9–18)

V. John’s Experience of the Holy.

Revelation 1:12-17 (KJV)

12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.

* The consistent response to being in the presence of the holiness of God is an

immediate realization of one’s own unworthiness. Job put his hand over his

mouth; Isaiah saw his sinfulness; Saul fell to the ground; John fell down as

if he were dead.

VI. Our Experience of the Holy.

* The more clearly we understand God’s holiness, the more the following will be true of us: A. We Will See Ourselves as We Really Are.

1). The more we see of God’s holiness, the more we see of our “un- holiness”

2). Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The more we understand God’s holiness, the more we will agree that we have fallen short of it.

3). The best we can offer Him is the equivalent of “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).

4). “Before you can get some people saved, you have to get them ‘un-saved.’

5). God’s holiness is the only standard for what is acceptable to Him, and we cannot achieve that standard on our own.

B. We Will Understand the Cross.

1.) Once we see who we are compared to who God is, we understand the cross of Christ.

2). God, in His holiness, could not even look upon His own Son on the cross who now carried upon Himself the sins of the world. He forsook His own Son in order that we might be made holy in Christ.

3). What Christ accomplished on the cross was to weave a new suit of clothes for you and me to wear that we might be clothed with His own holiness. Just like in the garden when God provided clothes to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness.

C. We Will Worship Him.

1). There is a definite connection between seeing God’s holiness and worship (Psalm 30:4; 89:7; 99:5).

2). All the biblical characters I cited earlier in this lesson worshipped God when they saw His holiness.

3). But when we see God’s holiness, Our whole life becomes an act of worship. Our money, our jobs, our hobbies, our recreation—everything becomes an offering of worship to Him (Romans 12:1).

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

D. We Will Cultivate the Habit of Holiness.

1). First Peter says in several ways that because God is holy, we likewise ought to be holy (1:15; 2:5, 9)

1 Peter 1:15-16 (KJV)

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Peter 2:5 (KJV)

5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9-11 (KJV)

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

2). We are to be holy unto the Lord, set apart from the world.

E. We Will Be Like Him.

1). The day is coming when “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). We will become as beautiful as Christ Himself, beauty being defined as the absence of sin and therefore the reality of holiness.

1 John 3:1-3 (KJV)

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 2). That all begins with seeing your need for His Cross, your need to swap your “un-holiness” for His holiness