Isaiah 6:1-5 – In Pursuit of Holiness – Bible study

Isaiah 6:1-5, Rev 4:8 The Knowledge of the Holy From the Old Testament, through the New, one thing is certain. The Bible declares that God is HOLY. For anyone who knows anything about the Bible, that is taken for granted. Most would say they both know and understand that God is holy. But do they? When I use the word HOLY, what does that mean to you? How would you define it? When you apply your concept of holiness to God, what kind of God does He become? I have said for many years that I feel our Christian culture has lost its concept, its vision, of God, especially of Gods holiness. I stand by that. Churches today do not preach against sin and those who do seldom name sins. Christians today do not consider their behavior to be sinful. The altars are bereaved of the broken-hearted who are convicted of their vileness and have fallen there to confess their wickedness to a holy God. However, I now take myself to task. I wonder if I understand holiness. Do I see myself as sinful? as vile before God? I wonder how mistaken I am in my concept of God holiness. Let me share some thoughts with you. I. The Bible tells us that we cannot comprehend God. Job 11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? 8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. A. The Bible is not trying to discourage us in our walk with the Lord. 1. It is just pointing out what ought to be obvious. 2. God is infinite. We are finite. How can we who are limited expect to comprehend a God who is limitless? 3. The answer is, "We can not." 4. We can and should try to comprehend Him. We should make it our life and eternal purpose to understand as much about God as is possible, but we shall never completely understand Him. It just is not possible. Proverbs 30:3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Matthew 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. B. Is it important that I understand God and His holiness? 1. Absolutely! Our concept of God is the one thing that determines how we will interact with Him. 2. Whatever we think about God will color how we worship and how we will serve. a. It will shade what we will expect from Him. b. It will determine what we feel He expects of us. 3. Literally, everything about our relationship with God hinges on our concept of Him. 4. And one of the most consistent, uncompromising, unchallenged statements about God is that He is holy. 5. We must seek to understand holiness. II. The definition of the word HOLY is difficult to understand. A. If you will think on this, you will readily agree. 1. How would you describe holiness? 2. You might come up with some words, some very basic definitions; but when you apply them to the nature of God and what that entails, you will realize that it comes up short. B. I read after several Hebrew scholars this week. Their works lead me to conclude that any definition of holiness would have to include at least three distinctly different definitions rolled into one. 1. A definition of holiness would have to include the idea of PURITY, PERFECT CLEANNESS, UNSOILED. a. This is the concept the Bible is giving when it compares God to light. 1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. b. God is completely pure, no spot of darkness or stain. He is holy. 2. Any definition of holiness would have to also include the idea of UNIQUENESS. a. There are several words in the Bible for holy or holiness. b. A.W. Tozer said that one Hebrew word is normally used to speak of the holiness of God while another is normally used to refer to things or people that are called holy. c. The reason for this is because things and people are not naturally holy. d. They gain their holiness by associating with God who is holy. e. He argues that Gods holiness is unique and different from all other things and people. f. The Scripture agrees. Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Psalms 71:19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! 3. Any definition of holiness would also have to include the idea of DEDICATED, DEVOTED, and SEPARATE. a. The holiness of which we speak is so unique and different that it cannot come into contact with the unholy. b. Of the three concepts in this definition, this is probably the most difficult for Man to comprehend, yet the Bible makes is clear. c. No corrupt man can see the Holy God and live. Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: FOR THERE SHALL NO MAN SEE ME, AND LIVE. 21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. d. Until Jesus Christ came in the flesh to the earth, no man ever saw anything more of God than just an earthly facsimile. e. Moses saw a burning bush, Abraham and Joshua saw angels, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel saw visions of God. f. In fact, God commanded Moses to put up special barriers to keep the unholy people of Israel from running onto the top of Mount Sinai and being destroyed. Exodus 19:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. g. Even the most holiest of Gods servants could not come into the presence of God, let alone see God, without it having a devastating effect upon them! (1) Daniel fainted and was left sick. Daniel 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the kings business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. (2) Ezekiel fell down and had no strength to get up. Ezekiel 1:28And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. 2:1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. 2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. (3) John the Apostle fell down petrified at Lords presence. Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: h. This was in part due to the fact that, in the presence of Gods holiness, these godly men felt their own wickedness. Daniel 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for MY COMELINESS WAS TURNED IN ME INTO CORRPUTION, and I retained no strength. Habakkuk 3:16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: ROTTENNESS ENTERED INTO MY BONES, and I trembled in myself C. In understanding this definition, we should understand something of the effect Gods holiness ought to have upon us. 1. If Gods choicest servants fainted, were frightened to the place of being immobile, were made sick by their wickedness before a holy God, where ought vile, reprobate sinners like us be? 2. Someone says, "We better understand grace and forgiveness than they." 3. I say, "I believe that we better understand ignorance and arrogance than they!" 4. When the angels proclaimed, "Holy, Holy, Holy," the very foundations of the temple were moved by the presence of a holy God. How much more will we be moved when we come into the presence of this holy God? III. This holy God is the God sinners will meet at the Great White Throne Judgment. Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. A. Some unsaved people think they will fair pretty good at the Great White Throne because they think they have been pretty good people. 1. Might I just say that if I am starting to understand the holiness of God, He wont have to judge you. 2. His holiness will just reach out and destroy you. 3. The phrase "Reach out and touch someone" will take on a whole new meaning. B. What you are going to need is an Intercessor. 1. Someone to stand in-between up you and a holy God. 2. The only One who can do that is Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 3. When Jesus died on the cross, He was placing Himself between you and Gods holiness. 4. When God looks at a Christian, He does not see our wickedness but His Sons righteousness. 5. Would you let Jesus Christ stand there for you? 3. And why wouldnt a person let Jesus stand there? Because he thinks he is good enough! a. We think we go to a good church. b. We think we can give a bit of money. c. We think we can tell a few about Jesus. d. And we think God is pleased with us! e. O, sinful creatures that we are to think such a puny list of works could impress a God whose purity is without a single shadow, who in His unlimited existence has never so much as thought an wrong thought let alone acted upon one! f. We do not understand how uniquely holy God is! 4. If this message could find lodging in our hearts, we would see ourselves and our sorry lives as disgusting, vile, wicked, and arrogant. 5. We would instinctively fall down in fright before God and wonder that the fire of His purity has not already destroyed us. 6. Unfortunately, like trying to convince the lost man of Gods holiness, we too have become so acquainted with Gods mercy that we take it for granted. We can not be warned of the holiness of God until we see it for ourselves. At that time, His justice is forced to flay from us every self-righteous attitude that riddles are sinful bodies. D. If we are to pursue the holiness of God, I believe we must put away our shallow Christianity. 1. In a message by Dr. Tozer, preached in 1960, he lamented the turn of the church away from Bible preaching on sin to the present day, feel-good church. 2. I did not get saved until he had been dead for 10 years, and all I have ever been in are what I believe to be good Bible preaching churches. 3. I pray before God that I am carrying on that tradition. 4. But I see it more and more. a. Music that sounds more like it belongs in a bar room than a church. b. Preachers who speak a gentle, let-God-solve-your-problems salvation. c. My friend, God is a good One to give aid to your problems but that is the kind of message that produces co-laborers, not salvation! d. People still need to be confronted with the news that they are sinners; that sin damns the soul, that a holy God will not accept them, and that they must repent of their sins and fall on the mercy of God. e. You can built a big church with a feel-good gospel if you want, but I fear that most of those within it are destined to hell; and if the misguided preacher is saved, he will stand before the holy God culpable for every soul that never heard the truth from their lips. f. In this life, he may look good and get paid well, but I would rather pastor a small church and tell people the truth than pastor a large church tell people a lie. I close with the Bible verse from which this mornings title came. The prophet Agur described himself honestly as he penned the next-to-the-last of the chapters of Proverbs. I hope his description does not apply to me. Proverbs 30:3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.