The Holiness of God

Bread

The Lion Loosed

11 “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Exodus 15:11 (NIV)

25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Isaiah 40:25 (NIV)

5 “To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?”

Isaiah 46:5 (NIV)

2 “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”

1 Samuel 2:2 (NIV)

13 Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?

Palms 77:13 (NIV)

28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, 29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

1 Chronicles 16:28-29 (NIV)

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. 9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

Palms 96:3-10 (NIV)

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

Isaiah 6:1-4 (NIV)

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.’”

Leviticus 19:1-2 (NIV)

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16 (NIV)

Butter

The Lesson Learned

“There is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God, but the intense, blazing holiness of God.” Oswald Chambers

“His holiness is a pledge for the assurance of His promises. Power is His hand, omniscience His eye, mercy His heart, eternity His duration, but holiness His beauty. It renders Him lovely and gives beauty to all His attributes. Every action of His is free from all hints of evil. Holiness is the crown of all His attributes, the life of all His decrees, and the brightness of all His actions. Nothing is decreed by Him and nothing is acted by Him that is not consistent with the beauty of His holiness.” Stephen Charnock

“That which will elevate the soul must be more excellent than the soul.” George Swinnock

“It is not the constant thought of their sins, but the vision of the holiness of God that makes the saints aware of their own sinfulness.” Anthony Bloom

“The pervasive sinfulness of human beings becomes evident when contrasted with the radiant holiness of God.” Richard J. Foster

“A true love of God must begin with delight in His holiness...; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.” Jonathan Edwards

“The nature of divine holiness is freedom from all evil. God is separate from every shade of evil. He acts according to the likeness of His own excellence and abhors everything contrary to it. There is no darkness in His understanding, and no spot in His will. His mind is possessed with all truth, and there is no deviation in His will from it. He loves all truth and goodness, and He hates all falsity and evil. He loves righteousness and has no pleasure in wickedness. He values purity in His creatures, and detests all impurity whether inward or outward. He knows what is right, and must do what is just.” Stephen Charnock

Regarding the pursuit of holiness, Scottish Pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne writes:
“I know you will apply hard to German, but do not forget the culture of the inner man – I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his saber clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument – I trust, a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”

“It is one thing to love the ways of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to hold to them in the face of discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap and easy, but the practical clinging to the Lord, which must show itself in holy devotion to truth and holiness, is no small matter.” Alistair Begg

“To love Jesus is to love holiness.” David Smithers

“All we ever want for you is to be: radical about grace and relentless about truth and resolute about holiness and vows and the real hills worth dying on.” Ann Voskamp

“Professing Christian, is sin subdued in you? If your life is unholy, your heart is unchanged; and if your heart is unchanged, you are an unsaved person. If the Savior has not sanctified you, renewed you, given you a hatred of sin and a love of holiness, He has done nothing in you of a saving character. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people not in their sins but from them ". . . for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."1 "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."2 If not saved from sin, how shall we hope to be counted among His people? Lord, save me now from all evil, and enable me to honor my Savior.” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“If you are really the chosen of God, and beloved by Him, do not allow all this lavish treasure of grace to be wasted on you. Pursue holiness; it is the Christian's crown and glory. An unholy church is useless to the world and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell’s laughter, heaven's abhorrence.” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Heart Savor

The Lion Roars

  • We are never to be lacking in zeal but keep our spiritual fervor serving the Lord.
  • We are to be zealous for the Lord’s great Name – through His power for His glory.
  • Create in me a pure heart and a steadfast spirit Oh Lord.