The Holiness of God the Father, part 3

The modern thought is that God loves us and wants us to do whatever we want: if it is beneficial to lie, we tell one; if we are drawn to pornographic images, we look at them (often while hiding away in a secluded room). In all honesty, that thinking comes from a distorted view of the love of God. It comes from a kind of preaching that is strong on the positive aspects of God’s love but silent on the things which God condemns.

We seem to treat sin as we would a pet raccoon – we love the cuteness and the immediate pleasure we get from having them, without being aware – or ignoring the danger. You see, raccoons are quite cute when they are babies. But raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that, if they are being kept as pets, they will often attack their owner.

Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, a zoo keeper felt compelled to mention the change coming to a young lady named Julie who owned a young pet raccoon. Julie listened politely as he explained the coming danger. He never forgot her response: “It will be different for me.” She even smiled as she added, “Bandit wouldn’t hurt me. He just wouldn’t.”

Just three months later, Julie underwent plastic surgery for facial lacerations sustained when her now adult raccoon attacked her for no apparent reason.

All too often, sin comes dressed in an adorable disguise and so we play with it. How quickly we find ourselves saying, “It will be different for me.” However, the results are very predictable. (Gary Richmond, View from the Zoo)
 

There is nothing the church needs more desperately today than a fresh encounter with the holiness of God, to make us aware of the dangers of playing with sin. When Isaiah experienced his encounter with the Holy, he was in the temple seeking God. God reveals His holiness in His love.
 

God Reveals His Holiness in His Separateness from Sin.
Implied in the meaning of holiness is the thought of separateness. When Moses approached the burning bush, God warned him, Exodus 3:5 “Do not come closer,” He said, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” CSB. When God came down to Mount Sinai, in Exodus 19:12, He warned Moses, “Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death’” CSB.
 

In Hebrews 12:29, we are told that, “Our God is a consuming fire.” The weight of these Scriptures is to show that, in God the Father, holiness is separate and high above mankind. So, to approach Him without some kind of mediation would be as destructive as connecting an ordinary light bulb directly to the generator at the power station without a step-down transformer. God has provided a mediator for us (we’ll get into that later). God reveals His holiness in His love, and by separation from sin.
 

God Reveals His Holiness in His Peace.

Throughout the Scriptures, Peace is commonly related to God’s holiness. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul wrote, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Continued tomorrow