Walk of Life – Day 9 – December 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs
JESUS CHRIST – THE HOLY ONE
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come”
The holiness of God is the key characteristic of the Living God. He is holy in his love, in his justice, in his comforting manner, in his compassion, and so on. Holiness means separate or set apart. The Lord Jesus Christ came in human form was sinless yet He bare on His body the sins of the whole world. The cherubims and seraphims cover their faces and cried Holy, Holy, Holy.
I always wonder if we have actually realized and understood the holiness of this great God. He is the Holy One, so said even the demons when Christ walked on the earth (Mark 1:24). There are several instances in the Old Testament when displayed His holiness and was wrought at the sight of sin.
Psalm 24:3 to 6: Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.
We all know the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 2:44, 45). It is important to note that even in New Testament times, the sin they committed was so grave because they lied to the Holy Spirit. They offended the holiness of God. Also, they set a bad example for the new believers so the Lord had to pour his wrath upon them. The church is the bride of Christ and such an act of unholiness will defile the Body of Christ. Great fear came upon the church. Their sin was irreverence, a sin against the holiness of God. When God displays Himself as holy, the people feared and the church was sanctified.
God’s holiness should guide and govern our thinking on the acceptance of God.
We take God for granted. We assume that the Lord will forgive us and accept us unconditionally. Yes He will, but not when you disregard Him and live as you like after you are born again. If we sin persistently, the Lord will rebuke us. We need to live a holy, pure, and a blameless life. The church cannot accept those who profess to be Christians but live like pagans (1 Corinthians 5:1-13). The church is to be holy and that implies purging out the leaven.
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth’” (Revelation 3:14-16).
The doctrine of the holiness of God needs to considered when we speak of accountability.
We should remember we are accountable to God and not to man.
“And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).
So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:12).
The holiness of God is the basis and the compelling necessity for our sanctification.
The holiness of God is the reason we too are commanded to live holy lives:
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts [which were yours] in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all [your] behavior; 16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” 17 And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay [upon earth]; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, [the blood] of Christ (1 Peter 1:14-19).
Because God is holy, we who are His people must be holy too. Holiness is our calling (Ephesians 1:4; Romans 8:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). We must practice and proclaim His excellencies to the world (1 Peter 2:9), and prominent among God’s excellencies is His holiness.
May the Holy God inspire us to live holy and pure lives, to be ready for the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus.
