GOD'S HOLINESS

What is holiness?

Let's first define what we mean by holiness. The primary meaning of the word holy is ‘separate.’ God is altogether different from us; He is separate and distinct from, over and above everything He has created. He is not subject to creaturely weaknesses or limitations. Furthermore, the God of the Bible is unique and without equal. (See Exodus 15: 11; 1 Samuel 2: 2; Psalm 86: 8-10, 99: 1-3; Isaiah 40: 25, 57: 15.)

The word holy also means that God is altogether good. He is morally pure; totally untainted by and separate from sin. In Him there is 'no darkness at all'. (1 John 1: 5; see also Psalm 24: 3-5; Isaiah 6: 3-5; Habakkuk 1: 13a).

The word holy describes who God is in the totality of His being. In a sense, holiness is not a separate characteristic to be listed alongside the other aspects of His character. God's holiness relates to everything that He is.

Paul Tripp says:

'God's holiness is not an aspect of who he is or what he does; no, God's holiness is the essence  of who he is. If you were to ask, 'How is the holiness of God revealed?' the only right answer would be, 'In everything he does.' Everything God thinks, desires, speaks and does is utterly holy in every way.

God is holy in every attribute and every action: He is holy in justice. He is holy in love. He is holy in mercy. He is holy in power. He is holy in sovereignty. He is holy in wisdom. He is holy in patience. He is holy in anger. He is holy in grace. He is holy in faithfulness. He is holy in compassion.'2

God's holiness and our sinfulness

So how does God's holiness relate to our sin? It is sometimes said that because God is holy, He cannot 'look on' sin. But this is hard to reconcile with the fact that Jesus - the Son of God - freely mixed with and became known as the friend of sinners.

The idea that God cannot 'look on sin' comes from Habakkuk 1: 13a. God has told Habakkuk that He is about to use the Babylonians to bring judgement on His people Israel and Habakkuk is struggling to understand how God can use a nation whose sins are worse than those of His own people to bring about His purposes.

'It is in this context that the perplexed prophet says, 'Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing'. The key to understanding this statement is found in the parallelism of the poetry. 'Look on' is parallel with 'tolerate.' Habakkuk is pointing to God’s holiness and saying, 'You are too holy to look favourably on evil.'

We use a similar expression today. Our English word 'countenance' can mean 'face' and it can also mean 'to sanction or approve of'. When someone says, 'I cannot countenance that behaviour' he or she is expressing disapproval of that behaviour. In similar fashion, when Habakkuk says of God, 'Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,' he means that God’s holy nature guarantees that He will not sanction sin. God cannot look upon wickedness with favour - so, the prophet asks, why would He allow the Babylonians to overrun Judah?

God knows about sin, and He is present when it’s committed. He does not wink at sin or turn a blind eye to it. He sees it but as Habakkuk rightly asserts, He cannot see it favourably. What bothered the prophet is that, in using the Babylonians to punish Judah, God seemed to be countenancing the Babylonians’ idolatry, violence, and greed. God assures His prophet in chapter 2 that the sins of Babylon will not be tolerated either. The Babylonians were dispatched as God’s instrument to judge the wickedness of Judah, and the Babylonians’ own sin will also be judged. But judgement will come in God’s time and in His way.'3

Unfortunately, the idea that God cannot 'look on' sin has been used to suggest that God must always separate Himself from us when we sin. He cannot be in the presence of sin. It is said that this is why, when Jesus 'became sin for us' the Father had to turn away from Him in revulsion. And this idea has also been used to suggest that when a Christian sins, the Holy Spirit withdraws Himself from him or her. But neither of these things are true. Jesus spent much of His time in the presence of sinners. He did not withdraw from them. Rather He was present with them showing them love, mercy and compassion while at the same time calling them to repentance and offering them forgiveness for their sins.

God cannot look favourably on sin but that does not mean that He must turn away from it or remove Himself completely from its presence. The truth is that while God cannot overlook our sin, He is present with us even in our sinfulness, calling us to repentance and offering us His grace and mercy to help us overcome and turn from it so that we might find forgiveness, healing and restoration.

The problem with God's holiness in relation to our sinfulness is actually the other way round from the way we often think of it. It is us human beings in our sinfulness who cannot stand to be in God's presence, rather than God in His holiness who cannot stand to be in ours. His holiness exposes our sinfulness in all its ugliness.

When Isaiah stood in God's presence, seeing Him high and exalted and hearing the angels calling to one another 'Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord Almighty' he felt a deep sense of his own sinfulness and and cried out 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips' (Isaiah 6: 4-6). It is not God's instinct to flee from Isaiah, but Isaiah's to flee from God.

When Peter first began to grasp who Jesus was, he too felt a keen sense of his own unworthiness. He fell to his knees and cried out 'Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man' (Luke 5: 8). It was not Jesus who said, 'Depart from me, Peter, for I am holy.' It was Peter who said to Jesus, 'Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.'

When John the apostle saw a vision of the risen, exalted Lord Jesus on the island of Patmos he says he 'fell at his feet as though dead' (Revelation 1: 17).

'The John who once walked with our Lord and even reclined on his breast (John 13: 23) now falls before Him as a dead man, overcome by His holiness and glory.'1

To be in the presence of God and to be aware of His unveiled glory, majesty and holiness always proves to be a profoundly uncomfortable experience for sinful human beings.  So it is not so much that God is uncomfortable in our presence because of our sinfulness; it is much more that as sinful human beings we are profoundly uncomfortable in God's presence because of His holiness. In God's presence our sinfulness is laid bare and our every instinct is either to flee for our lives or to fall to our knees and plead for mercy.

God holiness and His people's holiness

God's holiness means that He cannot be associated with anything that is evil. To have fellowship with such a God requires us to be holy as He is holy. Amos asks: 'Can two walk together unless they are agreed? (Amos 3: 3 NKJV) God's people both in the Old and New Testaments are told: 'Be holy as I am holy' (Leviticus 11: 44, 1 Peter 1: 16). And Jesus tells His disciples: 'Be perfect, therefore, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5: 48).

The seriousness with which God intends this to be taken is underscored by two shocking incidents in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.

Moses Strikes The Rock

In Numbers 20: 1-13 we read of how Moses strikes a rock with his staff, rather than speak to it as God had instructed him, in order to provide water for the Israelites. God then tells Moses that He will not see the promised land: 'because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel' (verse 12). And by dealing severely with Moses for his transgression, God is said to have 'proved Himself holy among them' (verse 13).

Bob Deffinbaugh comments:

'I always thought Moses sinned merely by striking the rock which somehow, like the burning bush of years earlier (see Exodus 3), was a manifestation of the presence of God. But the root sin here was irreverence and that irreverence was the cause of Moses’ disobedience and his striking the rock. Moses’ anger with the people overcame his fear of God. His fear of God should have overcome his anger with the Israelites. God took Moses’ irreverence most seriously.'1

Uzzah Tries To Steady The Ark

2 Samuel 6: 1-11 tells the story of the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem after it had been captured by the Philistines. Bob Deffinbaugh comments:

'The ark was a symbol of the presence of God, a most holy object (2 Samuel 6: 2). It was to be hidden in the holiest place in the tabernacle, the 'holy of holies.' According to God’s instructions, it was to be transported by the Kohathites who carried it by holding onto poles inserted through its attached rings (Exodus 25: 10-22; Numbers 4: 1-20). No one was to look into the ark or they would die.

'The day the ark was transported to Jerusalem was a great and happy moment. But they had forgotten how holy this ark was, because it was the place where God’s presence was to abide. Rather than transporting the ark as instructed in the law, the ark was placed on a new ox cart. It was a most jubilant procession as the ark made its way home. But when the oxen stumbled, and it looked as though the cart might be overturned and hurled to the ground, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. Instantly, he was struck dead by God.

David’s first response was frustration and anger with God. Why had God been so harsh with Uzzah? David seems to have forgotten God’s instructions about how the ark was to be transported. He also seems to have forgotten how many had previously died when due reverence for the presence of God associated with the ark was not shown. God had spoiled their celebration and David was miffed. Only upon reflection did David realise the gravity of the error. God had struck Uzzah dead because of his irreverence (verse 7).

Irreverence is a dangerous malady. Even when our motives are sincere and we are actively involved in the worship of God, we must constantly be mindful of the holiness of God and maintain a reverence for Him manifested by our obedience to His instructions and commands.'1

Ananias and Sapphira Tell A Lie

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is told in Acts 5: 1-11. Bob Deffinbaugh comments:

'In the early days of the church...when needs arose, Christians would sell some of their possessions and lay the proceeds at the feet of the apostles for them to distribute (see Acts 2: 44-45; 4: 34-37). Ananias and Sapphira did likewise, but with a divided heart and in a deceptive way. They sold a piece of property but kept back a part of the proceeds for themselves. They gave the remainder of the money to the apostles as though it were the whole amount. When their sin was exposed to Peter, he confronted them, and both of them died. Great fear came upon the entire church, not to mention the rest of the community.

'I have always concentrated on the fact that this couple lied, which they did. But in the context of studying the holiness of God, two additional details seem of more import than I had previously thought. First, these two lied to the Holy  Spirit. Their deception was an offense to God’s holiness. It was also an act which could have had a leavening effect on the church itself (see also 1 Corinthians 5: 6-7). Just as the generosity of Barnabas encouraged others to give - in the  same way, the half-hearted, deceptive act of Ananias and his wife could have adversely affected others in the church by encouraging them to do likewise. Remember that it is now the church that is the dwelling place of God upon the earth. God is holy, and thus His church must be holy as well. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was an affront to the holiness of God in His church.'1

These three stories, and others beside, remind us that God will not tolerate ongoing sin in the lives of His people. We who have come to know the grace of God must not treat that lightly as if our sinfulness no longer matters. God's attitude to sin remains fixed, and while He has provided a way of escape for us from its consequences, through the blood of Jesus, if we are to have true fellowship with Him our attitude to sin must be the same as His, remembering that it was our sinfulness that cost Jesus His life.

The author of Hebrews warns us: 'Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10: 28-29)

To be in a covenant relationship with a holy God necessarily means that as His people we must deal as ruthlessly with sin as God does. We must not trifle with it or take it lightly. The privilege of being a people who bear His Name brings with it the obligation to reflect His nature to those around us. God is committed to vindicating His Name - or His reputation - in the world. If as His people we are in trouble or danger we can call on Him to rescue, protect, and care for us 'for the sake of His Name.' If we are in need we can trust Him to provide for us 'for the sake of His Name.' But equally, if we are bringing His Name into disrepute by our sinful behaviour, we can expect God to discipline us 'for the sake of His Name'. As a holy God He simply refuses to be associated with sin in any way. He cannot condone it in the lives of His people. If we continue to sin and refuse to repent, we will come under God's  judgement. It is no light matter for us as the people who are known by God's name to trifle with sin in our lives.

God's holiness and the cross

What, then, is the connection between God's holiness and the cross? What is it about God's holiness that makes the cross necessary? What is it about the cross that satisfies the demands of God's holiness?

God's holiness demands that our sin be cleansed

When Isaiah came face to face with God, as we have seen, he became deeply conscious of his own sinfulness. He expresses this in terms of having 'unclean lips' and of living among a people of 'unclean lips'. His sinfulness makes him 'unclean' or 'unfit to be in God's presence'. This suggests that what the prophet needs in order to stand in God's presence is cleansing. And so in Isaiah 6: 7 we read that a burning coal (taken from the altar of sacrifice) touches his lips and he is told: 'Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.'

There is a connection then between the altar of sacrifice and Isaiah's cleansing. In the Old Testament it was by means of the sacrificial system that God's people were cleansed from their sins. Here we are told that it was because Isaiah's sin had been atoned for that his guilt had been taken away. All that stood between him and a holy God had been removed by means of a sacrifice of atonement.

We shall explore the nature and significance of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament in more detail later, but for now let us note that their purpose was to make atonement for the sins of the worshiper and that the result of atonement having being made in this way is that the worshiper is 'cleansed' from his sin. 

The author of Hebrews says: 'The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!' (Hebrews 9: 13-14)

What Isaiah needed was cleansing. What David prayed for when made aware of his sinfulness following his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah was cleansing. 'Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart O God.' (Psalm 51: 2, 7, 10). In answer to the question 'Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?' David gives the answer, 'The one who has clean hands and a pure heart' (Psalm 24: 3-4).

In order to stand in the presence of a Holy God, sinful human beings need cleansing. This is what the Old Testament sacrifices of atonement achieved for the people of Israel - but, as the author of Hebrews reminds us, they only ever symbolised the reality of what was to come. It is the blood of Christ alone that truly and effectually cleanses us from all sin.

The blood of Jesus cleanses us

1 John 1: 7-9 tells us: 'If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' These verses underscore for us that it is as we 'walk in the light' and as we 'confess' our sins that we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus is the 'blood of the covenant.' On the night He was betrayed Jesus invited His disciples to drink wine saying: 'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins' (Matthew 26: 27–28). The blood of Jesus secures the promises of the new covenant described in Jeremiah 31: 31-34. This new covenant has now come into effect through the blood of Jesus.

However, the promises of the new covenant are not unconditional. It is only by faith in Jesus that its benefits are made available to us. For John, our faith is shown as we 'walk in the light' and 'confess our sins'.

As we shall see, the Bible speaks of progressive sanctification - being more and more conformed to the image of Christ. We are not completely cleansed from sin, in the sense that we become sinlessly perfect, at the moment of our conversion. Instead, our guilt is removed by the blood of Jesus and we are 'set apart' for God. A process of cleansing then begins that will continue for the rest of our lives.

This process of cleansing involves the Word of God. (See Psalm 119: 9; John 15: 3; Romans 12: 2; Ephesians 5: 26.) It also involves the work of the Spirit. (See Romans 8: 13; Galatians 5: 16, 18, 23.) But none of this is automatic. Our active cooperation is required. We must 'pay attention' to what God says and seek to live by it. We must 'walk in the Spirit,' 'live by the Spirit' and 'keep in step with the Spirit' in order to 'put to death the misdeeds of the body.'

In His holiness God both requires and provides for our cleansing. The blood of Jesus is the basis on which we are cleansed from the guilt of sin at conversion and on which the promises of the new covenant are secured, guaranteeing access to God and the work of the Spirit in our lives so that, as we commit by faith to an ongoing process of sanctification we may increasingly become like Jesus and so bring glory to the God to whom we belong.

The blood of Jesus makes us holy

God's ultimate purpose in allowing sinful men to put Jesus to death on the cross was to purchase for Himself a holy people. In 1 Peter 2: 9, Peter tells the Christians to whom he is writing that having been purchased by the 'precious blood of Christ' (1: 19) they are now 'a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.'

In Ephesians 5: 25-26 Paul makes the connection between the cross of Christ and the holiness of God's people even more explicit: 'Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.'

'The eternal purpose of God in Christ is for us to be holy. God has saved you by the Holy Spirit to make you His holy people (2 Thessalonians 2: 13; 1 Peter 1: 2; Ephesians 5: 25-27).

Jesus Christ died to make us holy. The purpose of God in the atoning death of His Son for our sins is to save us from the penalty of sin, and to set us apart to God to become like His Son (Romans 8: 29). Our eternal destiny is to be conformed to the image of God in Christ Jesus (1 John 3: 3).'4

The words 'saint' and 'sanctify' come from the same Greek root as the word 'holy' and carry the idea of being 'set apart'. The believer is set apart for God by the Holy Spirit. The 'saint' is a person set apart for God, enjoying a holy standing before God in Christ Jesus, with the obligation of living a holy life (1 Peter 1: 15-16).

'The evidence of the new birth is righteous behavior in the life of the believer. Sanctification is evident in a changed life. God changes us from the inside out (2 Corinthians  5: 17).

The Christian is responsible for his inner life and outward walk. All areas of our life should be in the process of being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Sin is abnormal and unnatural for the believer. The Christian does not experience the sinless life perfectly on this earth (1 John 1: 8, 10); however we do overcome sin through the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 16-21).

Holiness can be perfected, i.e. completed or matured (Phiippians 3: 8-16). A maturing, or growing holiness, is an increased Christ-likeness (2 Corinthians 3: 18). It is a progressive sanctification, not sinless perfection.

We will receive glorification when we see Jesus in heaven, and not before then. Until then, we are to grow in His likeness (1 John 3: 3). Our responsibility is to yield ourselves to the inner working of the Holy Spirit and keep on growing in His likeness (James 4: 8).'4

So we must never teach the cross in such a way that it absolves us of any responsibility to live holy lives, as some versions of Penal Substitution appear to do, when quite the opposite is true. By accepting the sacrifice of Jesus as the basis on which we may be forgiven, we are accepting the terms of the new covenant which require on our part a commitment to holy living by faith in the promises of God, secured by the blood of Jesus.

Holiness is costly

As God's holy people, we must not be under any illusion about the cost of living a holy life in this world. It was Jesus' life of holiness that led to Him being crucified. And the cross reminds us that as it was for Jesus, so it is likely to be for us. Living a holy life will inevitably mean having to endure suffering in one way or another.

Bob Deffinbaugh says:

'Throughout the life and ministry of our Lord on the earth, it became increasingly clear this was no ordinary man; indeed, He was more than a prophet and more than a mere man. This was the Son of God. Even the demons had to acknowledge Him as the 'Holy One of God' (Mark 1: 24; Luke 4: 34). The things Jesus said and did marked Him out as One who stood head and shoulders above any other (merely human) being.'1

It was this aspect of His life, teaching and ministry that angered the religious leaders so much that they wanted to get rid of Him. It was His moral purity that came through in everything He said and did that exposed their sinfulness and their hypocrisy. It laid bare the inadequacy of their own righteousness. They chose to get rid of Him, rather than face up to the truth with which He confronted them. There was no other way in which they could save face. 

And so the cross reminds us that to live holy lives in this world is likely to be costly. Jesus Himself warned His disciples: 'In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world' (John 16: 31).

Conclusion

The atonement is the means by which the cleansing demanded by God's holiness is secured and by which we become His holy people. But does any of this require the punishment of a substitute in place of the guilty party? I do not believe so.

The Bible clearly teaches that God's holiness means that our sin must be cleansed but nowhere does it say that God's holiness means that our sin must be punished. In my view, therefore, it is wrong to say that Jesus was punished in our place or that the Father poured out His wrath on His Son because God's holiness demanded it. God's holiness requires that our sin be cleansed - not that it be punished.

Notes

1. https://bible.org/seriespage/5-holiness-god#google_vignette

2. https://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/the-doctrine-of-holiness-article

3. https://www.gotquestions.org/God-look-upon-sin.html

4. http://www.abideinchrist.com/selah/dec30.html