Holy Like God

If there was one characteristic that most accurately described God, if there was one attribute that hit closest to the core of His Being, it is holiness. While it is impossible to understand or describe God through only one aspect, holiness is the one of the few (possibly only) attribute that defines all of His other attributes. His love is a holy love. His justice is a holy justice. It defines Who He is in a sense. But what exactly is holiness, and how do we live it out?

The word “holy” is used almost 600 times in the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament, and is used frequently to describe God, His ordinances or commands, and things near or related to Him, including His people.

Exodus 3:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Exodus 20:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exodus 19:6a New American Standard Bible (NASB)

and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

To be holy literally means “to be set apart or sacred.” God is holy because He is set apart from all of creation. He is unlike any and every created thing (and there is nothing which exists which He did not create.) He is a separate category unto Himself. He is also perfectly pure and sinless, completely without blemish or stain.

Due to His perfect holiness, He cannot be in the presence of sin because sin is entirely contrary and utterly offensive to Him. Because of this, He is perfectly just in punishing sin. This is why we must view His other attributes in light of His holiness. To say that He is love without viewing His holiness would imply that He could not be loving and still have wrath toward sin. But a holy love does not overlook sin. It loves in spite of sin, but it cannot unjustly excuse it. His justice is also holy, that is why He is justified in having wrath toward sin, because of His holiness.

God is inherently holy; He set the standard for it, so how can we as sinful, imperfect beings be holy?

It is important to remember that we are all born sinful with nothing good of ourselves. Our best works are still garbage because of our sin. It is only through God that we can be and have anything good or worthy. Those good parts of ourselves are Him living in us.

Leviticus 20:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.

Ephesians 1:4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

Part of becoming holy is to set ourselves apart for Him. The world is not holy, it is the opposite of holy. We cannot be part of the world and be holy. We have to set ourselves apart from the world and for God. We need to remove from ourselves anything that is ungodly, anything that is worldly. We cannot be holy with sin or anything tainted within us.

James 4:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

This is two-fold: we must remove the filth and seek God. We must get out of the dark and walk in the light. We cannot have the world and God. We must choose whom we will serve and love.

Another part of becoming holy is the work God does in us. He commands us to be holy, but He helps us do that, otherwise it would be impossible. In a sense we are holy because of Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross. When we believe in Him we are given His righteousness and right standing before God. We are made holy as far as our status with God. That cannot be changed.

Genesis 15:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

But we can never be perfectly, truly holy on this earth. We are in a constant state of becoming holy during this life (a process called sanctification) which will be finished when we reach heaven. We must accept that we cannot be perfectly holy now, but also not give in to the “inevitable”. We must strive for holiness while realizing that we won’t achieve it on earth.

Galatians 5:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

So while you wait for the hope of perfection to come, keep seeking it here. Be holy as He is holy.