Worship Wednesday
He Is… HOLY
“And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.’” Isaiah 6:3
In January I decided that I would read through the entire Bible in a year. I’m currently further than I’ve ever been - Leviticus. (If you don’t know, that’s the THIRD book of the Bible haha.) Yeah, I’m not doing so hot. But truthfully(and shamefully), that is the furthest I’ve ever made it trying to go straight through. Usually I veer off into another book in the Old Testament, skip forward to the New Testament, and then read the stories that I love and are familiar to me. I really enjoy the writings of Paul, mostly because he’s so forward and ruthlessly to the point. He makes following Jesus compelling, convicting, and encouraging all at the same time - it’s unbelievable. But anyways, I digress!
As I’ve been making my way through the book of Leviticus, I actually asked my husband at one point, “Caleb, is it okay if I skip over some of the chapters? Like the ones about the procedures of different sacrifices?” These portions are TOUGH to get through! But I have had at least one take away - God was very serious about delivering the message that He Is… HOLY. These rituals and ceremonies, that some may disregard as completely inapplicable to our current day and age, are a picture of how God wanted to be very clear that because He is holy, we too are required to carry ourselves with the same expectation. And yes, there are consequences when we choose to operate outside this standard of holiness.
I once read a book called Dance, Stand, Run by Jess Connolly. The premise is as follows: Dance in grace, Stand in holiness, and Run on mission. Jess challenges Believers to recall that while we have certainly been covered by God’s grace, the next step is to be holy just as He is holy. Then, of course, He calls us to run with that mission as people who partner with Him in His beautiful plan of redemption. But her point is this: we can’t just remain in the grace phase, and never move to the pursuit of holiness. If we decide to stake our faith in a God whom we believe to be holy, then we too must pursue holiness.
“But now you must be holy in all that you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” I Peter 1:15-16
In my research, I googled “scriptures about God is holy”. The results produced plenty of websites with many scriptures referencing God’s holiness. And as I read down the list, I began to notice a trend. Each mention of God’s holiness in scripture came in the form of a reminder to God’s people - the Israelites, the Gentiles, us. God continually reminds us that He Is… HOLY. Now why would He need to do that? It seems like it would be pretty obvious - He’s God! Of course He’s holy! But what does that mean? The definition of the word holy is to be dedicated or consecrated to God. This can also be said as set apart, or set apart from sin.
Because He is holy, our sins disrupt our fellowship with God. So when we sin, God reminds us that in order for Him to walk with us, protect us, and orchestrate His favor and blessings in our life, we have to come to a place of repentance so that He can restore us back to holiness.
“For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness.” Hebrews 12:10
God’s constant reminder to us in scripture that He is holy is His gracious way of showing us that Jesus already paid for our sins, that we might share in His holiness. It’s this grace that compels our hearts to then repent, strive for holiness, and pursue a life of obedience and surrender to a God.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship.” Romans 12:1
When we experience God’s grace and holiness colliding in this manner, our heart’s immediate posture is one of worship. Let’s do that today through scripture and song as we praise and magnify God because He Is… HOLY.
