The Holiness of God.

Premise:

Understanding the holiness of God is essential to understanding the gospel.

Opening:

Good-morning again Connection church. We are now moving into a time of worshipping God through the reading and preaching of His Word. This is a sacred time where we hear the word of God read aloud and then we hear the preaching of the Word. I am so glad that you are here for this. It is a blessed command to gather together. This morning we will be reading Isaiah 6:1-7.

Introduction of the premise and text:

And this morning we will be focusing on one of three gospel essentials as we prepare our hearts for Easter. Every December, many churches participate in advent. This is a specific time of preparation for the study of the incarnation of Christ. It is a specific time where the church prepares itself for the study of one of the most important doctrines of our faith. Christ coming to earth is so central that an entire month is dedicated to it’s study. But it is more than mere study. There is a preparation of the heart involved. We sing certain songs. We read specific passages. We often pray specific prayers. All of this is done in an effort to prepare our hearts for the Christmas season.

Similarly around Easter, there is a practice known as lent. Now, lent can be observed in several different ways, but for the most part there are two main categories. Both involve fasting. They both involve the giving up of specific things in order to prepare our hearts for the study of the death and resurrection of Christ. The first practice is to fast in order to make yourself righteous. This is the Roman Catholic view. This is very poor theology. We cannot make ourselves righteous. Only God can make us righteous. And we cannot earn that through works. The second method is one observed by many protestants. It is to privately give things up as an act of worship in order to focus on Christ’s death and resurrection. This is holy and right. It is not something that is necessarily enforceable. It is private. It is to be observed in your own heart as an act of worship.

However, one thing I fear the mainline evangelical protestant church misses is the act of preparation for Resurrection Sunday as a church. I’ve been in church my entire life and I cannot remember a single event where our church as a whole did something in order to prepare themselves for the beauty of the resurrection of Christ. I’m not saying it never happens, but it is certainly rare for our liturgy as evangelical protestants to change and be crafted to prepare our hearts for the beauty of the study of the death and resurrection of Christ.

This is something I have been pondering over these past weeks. And it led me to the question of what are the gospel essentials? Not what are the essential elements of the believing the gospel unto salvation. But what are the essential elements of understanding the gospel? What must you grasp in order to understand the gospel? There are many things that could fit into this category. But what are the core ones? What must you understand in order to really understand the gospel. Of those many things, what are the central things?

Through much prayer, reading, and contemplation, I believe three of the most central things to understanding the gospel are to understand the holiness of God, the depravity of man, and the grace of salvation. Without these three, we miss the gospel. If you do not understand the holiness of God, you miss the gospel. If you do not understand your sin, you miss the gospel. If you do not understand the grace of salvation, you miss the gospel.

One must see the holiness of God. One must stare hard into the resplendent beauty and terror of a holy God in order to understand the first principle of the gospel. God is holy and just. God is perfectly righteous and majestic. God is completely holy.

One must see the depravity of man. One must come to the honest realization of the depth of one’s own sin in order to understand the second principle of salvation. Because of our sin against a holy God, we are rightly damned to hell. We have no righteousness or goodness of our own to bring. God is right and just to condemn us.

Finally, one must see the grace of salvation. One must come face to face with the wonder that God would save any in order to understand the fulness of the gospel. We cannot work to earn any of our righteous standing before God. We are saved by grace alone.

Why is Easter so wonderful? Why is the gospel such good news? Because God is completely holy, we are completely sinful, but salvation is by grace alone. Again, why is this good news? Because God is completely holy, we are completely sinful, but salvation is by grace alone.

So we are preparing our hearts for the beauty of the gospel. We are preparing our hearts for the blessed Lord’s Day where we study the grace of God. In order to do this, we are studying the holiness of God. So we will be in Isaiah 6:1-7. In this passage, Isaiah, the righteous prophet of God encounters the one true God. I would ask the congregation to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the text:

Isaiah 6:1-7

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filling with smoke.

5 Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!

For I am a man of unclean lips,

And I live among a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

7 And he touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.”

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Our Great God and Father, we come before you humbly. We are but specs before you. We confess that we so seldom, if ever, treat you as holy as you are. We say this with shame. Please forgive us. Please forgive us for our sin of coming before you with arrogance and pride. We as fallen humans are so tempted to attempt to be our own gods and treat you as our servant. This is blasphemy. We as you for humility and forgiveness. Do not leave us in this sin. Remove this sin from us. May we please see you as you are. May we please come to know the truth. That you are holy and we are not. We ask this, not according to our own power or ability. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our King. Amen.

Transition:

This passage is one of the most well known passages in Scripture, but I fear it is one of the least learned from passages. We do not tend to take this passage seriously. We neglect the implications. Let’s dive into the text. What is the context of this passage? What is the setting?

The Setting. V. 1.

Explanation:

This passage opens by claiming this happened in the year king Uzziah died. This is a significant moment. Uzziah was king for fifty-two years. He was crowned when he was sixteen. And Uzziah was a good king. Uzziah was one of the few good kings of Judah. He was not perfect, but he is recorded as being one of the very few good kings. He led well and was much loved by the people. He was a military champion. And according to this passage, the king is dead.

The King is dead.

This would be a time of great turmoil and fear. The king, a good king, has died. This would have been a time of great mourning and lamentation. The people would have been in great fear. What would Uzziah’s son be like as king? Would he be better than his father? Now that the war hero was dead, would the enemies attack? Would Jotham, Uzziah’s son, be strong enough to fend them off? This was the setting of Isaiah’s vision. Isaiah sees the Lord.

Isaiah Sees the Lord.

At this point, Isaiah sees God in the temple. Here there is some contention. Was Isaiah in the earthly temple, or was Isaiah caught up into heaven, to the true temple? The text does not give us this detail. But when compared to another passage in the Revelation, I believe this is the heavenly throne room. So I will refer to it as such. however, if this offends your theological sensibility, just ignore that. When Isaiah is caught up into the heavenly temple, he sees a spectacular sight. It is recorded that he sees the Lord, seated on a throne. This is the opening beauty of this passage. The king is dead, but the Lord is still on His throne. Nothing can dethrone the Lord of hosts. But Isaiah sees something interesting. He notes specifically the train of the robe of Lord.

The train of the King.

What is the significance of this? Well, in the ancient world, the garments of a king spoke to their glory, power, and authority. The more lavish and gaudy a garment, the more power and glory that king had. Tied to this was the length of a train. The train is the back part of the garment. One simply has to think of a wedding dress. Many brides have long trains on their wedding dresses. Well, the Lord’s robe was no ordinary robe. The train on that robe spilled over the throne and filled the entire temple. This was a signal that the Lord is the most high King. He is the one above all. He is the King of kings and the LORD of lords.

Transition:

But this is not all that is seen. Isaiah details the sights and sounds of the temple.

The Sights and Sounds. v. 2-4

Explanation:

In verses 2-4, Isaiah says; Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filling with smoke.

This is an amazing sight. Isaiah describes these creatures known as seraphim. This is the only place in Scripture that they are mentioned. They seem to be different than the cherubim. But apparently they are still some form of angelic being. They appear to be more closely linked with the four living creatures of the Revelation. But Isaiah describes the look of these incredible creatures.

The look of the Seraphim.

They have six wings. This is such a fascinating detail. As soon as we hear this the question comes to our mind, “Why do these creatures especially made to be in the presence of God have six wings? Well, Isaiah tells us. With two they cover their face. Two of their six wings are dedicated to covering their face. Two wings have the express purpose of shielding the eyes of the Seraphim from seeing God. One instantly thinks of Exodus 33 where Moses asks to see God.

18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then Yahweh said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

If you recall, when Moses came down off the mountain, his face shown so brightly that the people could not look at him. Well, the Seraphim who are in the presence of God day and night have two wings that cover their faces so that they do not die from the exposure to the very presence of God.

And with two wings, they cover their feet. This brings to memory when Moses encountered God in the wilderness as the burning bush. God told Moses to take off his sandals. The feet are special in a unique way. And these angelic creatures cover their feet from exposure to God’s presence.

And then with two more wings these creatures fly. And day and night they cry out in worship one to another. And this brings us to the words of the Seraphim.

The Words of the Seraphim.

One need look no farther than these words to understand why this passage would be chosen to speak of the holiness of God. There is a theological principle known as the simplicity of God. This does not mean that God is easy to understand. It means that God is not divided into parts. It deals with the attributes of God. It means that God is not part love or part justice. You cannot divide God into pieces. God is not 25% love. God is love. The attributes of God are who God is. God is love. God is just. God is wrath. God is righteous. But only one attribute of God is lifted to the third degree.

In our study of the gospel of Matthew, I have brought up several times that emphasis is communicated in Scripture through repetition. Jesus often begins His discourses by saying “Truly, truly.” Repetition signals importance or centrality. So when we hear something repeated, we must pay attention to it. So when we hear these angelic beings declaring God is holy, holy, holy; we must instantly be drawn into the statement. This is not something that is merely being emphasized. This is something that is lifted to the ultimate. God is not just holy. God is not even holy, holy. God is holy, holy, holy. No other descriptive about God is lifted to this level.

This means that if there were one thing to describe God, it would not be His love. It would not be His grace. It would not be His mercy. It would not be His justice. It would not be any of these. If there is one thing that describes God, it is His holiness. This means that in and through every single attribute of God, is His holiness. All of His other attributes exist within His holiness. If there is one word that sums up the nature and attributes of God, it is the word “HOLY.” If there is one praise to be given to God that is most worthy to be stated, it is “HOLY.” If there is one thing that can be said it is that God is “HOLY.”

But what does this cry mean? What does it mean that God is holy? The cry of holy speaks to God’s other-ness. He is completely other. He alone is truly holy. He is something totally distinct. He is something completely different. It also speaks to His righteousness and purity. Holiness speaks of moral purity and righteousness. He is the pure one. HE is the righteous one. He is good and pure. He alone can truly define these words. He is completely other and completely pure. This is what it means that God is Holy. He is not like us. In Him is no sin. He is Holy.

And Isaiah describes the reaction that His surroundings exhibit to this cry.

The Reaction to the Words.

In verse four, Isaiah says, “And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filling with smoke.”

These creatures are not just fascinating in their description and their words. They are fascinating in the reaction they garner from inanimate objects. The very foundations of the heavenly temple begin to tremble as the Seraphim cry out, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.” The very environment of God’s throne room is shaken and reacts to this cry. How holy is God? He is so holy that at the cry of praise to Him, the very pillars and foundation begin to tremble.

In His teaching series on the holiness of God, R.C. Sproul describes how if the inanimate objects tremble at the cry of God’s Holiness, how much more ought we to tremble? Think of this, the very ground begins to tremble at the cry of the Seraphim. The very ground trembles in sacred reverence to God. And yet this is not all. The very atmosphere begins to change. At the cry of “Holy, holy, holy,” the air begins to fill with smoke. The visual of smoke is often used to represent praise and worship. Often the image of smoke rising from the burning of incense is pictured as holy praise and reverence being offered up to God. In fact, many high churches still use this image in worship. But think of what is happening here. At the cry of the Seraphim, the air itself begins to worship. Out of thin air, smoke begins to boil. The air is offering itself up in worship to God. Smoke begins to fill the temple, just because God is being worshipped.

Transition:

This is the reaction that the very inanimate objects around Isaiah have. How does this prophet of God react? Verse five shows his reaction.

The Reaction. v. 5

Explanation:

Isaiah says, Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts.”

As we read this, we will see that Isaiah’s reaction is backwards of most people’s attitude toward God in our day. And yet, I would say that Isaiah has the only apropriate reaction. Isaiah reacts in horror.

Horror.

If you could summarize Isaiah’s response, it would have to be terror or horror. He is beyond fearful. He is filled with terror. He is panicked. He thinks his life has ended. And that makes perfect sense. If the inanimate objects are trembling, Isaiah has no right to do anything else. Here is a fallen, sinful man before YAHWEH. Here is the only apropriate response. And notice who Isaiah is. Isaiah is prophet. Isaiah is a good prophet. He is not a wicked man by human standards. This is a man who has dedicated his life to the service of God. By human standards, he would be considered to be one of the holy men. And yet, his first word is “Woe.”

Woe.

If you have been part of our study through the gospel of Matthew, then you will recognize that word. In chapter 23 of Matthew, Jesus issues woes against the Pharisees and Jerusalem. That word woe is one of two ways a prophet would begin his prophesy. The prophet, when giving an oracle, would begin with the words “woe” or “Blessed.” If the prophet began with “blessed” it was a prophesy of blessing and prosperity. If the prophet began with the word “woe,” it was a prophesy of divine wrath and judgement. SO we must not skip over the word woe in this passage.

Isaiah is declaring a judgement oracle against himself. Isaiah’s first oracle is one of judgement against himself. Why? Because he is a man of unclean lips, among a people of unclean lips, and he has seen Yahweh. No one could see God and live. And Isaiah knew what he was seeing. He was seeing the Lord. And now, justice would be for him to die. Think of how holy God is. God is so holy that the mere sight of Him demands the death of sinful men. Man is so sinful that the sight of God demands destruction. And it is not just demanded, the sinful desire it. Isaiah does not have judgement declared upon him by a seraphim, he declares it upon himself. Isaiah is saying, “Behold, I see God. I must now be destroyed.”

Destruction.

And this is perhaps where the old King James renders this best. “Woe is me! for I am undone” This is not just a woe. It is a woe of utter destruction. That word undone is one speaking of being un-made. It is utter ruin and an un-making. This is what is known technically as de-creation language. This is speaking of an unmaking. “Woe is me, for I am being un-created.” Isaiah is speaking of falling apart at the seams. He is so distraught that he is being unraveled. He is being un-made at the sight of Yahweh.

And we must ask why? Well, the answer is obvious. God is so holy, that the mere sight of Him is a sight that undoes the one seeing Him. The sight of God is worse than death for the sinner. It is the complete destruction. And Isaiah focuses on the lips. Think of the many passages of Scripture speaking of the purity of our words. We know that not one idle word will go un-judged. Every empty and vain word we speak is an affront to a holy God. To a sinner, one of unclean lips, the sight of God is an un-making.

Transition:

And this is the crux of this. We have a massive misunderstanding of God.

The Misunderstanding of God.

And perhaps that raises the question of why? Why ought we to have a good understanding of God? What is the necessity of understanding God?

The Necessity of understanding God.

Argumentation:

This is a foolish question. Many people have said there is no such thing as a stupid question. You all know that I don’t believe this. I have heard stupid questions. And this one. Why ought we to understand God? Why is it so important to know who God is? Knowing God is the most important thing in the universe! Knowing God is so important, that any other pursuit ought to be considered pointless. Nothing else can even compare. Scripture declares that God is the center of all glory and praise from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. God is the maker of all things. All things exist by Him and for Him. Nothing exists without Him. He is the moral center of all. He is the ultimate good and righteousness. He is the only true good there is. All praise and glory is due Him by nature of who He is. He deserves all glory and honor and praise. You have heard me quote this numerous times. The Westminster catechism asks, what is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

We Have No Idea Who God Is.

And this should terrify us. I believe that the central problem in the church today is that we have no idea who God is. We have lost the fear of the LORD. We have lost the fear of God. How many churches exist for the glory of God and function like that? The number is very few. How many Christians live their lives for the sole purpose of glorifying God? How many of us actively embody that old cry, “Soli Deo Gloria?” (Glory to God alone!)

Instead, the church has become a vehicle for entertainment. It has become a vehicle of social justice. How many modern worship services are crafted around the whims of the people rather than the glory of God? How many church programs start because of people? How many things are done with good motives, but neglecting the glory of God as it’s central concern?

I am not talking about the world. They openly hate God. They will judged for their wickedness. It is obvious that they do not seek to glorify God. We ought to cry out for them to repent and glorify God. But I am not speaking of them. I am speaking of the state of the church. How many Christians are ACTIVELY neglecting the glory of God. Let me ask you this, how often you even consider the glory of God? Does that question cross your mind once a month? Once a week? Maybe you’re a super Christian and it crosses your mind once a day.

The Fear this should instill in us.

Make no mistake. This ought to terrify us. This ought to instill such a sense of fear in us that we tremble in our seats. Listen to this text. Do you hear the holiness of God? Do you hear the extreme reverence given to God? Even the inanimate objects tremble before God, and we treat Him with indifference. We treat Him as a background player in our story. We want to know how God can benefit us. Make no mistake, God is the central figure of all of Creation. He is the one all of creation cries out “HOLY HOLY HOLY” to. You have the honor of being one of the voices crying out in praise to Him. But we treat God with such indifference. We treat the things of God with such melancholy.

The Most important thing in life is to know God.

We miss that the most important thing in life is to know God. Let me ask you this, what could be more important than knowing God? What could be more important than worshipping God? What could be more important than praising God? Whatever you answer that with is your god. If you fill anything in those questions, you are an idolater. You have a false god that you love more than the one true God. And this is the sin of misunderstanding God.

The Sin of Misunderstanding God.

Argumentation:

To misunderstand God is a sin. Some with bristle at this, but hear me out. To misunderstand God is to misrepresent Him. This is a serious crime. This is not a light offense. At best it is to bear false witness about God. At worst, it is open idolatry. What is worse is to be indifferent to God. Do you truly love something if you are indifferent to it? If I say I love my wife and son, and yet treat them with indifference, do I love them? If I refuse to give them my time, focus on my relationships with others over them, and neglect to provide anything for them, do I love them? No. So why do we claim to love God and worship Him when we do not spend time in His Word, neglect the gathering together on the Lords day, and prioritize everything else? We must understand the holiness of God.

The Holiness of God.

Argumentation:

The holiness of God is the central theme of all of creation. Everything exists to glorify God and declare His holiness. Everything exists for this purpose. Not one thing has ever existed outside of this purpose. God is the only one about whom we can say, “HOLY HOLY HOLY.” The purpose of life is not to make money. The purpose of life is not to be happy. The purpose of life is not to make others happy. The purpose of life is not to help others. The purpose of life is not to help your kids. Now, all of those things are good. But none of those are the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to join in with the seraphim and declare the holiness of God.

This is because God is the ultimate good. He is Holy. He alone is righteous and glorious. He alone is pure. He is so holy that the mere sight of Him declares death to the sinner. And this is the hopelessness of the holiness of God.

The Hopelessness of the Holiness of God.

Argumentation:

Isaiah was right when he declared his woe. He was completely right to be in that hopeless state. To see the holiness of God ought to result in an un-making. Isaiah had the right response. In the presence of pure, ultimate light, darkness cannot exist. In the presence of pure and ultimate holiness, sin cannot exist. And this is true of the sinful. In the presence of ultimate good and holiness and righteousness, the sinner must perish or face a fate worse than hell. This is the terror of being in the presence of God. Better to never have been made or be in the pits of torment in hell than for a sinner to face a holy God. Better to be torn to pieces by wild animals and face eternity at the hands of devils in hell than for a sinner to face a holy God.

But this is not where our story ends. We might expect Isaiah to burst into flames or be thrown out into hell. And yet, there is the hope of the holiness of God.

The Hope of the Holiness of God. v. 6-7

Verse six and seven say “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.7 And he touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.”

Isaiah was not left there. As he was declaring the right judgement due him, a seraphim flow over with a red hot coal from the altar of God. The coal was touched to Isaiah’s lips. This makes me cringe. I have been burned by red hot things before. One time, I seared my hand on a red hot piece of metal from a forge. I laid my right hand on it, not knowing it was there. I will never forget the pain and the sound. The skin sizzled. I was in pain for days. I was lucky it completely healed. But to think of having a red hot coal placed against the lips gives me shivers. To imagine the pain I had in my hand on the incredibly sensitive skin of my lips makes me squirm.

But notice the purpose of the coal. It was to remove the sin from Isaiah. Isaiah cried out that he was a man of unclean lips. But now, his lips have been cauterized. The open wound of his sin has been cauterized by the coal from the altar of God. Isaiah rightly deserved death and hell. But here is the hope. Sin cannot exist in the presence of God. God is so holy that sin cannot be in His presence. The hope is that God removes sin. It would be righteous and just for God to cast every sinner into hell the moment they sin. Indeed, it is a good thing on the final day when sinners are damned to their eternal fate. But God is gracious, slow to anger, abiding in steadfast love. For His children, in mercy, He removes the sin, rather than destroy the sinner.

This is why understand the holiness of God is essential to understanding the gospel.

Understanding the Holiness of God is Essential to Understanding the Gospel.

You cannot understand the gospel without understanding the holiness of God, the depravity of man, and the grace of salvation. You cannot understand the gospel without understanding the holiness of God. You must see the holiness of God before you can really know what the gospel is. Who is it you have sinned against? You have sinned against the holy one. You have sinned against the one who alone can be called “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.” The one who sits on the throne is the one who you have sinned against.

And yet, there are some who still object. There are those who say that this sermon is flawed by nature because we live in the new covenant. What Isaiah saw was the God of the Old Covenant. God was filled with wrath and judgement then, but now Jesus reigns and is filled with mercy and grace. Had Isaiah seen Jesus, he would not have been fearful. To that I ask, who did Isaiah see? Isaiah saw YAHWEH, the one true God. And yet, who did he see?

In the gospel of John, while speaking of why people rejected Jesus, John says this, “But though He had done so many signs before them, they still were not believing in Him,38 so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,40 “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and return and I heal them.”41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke about Him.”

Who did Isaiah see? Isaiah saw Jesus, seated on the heavenly throne. Those who openly say or even think that the emphasis on the holiness of God is only for the Old Testament are foolish and ignorant of Scripture. Nothing has changed. In fact, do you want to know what the throne room of heaven, where Jesus Christ sits in all authority over heaven and earth looks like?

Revelation 4:2-11 tells us. “Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and upon those thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.5 And out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.6 And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.7 And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”

9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,11

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Make no mistake, the purpose of all things is to give glory to God. You cannot understand the gospel without understanding that God is holy.

Transition:

And yet, we so seldom live like God is holy. We so seldom treat God like He is holy. One of the most heartbreaking things to me as a pastor is the lack of reverence for God. One of the things that absolutely breaks my heart is how God is not treated as holy. This keeps me up at night. This actually pains me. God, the one true God, is not treated as holy in the church.

Application:

So to you, the church, I give this charge. God is Holy. God is Holy, holy, holy. Act like it. Do you want to know how to act like it? I give you two questions. What are you worshipping? And How are you worshipping?

What Are You Worshiping?

It is easy to see what people revere. It is easy to see what people honor. We serve what we honor. What is worship? It is sacrifice or service. The word literally means service. So what do you worship? What do you give your time, effort, and money to? That is what you worship. I always say, people make time for what is important to them. We are a people who complain so much about time. I am guilty of this. I so often complain that I don’t have enough time. That is a common complaint. But time is a commodity. It is spent on things. What do you spend your time on? What is the priority of your time? This shows what you worship.

Picture time as a sacrifice laid on an altar. What altar do you lay your time on? Do you lay 40-50+ hours on the altar of work? That is often a necessity. We must work. We are commanded to work. But what else? Do you lay 20+ hours on the altar of your kids and their various activities? Do you lay more time on the altar of entertainment? How much time do you lay on the altar of freedom? Not let’s complicate it even more. Which altar do you run to first? When you find that you have some excess time in the bank of your life, which altar do you run to, excited to make your sacrifice to it? Which altar has the most well worn path to it? Now let’s get very personal, which altar is God’s? Where is the church? Is it the small altar in the back that you go to once a week for two hours, in order to appease a deity so that you can do all the others? Oh how gracious we are to God to gather once, maybe twice a week for a couple hours in order to worship Him. He should consider Himself lucky to get so much.

Now picture the same scenario for your effort. What do you poor effort into? Which altar is most worn? Which altar is your favorite? Where does Yahweh, the one true God rank? 3rd? 5th? Is it even fair to say He has an altar? Maybe it’s just a small stack of stones, not even given the effort of building a real altar.

What about money? How many of your altars are embossed in gold? How many altars are dipped in silver? Maybe, like most people, you go for quantity over quality. You aren’t one of those people who wants lavish altars. Maybe you want more altars rather than less fancy ones. But where is God? How much currency is burned on every other altar rather than God’s?

You see, we so often think we are so advanced. We aren’t like those people of old who worshipped other gods. We only use the word god for the one true God, so we are good, right? Wrong. We have so many other gods. We worship so many other things rather than God. This should be a clue that we are not treating God as holy. YAHWEH alone is holy. We ought to worship Him alone. We ought to glorify Him alone. He is God, all other things are not.

But what of the second question? How are you worshiping?

How Are You Worshiping?

Of the few hours a week you sacrifice to God, how are you worshiping? You can tell a lot about what someone worships by how they worship. Do you treat God as holy? Well, how do you worship? God has commanded us many things. He has given us commands on how to worship. We have direct commands and then principles. When crafting personal worship, or worshiping publicly together, are you more concerned with God or yourself? When singing praise, are you more concerned with your opinions on the songs or if they glorify God appropriately? When studying something, are you concerned with what God has said or with your own benefit first? This is not to say that you are to hate the songs we sing or to refuse to benefit from what God has said. But what is the primary concern? Are you primarily blown away by the fact that we can hear from God? Are you primarily concerned that the music we sign be glorifying to God? What is the primary?

And beyond this, how do you live your lives? Are your lives an act of worship to a holy God? In every aspect of your lives do you consider what God has said? “I am about to do ______. What has God said about doing ______?”

Since God is holy, and since we claim to worship God, we ought to worship God as Holy.

The Gospel:

But what do we do when we fail? Clearly we ought to offer our lives as sacrifices unto our holy God. But we are still sinners. We can never do this perfectly. We ought to pray and ask God for help. “Help us Lord. Help us to offer our time, effort, and money to you in worship. Help us to worship you how you have commanded.” And then we must remember the coal from the altar. We are not saved by our works. We are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Yes, we do good works. Yes, we ought to live holy lives. And we ought to remember, that God has given us grace and forgiveness. We are saved by grace. When we fail, we remember that the blood of Christ washes us from all of our sins. And then, in light of this, we obey with all the more enthusiasm and joy. Why?

Because you cannot understand the gospel without understanding the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, and grace of salvation. God is holy and pure. We are sinful and wicked, deserving of death and hell. But God in grace has saved us and cleansed us from our sin to live holy and pure lives before Him.

Prayer:

Closing Doxology:

Closing Benediction:

1 Peter 1: 15-19 “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your conduct;16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”17 And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your sojourn,18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile conduct inherited from your forefathers,19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”