Of all the attributes of God enumerated in Scripture, and there are several, none so clearly reveals the vast difference between God and man as that which we now engage, the holiness of God. If ever there were an attribute of God that so soundly dooms the unrepentant sinner, it is this. Holiness, as applied to the Deity, speaks of His utter apartness, His separation from any and all defilement, because God is holiness absolute, holiness personified. It is precisely God’s holiness and man’s lack thereof that places us in such deep, deep jeopardy. Those who do not despair when confronted with God’s abject holiness, compared to man’s abject deficit of holiness, simply do not understand either.
Isaiah, chapter 6, records the exclamation of the seraphic creatures in saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” And, likewise, the four living creatures of Revelation 4 are said not to rest day nor night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was and is and is to come.” There is nothing so troubling to man, nor gets him in such great trouble before God, as God’s holiness. That holiness, coupled with our unholiness, makes man’s state as absolutely desperate as it can be.
Then, contemplate this in addition: This holy God compounds human desperation by insisting without holiness no man shall see the Lord, referenced in Hebrews 12, “And you shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy,” Leviticus 19. Our great predicament is far more serious than most mere mortals know because God is holy, and we are not. Yet, we are obligated to be holy for God is holy, and without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. This is a desperate need of holiness. Yet, our crippling, unholy nature falls far short. If acceptable holiness cannot be generated by man, no matter the sincerity or intensity involved, yet, without it, we are righteously doomed, what possible solution or salvation can there be? The answer lies in an imputed righteousness or holiness. Christ’s own holiness is infused into the believing, unholy person upon their embrace of Jesus Christ as their Substitute and Savior. This was God’s whole purpose of the Cross. It was to provide a righteousness and holiness for man who could not provide it for himself, and this is why it’s called “Good News”. It is God’s holiness imparted and imputed to sinful man, thus, making him acceptable to a holy God. The death, burial, and resurrection is God’s only provision for man’s lost condition. God’s holiness can be a frightening thing, but in Christ imputing it to us, it is exhilarating.
CC-05-19
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