Have you noticed how some people want to focus on God’s love more than His holiness, even to the point of forgetting that God is holy? It provides an excuse to live contrary to His Word. Wouldn’t a loving God want me to be happy? Surely a loving God doesn’t really mean we shouldn’t do this or that.
God’s Character Defines Holiness
Does His holiness still matter? It does if the God of the Bible still matters. Scripture clearly describes Him as a loving God whose love endures forever. The Bible also says God is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16). He is both loving and holy, at the same time. As a loving God, He establishes standards in keeping with His holiness. His ways and thoughts are so much higher and better than ours (Isa. 55:9). Our ways lead to destruction (Prov. 14:12). His ways are righteous and pure (Ps. 19:9). A loving God wants to keep us from self-destructing. Love and holiness therefore gel.
Other traits enter into His holiness. Because God is eternal and also knows all things, He sees the beginning from the end. What He deems as holy isn’t a random setting of rules and regulations. He knows what’s best for us.
God is also just so we may suffer the consequences when we sin against His holiness but always with the purpose of making us better, for “the Lord disciplines the one He loves … in order that we may share in His holiness” (Heb. 12:6, 10). He is also merciful when we return to Him (Lam. 3:22-24, 33-40). – “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” (Lam. 3:22)
Since God is Holy, What Are the Implications for Us?
Scripture clearly responds to this question: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'” (1 Pet. 1:15-16)
Take time to read the following posts to further reflect on what it means for us to have a holy God: