Holiness The Command of God

I. Holiness is commanded by God

1. Commanded by God's Word -

A. 1 Peter 1:15-16 Be ye Holy; for I am holy

1. The phrase "Be ye Holy" is found 7 times in the Bible. 2 times in New Testament and 5 in the Old.

2. It means what it says. Be Holy. But what does that mean?

"Being holy involves dedicating our entire souls and bodies to doing what’s good in G-d’s eyes, today and in this world." FB post Mon. a.m. from the Temple Institute "A Call To Holiness"

A. The problem with this statement is that it leaves out the cross. To be holy, means our un-holiness must be removed. ((Rom 12:1) 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. ((1Th 5:23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

B. Holy (hagios) as H.C. Vanwormer put it, “Expresses the positive experiential purposes of God’s choice. This word expresses more than ceremonial holiness. It expresses the inner moral difference which prevails when God’s grace is operating in the heart. It refers to the inner spiritual quality.

C. Heb. 12:14 Follow peace with all men and Holiness (hagiasmos) without which no man shall see the Lord.

a. Thayer defines Holiness in this verse as "The effect of consecration, sanctification of heart and life"

C. 1Th 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

2. Commanded by God's Holiness.

Biblical Holiness relies on the fact that God is absolutely holy. The Seraphim’s who as one minister called them are guardians of His holiness, cry "Holy, Holy, Holy," not only in Isaiah's vision but also John the Revelator in Rev. 4:8 saw something very similar.

“The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love, or mercy, mercy, mercy, or wrath, wrath, wrath, or justice, justice, justice. It does say that He is holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory." R.C. Sproul The Holiness of God (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1985), p. 40

Even the Third person of The Blessed Trinity, The Holy Spirit, conveys this thought.

When we use the word 'holy' in reference to God, we are not just adding another attribute to the long list. When we say God is holy we use it synonymously with His deity. It brings focus to the fact that all we know of God is holy, we would say, "God's love is holy, his justice is holy, his mercy is holy, his wrath is holy etc."

We can see this with

Moses Num 20:1-13, 27:12-14

Uzzah 2 Sam. 6:1-11

Isaiah 6:1-10 - Inanimate objects moved when confronted with the Holiness of God. What about us?

A. Holy "signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character..." Webster

1. Holy comes from the Greek word hagios which comes from the root word hagos meaning "an awful thing)

A. Not a derogatory term but so holy it's disturbing to our carnality. Isaiah’s vision.

B. Sproul tells us that it comes from an ancient word meaning to separate or cut, perhaps we could use the phrase "a cut above"

Charles Ryrie says, "Holiness is the absence of evil and the presence of positive right

"We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine. " Tozer Knowledge of the Holy p 104

In heaven the angels cover their faces to hide themselves from the holiness of God, Moses was hid and could only steal a glimpse of His holiness after he walked by, we are commanded to be holy because he is holy (notice not as he is) how can we ever attain? as A.W. Tozer says, "We must like Moses cover ourselves with faith and humility while we steal a quick look at the God whom no man can see and live.... we must hide our un-holiness in the wounds of Christ as Moses hid himself in the cleft of the rock while the glory of God passed by. We must take refuge from God in God" Knowledge of the Holy 106-107)

God's holiness is not just my poorly grasped concept of holiness multiplied an infinite number of times, it is far beyond what we can even begin to understand. It is a holiness so pure that it cannot stand to look at sin, a holiness so powerful that the earth trembles and shakes whenever it come's near, a holiness so majestic that the seraphim’s bow before him all eternity declaring, "Holy, Holy, Holy"

3. Commanded By God's Redemption

1. Saves to Sanctify

A. Out of Egypt into Canaan

B. He suffered without the gates that he might sanctify his people with his own blood.

2. The Whole purpose of redemption.