The Holiness of God
It is amazing that we consistently teach that God is loving or forgiving or even all powerful but few place as much emphasis as needed on His holiness. This is not to say that God isn't loving, forgiving, or powerful but to stress that if the bible were to be seriously studied, God places special emphasis on His holiness. The scriptures make it clear from the beginning that God is the one and only. There is none like Him and He has no equal.
There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 1 Sam 2:2
And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 1Sam 6:20
Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy Ps 99:9
In fact, the very first commandment of Moses commands us to only worship Him.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me Ex 20:3
And the next two command us not to make any image or likeness to worship or serve,
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Ex 20:4,5
and not to take His name (which is so holy that the Israelites who not pronounce it but would use the letters instead), in vain.
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain Ex 20:7
God stressed His holiness in every aspect of the Israelite life. Not only was He to be exalted and set apart, He command that the sacrifices to Him be as well. Nothing unclean or blemished He would accept.
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish Ex 29:1
The men who came to offer the sacrifices had to be consecrated unto God. This was called the office of the priest.
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office Ex 28:41
God's insistence on being set apart and worshiped as the perfect and pure Creator that He is does not only apply to men on earth. God is reverenced in heaven the same way He should be revered on earth. In one of Isaiah's visions, there is a gathering of angels around the thrown of God. The only thing that the angels would chant was a proclamation of God's holiness.
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. Isaiah 6:1-3
Think about it. The angels did not chant "Righteous, righteous, righteous," or "Love, love, love." Surely they would say whatever God wanted. How does God want to be known? "Holy, holy, holy."
Holiness of Christians
It is obvious that we are to be different, pure, and dedicated to God. The main thing a Christian is to be is an imitator of Christ. The bible plainly states why we must be holy.
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy 1 Peter 1:16
It is not God's wish that we are offensive or rude to anyone.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Roman 12:18
But is is also clear that God sees us as a different people who are consecrated unto Him.
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 2:5,9
We get our instructions from Him and live to please God and God alone. As such, when the rules of the world and the rules of God contradict, it is God who we follow.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17
This means that to be holy, we must sometimes break fellowship with those who may cause us to break fellowship with God.
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Cor 6:14-18
It is also imperative that we use extra discernment when in the company of other confessed Christians. God is serious about our holiness and the company we keep can damage our testimony. Because we are a living testimony to others, we are not even suppose to eat lunch with people who are decidedly wicked because it will be assumed by others that you share their views.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one no not to eat. Cor 5:7-11
Holiness versus Defilement
Defilement is the opposite of holiness. Defilement is a state of being impure, profane, common, and blemished. There is a lesson God teaches that sums up the reason for His insistence for holiness in the children of God. This lesson can be found in the book of Haggai.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. Haggai 2:11-14
The lesson is broken into two questions.
The first is: Since a man who is carrying holy flesh, (meat for sacrifice), is sanctified (see Lev. 6:27), can he transfer his sanctification to what he touches? The answer is, no.
The second question is: Since a man who touches a corpse is defiled, can he transfer his defilement to things he touches? The answer is, yes. The point is this: Sanctification and cleanness cannot be transferred, but defilement can.
(We see this everyday is something as simple as health. Good health is not contagious but disease can be). So then the sins and disobedience of the world is like a disease contaminating them. God wants Christians to steer clear of them so that we will not get infected. The only hope for the world is Jesus Christ. It is the holy life of the believer, the difference in us that the the world sees that should bring them to ask, "What must I do to be saved."
The Bible has several scriptures that emphasize the complete forgiveness of God to those of us who accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. Every sin that we commit before our acceptance of Christ (with the exception of the unpardonable sin- blaspheming the Holy Spirit) are totally wiped clean and we are given a new slate. Unfortunately, our new position as child of God does not eradicate our sin nature. Because of this, we still can and do sin against God after accepting Christ. Still God, who knows this, has given us a way to be righteous before Him even after our personal sins. Some teach that since we are totally forgiven after our confession we shouldn't feel bad about sinning. This is totally false.
The Benefits of Feeling Pain
One thing that scoffers point to to disprove the existence of an all powerful and all loving God, is the existence of pain. How could such a God, they reason, allow such terrible suffering on mankind? One obvious benefit to pain is that it points out that something is wrong. If I am jogging and feel a sharp pain in my chest, it may prompt me to go to the doctor to see what's wrong. The doctor examines me and determines that I have suffered a slight heart attack and that if I had continued jogging I may have died. So then, the pain was a warning device to keep me from doing more damage to myself. The same thing goes for cutting my leg, stubbing my toe, crushing my hand and so on. None of these things will feel good but all of these things need to be attended to and not ignored.
The convicton of the Holy Spirit
Once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit takes residence inside of us. One of the Holy Spirit's major functions is to comfort the believer in times of suffering for righteousness sake and to convict the believer in times of sinfulness and rebellion. In other words, when a Christian does good things and suffers because of them, He (the Holy Spirit) lets them know that God is with them. He sees their sufferings and will reward them for them in due time. On the other hand, He also lets the sinning Christian know that God sees and is not pleased. Knowing this should bring an internal discomfort, a spiritual uneasiness called conviction. A Christian that feels conviction, immediately turns away from their sin and asks God for forgiveness can avoid divine punishment. If the Christian chooses not to acknowledge it and continue sinning, they may incur the wrath of God and divine chastening. As our heavenly Father, God may see fit to spiritually punish us. Just like our physical ailments, the conviction of the Holy Spirit does not feel good to us but it is good for us.
If a child approaches a hot iron and remembers that his mother has instructed him not to play with it, he will look around before picking it up. As soon as it burns his skin he will yell and release it. Even if the child is not caught he may never pick up the iron again. But if the child was not punished, why wouldn't he continue to play with it. The answer is simple, the pain.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:11
No Dead Souls Allowed
God has placed the Holy Spirit in us to prove that He is alive in us.
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 1 Peter 3:18
The word "Quickened" in the KJV or the Bible means alive. Our spirit is alive when we can still feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. A person who can keep sinning and feel no conviction is spiritually dead. This is not good because a spiritually dead person will not see God.
As you can see, spiritual conviction is an necessary part of the Christian life. Without it, we will see ourselves as more righteous than we are and therefore not seek a remedy for our spiritual illnesses (called sins.) We will seek churches that are more concerned about comforting us in our sins ("its OK God loves you") than reprimanding and eradicating them (you are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus). We believe, as Christians, what human will power and determination can not achieve, the power of God can. Because of this, the teaching of not feeling bad about our sins leaves us in a position that is outside the will of God and may put us in danger of hearing these words, 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matt 7:23
In short, the only way not to feel bad about our sins is to not do them anymore. When we achieve this through the power of God, the same sermon that use to convict us is now the one that comforts us. The Bible is not supposed to change to fit our lives, we are supposed to change our lives to fit the Bible.
At this point it should be clear that God is holy and he expects his followers to be holy as well. However, if nothing else convinces you to live a pure, undefiled and dedicated life for God, let me leave you with this.
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
