God is Holy
“And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’” (Leviticus 19:1-2) Holiness is God’s very nature. Holiness is pure, clean, right, true, honest, and beautiful. God is full of light and life. There is no darkness in God. God wants us to be holy like He is holy. Holiness is good and pleasant, it is not harsh or bitter. Holiness is so much more than the absence of sin, it is the presence of God’s goodness, beauty, and wholeness. Holiness is like perfect fruit that is pleasant to see and smell, good to taste, and deeply satisfying. Holy people are like God, full of the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The spirit of God produces this fruit in us as we grow and mature as Christians, becoming more like God. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Consider what the fruit of holiness tells us about God. God is love. He is not cold, distant, or uncaring. God is joyful. He is not sad or depressed. God is at peace. He is not in turmoil and He is never anxious or afraid. Everything is under God’s control. God is patient. He is not in a hurry, and He is not pushy or demanding. God is kind and gentle. He is not cruel or harsh. God is good, and everything He does is good. God is faithful. He will not break His word. He will not fail to keep all His promises. He will not leave us. And everything is under God’s control.
When Isaiah had a vision of God and His holiness, he cried out, “whoa is me, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Every one of us, every man woman and child, fall short of God’s holiness. Every one of us needs to come before God in humility, with a broken and contrite heart and confess our sin. (Isaiah 6:1-5)
Everything that is contrary to God’s holiness and God’s will as King is sin, and sin leads to death. God hates sin, because it destroys people He created and loves, and it has marred the beautiful world He has created. God loves sinners, every man, woman and child who ever lived, and He desires to set them free from the bondage to sin and the death it produces.
Worshipping anything other than God is idolatry, and idolatry is sin. God alone as creator is worthy of worship. He alone is to be served. Idolatry is worshipping and serving created things, looking to them to meet our needs and satisfy the desires of our hearts. We can make idols of money, possessions, sex, food, fame, and power. Many of the things that we make into our idols are good things that God created for us to enjoy. He wants us to thank Him for these good things, not make them our idols. We are not to worship any spirit or god other than God. We are not to serve them or look to them for help. The power behind many gods is demonic, so in worshipping and serving these gods, we are worshipping Satan and the powers of hell. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life, and life more abundantly. (Romans 1; John 10:10)
Idolatry is spiritual adultery. In the Old Testament God often referred to the Israelites as His wife, and He as her husband. When Israel worshipped idols she was acting like an unfaithful wife or a harlot. God is a jealous God. He has loved us with an everlasting love. We are to love Him in return with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength. We will be the Bride of Christ, so we must keep our hearts pure and devoted to Him alone as we wait for the day that we will be joined with Him forever. (2 Corinthians 11:1-3)
God is just, true, fair, and impartial. He can do no wrong, and all His judgments and decisions are right. God is concerned about those in our world who are not treated fairly. He wants to see justice in our world. He especially cares for the widow, the orphan, the poor, the weak, the elderly, and the immigrant. If we are like God, we will care for them and do all we can as His children to provide for them and to protect them from those who would take advantage of them. God is merciful, and He delights in showing mercy. He is pleased when we show mercy. (James 1:27; 1 John 3:18; Amos 8:4-6; Isaiah 58:6-11; Psalm 29:2; John 4:23-24)
Discovery Bible Study Outline
Lesson 2: God is Holy
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- What did Isaiah see and hear in his vision of God?
- What does it mean to say that God is holy?
- What did Isaiah see about himself in God’s presence?
- We become more like God as the Holy Spirit develops the fruit of the Spirit in us.
- What does each of the fruits of the Spirit tell us about what God is like?
- If God is like these fruits, then consequently what is He not like?
- What does this passage tell us about how God sees the poor and the needy?
- Who are the poor and the needy in our community and how can we show God’s love to them?
- How does God want us to conduct our financial and business affairs?
Additional passages for study: Psalm 29:2, Leviticus 19:2, John 4:23-24; Isaiah 58:6-11; James 1:27, 1 John 3:18
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