Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1–4
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto 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 moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”
A right view of God’s holiness goes far beyond mere theological correctness. It is of immense practical importance for the Christian. What we think about God’s holiness directly shapes our attitude toward life, our behavior, and our daily walk. Christians who fundamentally differ in their concept of God’s holiness will inevitably live very different lives.
The Two Aspects of God’s Holiness
In verse 3, the seraphim make a grand declaration: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” But what does this mean?
When we search the Scriptures, we find that God’s holiness falls into two basic categories:
- The Ethical (or Moral) Holiness of God
- The Majestic (or Glorious, Kingly) Holiness of God
When the seraphim cry out, they are declaring Him to be both ethically and majestically holy. While the majestic holiness of God is highly prominent in Isaiah 6, the two aspects are inseparable. You cannot have majestic holiness without ethical holiness, and the majestic flows naturally out of the ethical.
- The Ethical Holiness of God
What do we mean by the “ethical” or “moral” holiness of God? The answer lies in the Hebrew language itself. The Hebrew root word for “holy” carries the basic meaning to cut or to separate.
Ethical holiness, therefore, is fundamentally about separation. Specifically, it means God is absolutely separate from evil and sin.
- The Negative Side: Absolute Separation from Sin
Scripture reveals that God is, in an absolute way, morally distinct from sinners and sin itself. He abhors sin to the point that He must judge it.
Consider these scriptures:
Job 34:10 (Elihu speaking):
“Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God,
that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.”
Man may sin, but God will never join him in it. God always maintains His separation. If we walk into sin, God does not follow us; instead, He withdraws His fellowship from us. We see this in the life of David—when David sinned greatly, there was a severe withdrawal of God’s presence, prompting him to pray desperately for restoration.
Habakkuk 1:13:
“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity…”
God can never look favorably upon sin. He views it with utter abhorrence, repugnance, and revolt.
We see this beautifully illustrated in the person of Jesus Christ.
“For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” (Hebrews 7:26)
Think about that: Jesus lived in a home with sinners, worked with sinners, chose disciples who were sinners, and ate with tax collectors. Yet, He was “separate from sinners.” Why? Because He was ethically and morally distinct. Everyone else was defiled; He remained entirely undefiled.
- The Positive Side: Absolute Moral Perfection
Ethical holiness is not just the absence of evil; it is the active presence of perfect moral excellence.
As the theologian Arthur Pink wrote:
“In Scripture, He is frequently styled ‘The Holy One.’ He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin.”
The Apostle John put it beautifully:
“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
In this verse, light and darkness represent holiness and wickedness. God is entirely good, entirely holy, with no trace of evil. As theologian Geerhardus Vos noted, “God is holy in everything that characterizes Him and reveals Him—holy in His goodness and grace, just as He is in His righteousness and wrath.”
The Psalmist echoes this:
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17) Commenting on this, the Puritan Thomas Watson wrote:
“He is holy in his nature. His very being is made up of holiness, as light is the essence of the sun. God is holy in his operations. All he does is holy. He cannot but act like himself; he can no more do an unrighteous action than the sun can
darken.”
The Call to Personal Holiness
Because God is positively holy, the Apostle Peter exhorts us to be the same:
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15–16)
This is our motive. We are the children of God, and true children desire to please their Heavenly Father. The most effective Christians are those who maintain a simple, childlike desire to please Him. If we know that holiness pleases Him, this command carries weight. If there is a holy way to do something, that is the way we must choose to do it.
Confronting the Myth of the “Easy-Going” God
Let us summarise: God is absolutely separate from sin, and He is absolutely perfect in all His works. Every moment, He maintains His holiness and loathes sin in every degree.
When we sin, we do it alone. God does not join us, and He does not condone it. Your sin and my sin is utterly abhorrent to Him.
This is a far cry from how the world—and sometimes even the church—imagines God. He is not a kindly, lenient old man who winks at our “little failings”. He does not see them as minor slips; He sees them as sin, and He hates all sin, whether in unbelievers or believers.
Consider the severity of God’s response to sin throughout history:
For one sin, God banished our first parents from the Garden of Eden.
For one sin, the posterity of Canaan fell under a lasting curse.
For one sin, Moses—a remarkably godly man—was excluded from entering the Promised Land.
For one sin, Uzziah was smitten with leprosy, and Ananias and Sapphira were cut off from the land of the living.
God is not easy-going. He will not mollycoddle us in our favorite sins. We might tell ourselves, “Well, I’m not a very strong Christian, and God knows that, so He’ll understand.” But truth be told, there is no such thing as a “strong” Christian. We are all weak, and we are all subject to temptation. That is no excuse to coddle our sins. God abominates even what we consider to be “little” sins. If God has spoken plainly on a matter in His Word, it is important, and we must treat it as such.
As the Scottish theologian John Dick wrote:
“Why did he overwhelm the former earth with the waters of the deluge? Why did he consume cities with a shower of fire and brimstone from the clouds? The cause is sin, and the design is to remind us that the notions which men entertain of him as an easy and indulgent being are false.”
Our Attitude To Sin
We must be realistic: as Christians, we will sin. We will battle with sin for the rest of our lives. But we must never become casual about it. When you sin, and you know it, confess it as quickly as you possibly can. By God’s grace, endeavor to forsake it immediately.
Do not allow yourself a little leeway. Do not say, “I’ll give myself a pass on this one.” Confess it, turn from it, and strive by the grace of God to walk uprightly. When we live this way, we will experience the true fullness of God’s blessing in our lives.
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