Joshua Hawk

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24 NKJV

If I were to ask you to name one adjective to describe God, what would you say? Some people might say, “love”, some might say “faithful”, some might say “good”, some might say “powerful.” Truthfully, it would be really difficult to describe God with just one word because God has so many incredible attributes. The list could literally go on and on. But there is one word in the bible that is used to describe God that tragically doesn’t get much attention today. That word is HOLY.

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:1-4 NKJV

Notice above that the seraphim say “holy.” Not only do they use the word holy to describe God but they say the word three times. The seraphim never say “love, love, love” nor do they say “good, good, good.” Although God is certainly love and He is good, the seraphim use the word holy to describe God. In fact, the word holy appears over 500 times in the bible. Here are a few verses in regard to God’s holiness.

“And you shall be holy to Me, for I the lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” Leviticus 20:26 NKJV

“No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2 NJKV

“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy.” Psalm 99:5 NKJV

I could reference many scripture verses in regard to God’s holiness but there are two passages of scripture that I want to take the next few moments to focus on. The first one is found in 1 Peter 1:15-16. In the NKJV it reads, “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” God himself says “I am holy” thus holiness is God’s primary attribute. Not only is this God’s defining trait, it is also a commandment from God. We are commanded by God to be holy because He is holy. Anything less than holy is disobedience which is sin. This brings me to the second passage of scripture found in Hebrews 12:14. In the NKJV it reads “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” The bottom line is we cannot see God without holiness. That means anything less than holy separates us from Him!

Unfortunately, there is a cancer spreading through the church today. It is lawlessness and ignorance of our true spiritual condition. No other scripture verse in the entire bible is more misinterpreted than Ephesians 2:8-9. Behind pulpits, the message of grace has been distorted and has negated God’s commandment for holiness.

“For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” Jude 1:4 NIV

This false message of hyper-grace, antinomianism, and love has created a hideous caricature of God that many Christians in North America embrace as their deity. But scripture is clear – God is holy! Unfortunately, holiness has inadvertently been redefined as “legalism” but the truth is holiness and legalism are the complete opposite of each other! To understand how they are different, let’s define what they are. Legalism is defined as a doctrine which states salvation comes strictly from adherence to the law. It can be thought of as works-based religion. Holiness is however defined as to be set apart from the world. In other words, legalism is following a strict set of man-made rules to achieve salvation whereas holiness is the required standard set by God.

As I previously stated, holiness has been relegated to “works” and it is often taught that grace is sufficient and eliminates the need for holiness. Many Christians have incorrectly come to that conclusion by reading Ephesians 2:8-9 but they fail to continue reading. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus [to do good works], which God prepared in advance for us to do.” [emphasis added] We are indeed saved by grace but we are still expected to do good works! That means grace does not negate the requirement for holiness. People inherently think of grace as an unmerited gift, the forgiveness of sins, or God’s mercy; however, grace is so much more than that. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for [my power] is made perfect in weakness.”” [emphasis added] God refers to his grace as his POWER!

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 NIV

“It [Grace] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Titus 2:11-12 NIV

Grace empowers us when we are weak and it enables us to live holy when the flesh is unable to do so. Grace is truly an amazing thing but it never replaces the need and requirement for holiness. Grace doesn’t eliminate the standard; it empowers us to fulfill the standard!

“Grace is not the freedom to sin; it is the power to live a holy life.” – Joyce Meyer

A.W. Tozer once said “Holy is the way God is. To be holy, He does not conform to a standard. He IS the standard.” The reality is, holiness is the standard that ALL Christians should live by. God is holy so we must also be holy. The sad truth is holiness is not a popular message nor is it well received by Christians today; nevertheless, it is a call God has commanded us to do. Leonard Ravenhill once said, “If you want to be popular, preach happiness. If you want to be unpopular, preach holiness.” This is why the largest churches in the world today only preach a message of prosperity and ignore the commandment to be holy and to put away the sinful desires of the flesh. I have been accused of being judgmental and have been called a Pharisaical legalist for preaching holiness but the truth has been presented to us – God has called us to be holy in an ungodly world. It is holiness which sets us apart from the world and to God. Will you answer the call to holiness?