A description of the course that explains what you will learn and how it will help you grow closer to Jesus
4 lessons
4 lessons
4 lessons
A brief description of what this lesson covers and what you will learn
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Romans 8:28-30
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Understanding what it means that God is holy: absolute moral purity and absolute moral distance.
So why do we say that God is holy?
First, we know that God is holy because God reveals this to us in the Scriptures. As we said in our first module, our knowledge of God comes from our First Love revealing himself to us.
For instance, in Leviticus 19, YHWH reveals his nature. We read, "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."
In the temple design, the area for encountering God - the most enclosed and private place - is called the "holy of holies". Only on the Day of Atonement, after making a sacrifice, could the high priest enter.
In Isaiah 6, the prophet shares his vision of the seraphim crying out in praise of God, "holy, holy, holy"!
Psalm 145 calls us to "bless God's holy name."
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "hallowed be your name." That is, may his name be consecrated, spoken as holy.
We speak of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 12 tells us that without holiness, we cannot see God!
We see the word throughout the Bible, but what does it mean that God is holy?
To keep it simple, my former seminary professor, Richard Lints, defines holiness in this way:
"The holiness of God refers to the absolute moral purity of God and the absolute moral distance between God and his human creatures."
Those are two key meanings of God's holiness: absolute moral purity and absolute moral distance.
Leviticus 19:2
Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
How does the 'absolute moral distance' between you and God make you feel, especially when you consider your own sins and failings?
Are there any sins, addictions, dysfunctions, or relational fractures that feel especially glaring in light of God's moral perfection? How might honestly naming these lead you to a fresh experience of grace?
The holy priests and sacrificial system of the Old Testament paint a vivid picture of the costliness and seriousness of approaching a holy God. How might remembering this background deepen your gratitude for Jesus, our perfect High Priest?
Read Hebrews 10:19-22 and thank God for the intimacy with Him you can now experience because of Christ.
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