Recap: In the last post I expressed a concern regarding the slow, methodical, yet mostly (I believe) unintentional creep of error into the Christian religion. I maintained that we have to be alert to theological sophistry - the manipulation of words and their definitions, and the ability to persuade others using "lofty speech". It's important to understand that the purpose of God's word is to reveal truth, not to conceal it. The Spirit of truth is the key to understanding God's word, not theological rhetoric.
Christian doctrine based on a firm scriptural foundation necessarily begins with God. I agree with A.W. Tozer who maintains that every error in doctrine and every failure in Christian ethics can be attributed to “imperfect and ignoble” thoughts of God. If we develop our worldview with an imperfect understanding of God, the outcome will be a corruption - not only of our image of the true God, but of our understanding of life, of purpose, of truth. A true understanding of who God is, that God is, and what he is like, is critical to the construction of a realistic worldview, one that is informed by biblical revelation.
Holy
My wife and I still laugh when my son tells the story of one of his camp counselors who, one day, drove by a local river with a group of his charges and told them that the name of this body of water was Deep Creek. "Do you know why they call it Deep Creek?", he asked. When one of the kids responded, "Because it's deep?", the counselor scoffed and replied, "No. They call it Deep Creek because that's its name."
... for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name (Luke 1:49 ESV). God is called holy, in part, because that's his name. I know that I'm just making a bit of a play on words here, yet, when the angels in the book of Isaiah refer to God with three emphatic, successive repetitions, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts (Isa 6:3), it demands a contemplation of God that goes beyond a mere name. Any discussion of God that doesn't begin with some basic understanding of his holiness will fall short of capturing the essence of the true God of the Bible.
Although entire books have been written attempting to explain the holiness of God, one possible definition (albeit, necessarily simplistic) is that God's holiness is really the sum, substance and perfect manifestation of all of God's attributes. While there isn't enough space or time, to list all of the attributes that we could fold into our understanding of a holy God, one writer, J. G. Lenhart, boiled God's holiness down to two principal divine natures - righteous and just. God is always right, and always just.
While trying to encapsulate the essence of the eternal God with two attributes might make us a bit uneasy, Lenhart's contention is that none of God's other attributes (loving, merciful, compassionate, etc.) outweighs, or supersedes his righteousness and his justice. He defends his position with the contention that God's other attributes are actually the result of being righteous and just. It is precisely his righteousness and his justice that makes him loving and merciful and compassionate, etc.. There is scriptural support for his assertion:
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. (Psalm 89:14 ESV)
But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. (Isaiah 5:16 ESV)
Reverent Fear
While a comprehensive definition of God's holiness might be a bit elusive to us mere mortals, the power and effect of human interaction with the holiness of God is revealed in dramatic fashion in our Bibles. When Isaiah encountered God's holiness in the sixth chapter, it left the prophet groveling on the floor, in woeful self-reflection of his own inadequacies in the presence of the holy God. And when the apostles got a glimpse of the power of holiness in Jesus, they feared exceedingly... (Mark 4:41 KJV).
A good biblical term for this reaction to God's holiness can be found in the ESV translation of the Bible - "reverent fear" (Heb 11:7). The contemplation of God's holiness, when compared to our own natures - unrighteous and unjust - should leave us humble, and in reverent fear of the Almighty God. (Thank God for grace!)
Trustworthiness
The real benefit to us, as worshipers of a holy God, is that, by his own determination, our God cannot behave contrary to his revealed attributes. He cannot lie (Heb 6:18), he cannot cease to exist (Deut 23:37), he cannot be unloving, unmerciful, ungracious, uncompassionate (Psalm 103:8). He cannot be unrighteous or unjust (Psalm 97:2). In other words, thankfully, God cannot ever be unholy.
God's own decree to be bound by his revealed nature and the fact that he is unchanging (Heb 1:12) is what makes our God trustworthy. There is no randomness, no whimsy, no capriciousness in God. And it is God's firm commitment to uphold his holiness that is really the basis for all Christian hope and all Christian faith. This is what makes the God of the Bible worthy to be worshiped.
We can count on God - all of us. He cannot be holy (righteous and just) to some people and unholy to others. Scripture tells us that there is no partiality in God (Eph 6:9). Any doctrine that portrays God as an unjust, unmerciful, vengeful, whimsical personage whose goodness is incomprehensible, whose compassion reveals partiality, who loves randomly, and condemns capriciously is a mythological god - an unholy god - not the God of Scripture.
Even if we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13 ESV). This means that even in seasons where our faith has waned, the rock will always be there. The faithfulness and restorative power of a holy God is always assured. We can trust in the holiness of God and we can always know where we stand in our faith. The love, grace and mercy of the holy God will never fail.
Next Post: In the next post we'll continue to seek a firm, biblical foundation for Christian doctrine. We'll draw a connection between God's holiness and his glory.
Here's a link to the next post:
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