He Is Holy

COMMENTS

God is holy.  Holy.  What does that even mean?  My secular dictionary defined it as “belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power”.  That definition seems quite shallow.  I need to know more….

NOTES

As I was thinking about God’s holiness, I remembered a scripture I learned:

“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”  (Leviticus 11:44)

My first reaction to that was that it’s impossible for me to be as holy as God is.  Why would He command me to do something that cannot be done?  That, of course, set my mind spinning.  I know that I can never be who God is—as faithful, as perfect, as holy, as anything.  God doesn’t expect me to be Him.  But I also believe that if God asks me to do anything, it can be done in His power.  I appeared to have a conflict here:  God was commanding me to do something (be holy because He’s holy) that could not be done.  Since God doesn’t lie, the problem had to be with the interpreter (me!).

So I pulled out the reference books and looked up that scripture.  God’s holiness conveys the idea of separation—that He is separate from all that He created.  It also refers to the ethical (for lack of a better word!) nature of His character.  Things that are connected with our Holy God are often referred to as holy, as well.  The temple was holy.  Moses stood on holy ground.  The priests and Levites were holy men.  People and things had to be “sanctified” or “consecrated” before they came before the Living God.  That involved following certain procedures to ensure cleanliness—washings, avoiding touching certain things, avoiding eating certain things, etc.

Those are Old Testament references.  What about the New Testament?  We are New Testament saints, aren’t we?  Jesus didn’t discard the old teachings; He took them to a deeper level.  The Old Testament said not to commit adultery.  Jesus said not to look upon another with lust in your heart.  The old teaching was taken to a deeper level.  So, as we speak of holiness, it is no longer sufficient to wash our hands and feet, to avoid touching a dead body, or to stop eating pork.  Jesus took us deeper.  It is now our hearts and minds that must be clean, our lives and characters that must be holy.  It is internal, not external.

As I first thought about what “holy” meant, I found myself thinking that it pretty much equated with “perfect”.  However, as I researched and did some more thinking, I realized that it is closer to “pure” or “clean”.  But none of that resolved my dilemma about God asking me to do the impossible.  Then, He spoke.  He never told me to be as holy as He is; He told me to be holy BECAUSE He is.  I can never reach His degree of holiness, but I can be holier than I am.  His holiness is not my unreachable goal; it is my example.  In this, as in all things, I must reflect Him.

Then, He spoke His encouragement into my heart.  I share it with you as we now go about our day:

“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.  Keep my decrees and follow them.  I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”  (Leviticus 20:7-8)