This article is part 2 of a series, you can read part 1 here.

After all the trials Naomi and Ruth experienced in the first two chapters of the Book of Ruth, God’s steadfast love appears to be at work for these women. God is not going to abandon them, and He has a good purpose even in their afflictions. He is about to put His unfailing mercy, grace, and kindness on display in the lives of these two women who have endured so much difficulty. 

As we read in this narrative, God really doesn’t do anything overly spectacular to complete this story from a human perspective. God’s steadfast love shows up, not through direct divine intervention, but through His people displaying divine love through their faithfulness.

This concept is important for us to grasp because we live in a culture of broken promises and relationships where loyalty and faithfulness are rare. People in our world often lie, breaking promises and faith in relationships. Steadfast, faithful love is almost non-existent in our society.

That’s the reality of the world, but it shouldn’t be the reality of the church of Jesus Christ. God has called Christians to steadfast love so we might reflect His character to our broken world. There are three characteristics of this faithfulness to consider from Ruth 3 and 4 as we strive to emulate the Lord’s steadfast love.

First, to emulate God’s steadfast love, we need to understand that steadfast love is relational.

We cannot display God’s steadfast love in isolation from others; we need to be in relationships with people to obey this calling of showing the Lord’s steadfast love to him and the world. We see this relational aspect of steadfast love in Ruth 3. 

In this chapter, we observe the importance of showing steadfast love in our relationships. Naomi shows her daughter-in-law this love by arranging her search for a husband. Ruth shows this love repeatedly to Naomi – especially when she adheres to Naomi’s parameters during her quest for a husband. Boaz even recognizes her love and obedience when he says, “You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich” (verse 10).Ruth also shows this love by being prudent in her search for a mate, seeking to do right before the Lord. Boaz shows this steadfast love by agreeing to marry Ruth.

If we are going to be people who display God’s love and kindness, we must interact and be in relationships with others. We need this kind of kindness in our churches, marriages, families, neighborhoods, workplaces, and so on. As we show continued kindness and grace to others, we will reflect God’s nature and character toward us. 

Second, to be people who show steadfast love, we need to realize that steadfast love is costly.

There is a difficulty that accompanies this kindness, loyalty, and love. It’s easy to be kind when people are kind to us. It’s easy to show love when we stand to gain something from that transaction. It’s easy to be loyal to those who can benefit us. However, the love God has shown to His people goes beyond what is convenient. It is costly. We see this aspect of steadfast love in 4:1-11 with Boaz’s interaction with a possible redeemer of Naomi and Ruth, who did not want to jeopardize his immediate family’s inheritance.

Ruth’s redemption in this story parallels our own – although our redemption is more costly than any human example. Our redemption was purchased, not with earthly riches, but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1). Because of this amazing redemption, we are now co-heirs with Christ and have received an inheritance. How incredible it is that, unlike the first redeemer in Ruth, Jesus does not wish to guard His inheritance, but shares it with His people because He is our great redeemer.

As we consider steadfast love, then, we see that it is often costly, difficult, and risky. We are called to step out in faith, trusting God for our inheritance, for our protection, for our well-being – not selfishly seeking to protect ourselves from hurt, mistreatment, ostracism, or loss.

For us to love like God has called us to love, we must take risks. We will have to reach out to the person unlike us. We will have to be first to break the silence during a conflict with words of reconciliation and peace. We will have to be willing to step out to help someone we might otherwise pass by. We will have to overcome the fear of being rejected or ostracized when we tell someone about Jesus. Steadfast love is costly, difficult, and risky; it is not safe or convenient. 

Lastly, steadfast love is rewarded.

From verse 12 through the end of the book, we read of one blessing after another. Naomi, like Job, is restored. God has not been against her, but He has been working for her in her suffering, bringing about a great deliverance through her family line. Naomi’s suffering had a greater purpose, namely, the salvation of humanity.

Ruth has a son named Obed, which means worshiper, giving readers beautiful insight of this ending. Naomi went through the valley of the shadow of death and emerged praising the Lord for His goodness. Ruth is also marked as a worshiper of the true and living God, with her husband Boaz.

Christians can be assured that when we arrive on the other side of any trial and see God’s great purposes, we will be awestruck by His goodness and be driven to worship Him, like Naomi and Ruth. It’s not easy to see that promise amid our sufferings. The natural reaction is to rename ourselves Mara from bitterness, as Naomi did when she returned home. For all God’s people, though, the moment of worship comes when we see God’s glory displayed, realizing that His will is always for our good.  

The end of the story of Ruth is just one more step in the story of God’s redemption of sinners. In verses 21-22, we read, “And to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.” This David would receive an everlasting covenant of an eternal kingdom, a kingdom His offspring would rule forever and ever.

The story that began with so much tragedy ends with redemption, salvation, promise, hope, and ultimately, with worship. Boaz steps out in faith, jeopardizes his own inheritance, and becomes an ancestor of the Messiah. Ruth, who has proven her faith of the unseen Lord throughout this journey, winds up being a key person in the genealogy of Jesus. In Matthew 1, there are three women listed in Jesus’ genealogy. Two of them are Gentiles. One of them is Ruth.

Steadfast love is rewarded and blessed. It might be inconvenient, risky, and costly. Yet it is always worth it in the end. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection prove this to be true. 

Proverbs 20:6 asks a pointed question: “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?” Many people talk about steadfast love, but few practice it. Many people say they are loyal, kind, and faithful to the end, but most of them aren’t. It’s difficult to find a person of true, faithful, enduring steadfast love. Nevertheless, may we as believers of Jesus Christ be characterized by His steadfast love in a world that desperately needs the hope and promise of salvation.

The book of Ruth shows that even amid a dark period of unthinkable wickedness and rebellion, God is still working to accomplish His purpose of redemption. This book is also a reminder that even when it seems an entire nation has rejected the Lord, His faithful remnant remains.

With everything we face in our world today, it is a great relief to look at God’s faithful, covenant love in the first two chapters of this book. God’s covenant love triumphs over everything against His people so that we persevere in hope. Paul writes in Romans 8:35: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” In Ruth 1-2, we see a number of these things trying to separate God’s people from His love. Yet, these chapters are a living illustration of the truth of Romans 8:35-39 and God’s enduring, unbreakable love for His people. 

There are three things from Ruth 1-2 that enable us to persevere in hope on the firm foundation of God’s covenant love. 

First, to persevere in hope, we need to recognize the reality of adversity.

The story of redemption in Ruth is born in the cradle of adversity. In just this chapter, Naomi undergoes five severe experiences of difficulty. 

As the story opens, we meet a family of four, who are confronted with famine in Israel. This famine was such a severe trial that it prompted Elimelech, Ruth’s future father-in-law, to uproot his family to Moab. 

This family then faces the adversity of living among unfriendly foreigners outside the land that God gave to Israel. Moab had long opposed Israel and their military conquests.

Naomi’s third trial occurs when her husband died, and she now was burdened by being a widow in a foreign land. Her sons were probably not very old, so they would have been of limited help. 

God’s covenant love triumphs over everything against His people so that we persevere in hope.

After Naomi’s sons married foreign women, they died as well, extinguishing Naomi’s family line. She is bereft not only of her family, but also of any legal help or protection. 

Naomi eventually learns that the Lord has brought the famine to an end and decides to move back home. It was extremely dangerous for a woman to travel alone, but Naomi’s options at this point are to remain in Moab as an unprotected widow or to take a chance on the journey and hope some distant relative back home might assist her.

When Naomi arrives home, the intensity of the adversity she has faced is not lost on her. She recognizes the difficulties she has experienced, and she has been, at least in her understanding, irrevocably changed because of her trials. Naomi left a woman who was full of joy, with a family and high hopes. She came back destitute and hopeless. 

The language of this opening chapter is reminiscent of the book of Job. Naomi loses everything she values in her life. Her trials seem to happen in rapid succession, without a respite from the adversity. Also, like Job, she recognizes everything comes from the Lord’s hand and providence. Whether Naomi is proven right about what God is doing is yet to be seen, but the reality is that God is the one who has moved her through it all.

If we’re encountering adversity, remember God is working in and through our lives. Our trials have not taken God by surprise. Adversity is providence. 

Second, to persevere with hope, we need to respond to adversity in faith.

When Naomi decided to leave Moab, her two daughters-in-law desired to follow. She encouraged them to return to their mother’s house. Eventually, Orpah was persuaded to go home, but Ruth would not be persuaded. 

Ruth is determined to follow Naomi, wanting to convert to become an Israelite. In doing so, she understands she must forsake her gods and worship only the God of Israel; unexpectedly, especially given the context of Judges, she freely volunteers her unwavering loyalty to Israel’s God! Here we have this foreigner, excluded from the Lord’s assembly by her nationality, committing herself to the Lord until death. What a picture: Ruth the Moabitess is utterly loyal to the God of Israel, while Israel itself continually forsakes Him. 

If we’re encountering adversity, remember God is working in and through our lives. Our trials have not taken God by surprise.

This conversion appears to be genuine. Ruth does not say Naomi’s gods will be her gods; instead, she specifically names Israel’s God. Moreover, Boaz later recognizes Ruth came to take refuge under the Lord’s protection. Through Ruth’s relationship with her Israelite family, she saw the futility of the Moabite gods and the glory of the God of Israel – and she would not be parted from Him. 

What was it about the God of Israel that Ruth found so attractive? Ruth’s first exposure to Him was a God whose people were suffering from famine. Then, her father-in-law is dead, and her husband and brother-in-law passed away. She was a barren widow. She and her mother-in-law became embittered and impoverished.

Despite all that had happened, Ruth wanted to follow the Lord because she had found truth. Once Ruth had recognized truth, it didn’t matter the cost or the external trappings, nor did it matter that the lie looked more promising in the short run. The God of Israel was the true God, and she would not relinquish Him.

Most importantly, though, this woman responds to adversity with faith. She doesn’t make her decision based on emotion or external circumstances. Instead, she makes her decision based on God’s truth.

Ruth’s response is so instructive. When we struggle with adversity, does truth drive our response? Or does the flesh lead to despair rather than hope? When we tell others the gospel of Christ, are we confident that the power is in the truth, not in our presentation? We need to remind ourselves repeatedly that Scripture is the truth, and our God is the true God against all the world’s lies. 

Third, to persevere with hope, rest in God’s faithfulness through adversity.

Chapter two of Ruth shows God’s faithfulness to Ruth and Naomi. 

When she settles in her new home, Ruth takes the initiative to provide food. The field that Ruth discovers to glean belongs to a man named Boaz, who was related to Naomi’s late husband. When Boaz finds out Ruth’s identity, he instructed his workers to ensure she is provided for and protected. Boaz also tells Ruth he has provided for her because of her godly reputation.

Scripture is the truth, and our God is the true God against all the world’s lies.

In the end, God’s provision to Naomi and Ruth is more than abundant – not only of food, but also of physical protection, something two widows would have severely needed in their culture. Moreover, it appears that a budding romance is beginning between Boaz and Ruth. 

As we look at this chapter, God’s provision for Naomi and Ruth is unmistakable. God provides for the ladies in their distress in more ways than initially Ruth even was seeking. This is how God works. He regularly provides for His people even during adversity. We can rest in His care and love even if the entire world around us has been turned upside down.

Here we see two women who were able to persevere in hope because of God’s faithfulness. Without God, they would have had no hope – and neither does anyone apart from faith in Christ. It’s amazing to consider that Ruth was part of a population that God said were never allowed in His people. And yet Ruth was received by God because she trusted in Him. Jesus turns away no one who comes to Him in faith. What a marvelous and reassuring promise of hope and salvation!

Over the course of our study on God’s holiness, we have seen the significance of the Lord’s holiness when His creatures encounter Him, and the reverence and awe His holiness produces. We also have seen why His holiness has this effect upon us, because God is incomparable in His holiness, incorruptibly pure in His holiness, and holy in all His infinite perfections.

God’s holiness has a certain and inevitable impact when He interacts with sinful people. God’s holiness results in His wrath on sinners who come to Him in their sins. However, God’s holiness does not always end in wrath upon sinners because God, in His holy love, sent His perfect Son to die on the cross and bear the sins of all who would put their faith in Him.

When we, as Christians, consider these truths about God’s holiness, we might ask, “What comes next now that I have been accepted by God in Christ because of God’s holy grace?”

As people who love Christ, we want to be holy and pursue holiness – and we all need help with that pursuit. Hebrews 12 gives us a clear outline and concise summary of how to pursue holiness as a believer.

First, to pursue holiness, we must set aside hindrances.

The writer specifically notes two things that cause hindrances to our pursuit of holiness by faith. First, he mentions encumbrances, which are things that are unnecessary or that get in the way of running the race of faith so that we are pursuing holiness. We must set aside the things that drain our time, focus, energy, and attention away from what God has called us to do.

A second hindrance the writer mentions is sin. This warning should be obvious because people can’t pursue holiness and hang on to sin. The problem is, though, that sin so easily entangles us, which is extremely difficult to understand and accept at a practical level for many Christians. We must not compromise for sin. We must not make excuses for sin. We must not blame others for our sin. We must not justify our sin but instead we must lay aside all our sins to run the race of faith and pursue holiness in our lives.

We must not justify our sin but instead we must lay aside all our sins to run the race of faith and pursue holiness in our lives.

Next, to pursue holiness, we must stay focused on Christ.

This is so crucial because it is all too easy for us to become focused on all the hindrances we just set aside. We can become consumed with all the sins we battle, the temptations we face, the weights we carry, and all the impediments on the track. Our race becomes impossible to run when we try to employ our own power rather than by faith in the power of Christ in our lives.

Instead, we must keep our eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the author and perfector of our faith. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to run the race of faith with our focus kept on Christ, because He gives and sustains our faith until it reaches its goal of total and perfect holiness in glory with Him. Christ is the great resource we have in this race because of our reliance on Him.

Third, to pursue holiness, we must submit to divine discipline.

No one likes discipline because it is hard and painful. Discipline stretches, challenges, and corrects us. Yet even though we chafe against discipline in our human flesh, we must submit to God’s discipline if we would be holy.

God’s discipline isn’t merely correction for some sin present in our lives, but anything God brings into our lives to push us toward holiness and greater trust and obedience to His Word. Trials are used by God in this way. Difficulties, tribulations, sufferings, and trials are all designed and employed by God to refine our faith and strengthen our character so that we might share in His holiness.

Fourth, to pursue holiness, we must strive for peace.

Sanctification, or pursuing holiness, is not meant to be something we do in isolation. Our growth in holiness is directly impacted by our relationships with other believers. In fact, we can go as far as to say that if we are not seeking peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are failing to pursue holiness as God has commanded in His Word. Disunity or bitterness are sins that so easily entangle us and must be put off if we are to run unhindered and unencumbered.

The context of this verse is for all believers – all those in the church – not all men in the world. Many times, pursuing holiness will put us at odds with the world, and seeking peace with the ungodly at the same time we strive for holiness can be impossible. While we should not provoke unnecessary controversy or conflict with unbelievers, expending all our energy trying to make peace with those who are not at peace with God or us is futile. The context of Hebrews 12 is the community of believers, and we are to be at peace with fellow Christians.

Trials are designed and employed by God to refine our faith and strengthen our character so that we might share in His holiness.

Finally, to pursue holiness, we must strive for holiness.

Here the writer makes it plain that when he talks about running the race, he means to pursue holiness. We should be people intent on being holy as God is holy. That should be our aim, our joy, and our privilege – to reflect the character of our thrice holy God.

Striving for holiness is not salvation by works because these works flow out of the heart of someone who is already saved by grace through faith. However, if people aren’t pursuing holiness, then they prove not to be saints. Those who are not holy will not see the Lord. The reason for their lack of holiness is that they aren’t really in Christ at all, and their profession of faith is illegitimate. As 1 John 3:3 reminds us, if we really love the promise of Christ’s coming, then we will long for and pursue holiness.

It’s not popular today to pursue holiness. In fact, there’s often the sentiment that as Christians, we should only pursue holiness to a certain degree. Or there’s the idea that we will become holy through osmosis, without any effort required. Some fear that if we become holy, it will turn the world away from Christ because of its distain for holiness. Those who pursue holiness are criticized often as being hypocrites because ungodly people equate a love for obedience to God’s Word with legalism and hypocrisy.

Yet we are called to pursue holiness, the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. This doesn’t happen by accident, because no one becomes holy without disciplining themselves for the purpose of godliness. God is holy, holy, holy; and in Christ, we have been made saints. May God grant us the grace to pursue holiness by faith, and may it be our prayer that we would be holy – as our Lord is holy.

Few things are more important than knowing and understanding God’s holiness. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” If we want to have any wisdom at all or if we want to begin to make any progress in understanding God, ourselves, and the world, then we must seek to know the Holy One.

After understanding the meaning of God’s holiness as best we can with our humanity, we are left with a significant question for consideration: how does the holiness of God impact His relationship with us as sinners?

The Bible spends a great deal of time unpacking the meaning of God’s holiness and establishing the reality that we are sinners. Unlike the general view of the world about the goodness of people, the Bible’s description of mortal beings is not merely that we are sinful people, but that we are totally depraved. Apart from Christ, every person is dead in and in love with sin, rebellious against God, detestable, and deceived – not only about God – but about their own heart. This truth about sinners only makes sense when we arrive at the correct understanding about the absolute holiness of God.

If we want to have any wisdom at all or if we want to begin to make any progress in understanding God, ourselves, and the world, then we must seek to know the Holy One.

There is a massive tension when God, who is holy, interacts with people who are not – and many people cannot grasp this concept.

First, we must understand that God’s holiness ensures wrath on sinners.

This is one reason why we don’t like to talk about God’s holiness – because it inevitably leads to the necessary conclusion that God’s wrath comes upon the wicked. There are many clear statements that bear this out, starting with Psalm 5:4-6. Here, the Psalmist gives us an unmistakable statement about God’s hatred of wickedness. God does not merely hate wickedness in some abstract sense, nor does He merely hate wicked things people do because they harm others. Rather, God hates all who do iniquity. God’s holiness means that God destroys all those who speak falsehood, which is just another way of saying ‘everyone who is a sinner.’ God abhors liars and violent people.

We have several examples of this playing out in Scripture. In Genesis 6, we observe a narrative of God in His holiness, looking at humanity, examining the heart, intentions, and deeds. When God looks at humanity from every angle, all He sees is continual evil. God’s response is total destruction of the world and an uncreation of creation. The wrath of God comes, not just on one person, family, or nation, but on the entire world. This response of God should not be shocking if we understand that God is holy, because when God’s holiness comes upon mankind’s sin, wrath is the outcome.

Thankfully, God’s holiness also ensures grace for sinners.

No one should be surprised that God’s holiness is the basis of His wrath toward sinners, and yet it is unexpected to learn that God’s holiness is also the foundation of His grace toward sinners. This fact is crucial because it gives legs to our faith; it gives certainty to our hearts; and it strengthens us when we discover that God’s grace is not arbitrary whimsical, mutable, or temporary. Because God is holy, He does not always bring wrath on sinners but shows mercy and grace.

There is no greater example of this reality than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we see in Psalm 22 (words which Jesus uttered on the cross), what gave Jesus the courage, strength, and fortitude to go through the cross, enduring the holy wrath of God even though He was righteous and holy Himself – was that God was holy (v. 3). God’s holiness was Christ’s strength as He suffered and died for the sins of humanity.

Christ knew that God’s holy character provided the absolute confidence that God would be faithful to His covenant promises. God’s perfect holiness meant that Jesus’ death would not be in vain and that the promises of God to bring salvation to His people would be fulfilled. On the cross, the Messiah looked back at the fathers who trusted God and were delivered, and He knew God would deliver Him from death through the resurrection because God is holy. What an amazing reality to consider that God’s holiness not only ensures wrath upon sinners but grace for sinners.

God’s holiness was Christ’s strength as He suffered and died for the sins of humanity.

Finally, the consequence of God’s holiness depends on the offering the sinner brings.

Here’s the question: When individuals come before a holy God, what should they bring to make them acceptable to their Lord? Every sinner comes before God with an offering or some reason for God to accept him. Whether sinners incur God’s wrath or receive His grace depends on what they bring into His presence for their sins.

This is graphically and tragically played out for us in Leviticus 9-10. God explicitly commands the priests not to offer something on the altar that is strange, foreign, or outside the prescribed offerings – or there will be consequences. Nadab and Abihu ignored that command and were consumed; their sacrifice was rejected. As this passage instructs us, when people come into the presence of God, if they do not come with a sacrifice that atones for their sins, the holiness of God will consume them.

All the Old Testament sacrifices were a picture of the one, final, true sacrifice that God would provide for the sins of His people: the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is only this sacrifice that God accepts to atone for the sins of sinners. If we are reading Leviticus 9-10 correctly, we will understand this very important truth: if people come to God with anything other than the blood of Jesus Christ to atone for their sins, they will be destroyed by His holiness in wrath.

A line from the old hymn “Rock of Ages” sums up this theme so well: “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” We do not come to Christ with anything of value, worth, or merit. Rather, we come as sinners in need of a Savior and all our trust is in Christ.

It is vital we do not forget the holiness of God. His holiness is our anchor during the dark night of the soul. When Satan tempts, condemns, accuses, or tells us we are unworthy, doubtful, fearful, wicked, ungodly people, we recognize that, though our faith might sometimes be weak, our God is not. He is holy and will meet us with grace through Jesus Christ.

In the last post, we studied what an encounter with our holy God looks like and how it changes us. True believers are filled with dread, awe, fear, and reverence upon encountering the holy God of Israel. This is completely antithetical to the world and sadly many evangelical churches that display a glibness and a lack of reverence and awe when it comes to our Lord’s holiness.

Having seen what happens when sinners encounter God in His holiness, we want to answer the question, ‘What does the Bible mean when it says that God is holy?’

The Bible uses the word ‘holy’ and its derivatives over 500 times, but it never defines the word, leaving us to discover its meaning by seeing how it is used in various contexts. Scripture instead gives us three different angles to reveal the meaning of the holiness of God.

The first angle is that God’s holiness is manifest in His incomparable preeminence.

Theologians use several different terms for this aspect of God’s holiness, referring to His majesty and exaltedness. The phrase speaks to the distinction between God and everything that God has made when it is used in the context of creation. The word holy is derived from a word that means to cut or to separate, and so the idea of God’s holiness is the idea that God is separate from us. There is nothing in creation like God; He is incomparably preeminent in that He is above everything, and nothing compares to Him.

Some passages in Scripture help us understand the holiness of God in His incomparable preeminence. The foundational text to consider is Exodus 15:11, where Moses and the sons of Israel are praising God for His holiness. These people note two things about God’s holiness: that His holiness is majestic, and that His holiness puts Him in a class all by Himself. This verse really defines God’s holiness in His incomparable preeminence for the rest of Scripture because it shows us that God’s holiness speaks to His majesty and to His exaltedness over all that exists in creation.

Perhaps no one waxes as eloquently about God’s incomparable preeminence as the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 40, Isaiah invites a comparison between God and things of the world. We see that the more questions Isaiah asks, the more obvious it becomes that there is no one like God. No one is like God in His majestic holiness! No one has power like His, no one has sovereignty like His, no one has majesty like His, no one has wisdom like His, and no one creates like He does. God is in a class by Himself. As R.C. Sproul put it, “God is an infinite cut above everything else. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us.”

The second angle is that God’s holiness is manifest in His incorruptible purity.

This aspect of God’s holiness speaks to His perfect righteousness and justice. God does not do anything evil; He does not think anything evil; He is never tempted by evil. God has no hint of darkness in Him at all, but He is pure light, righteousness, and goodness.

The Scriptures also present this aspect of God’s perfect holiness to us. The prophet Habakkuk was wrestling with God’s incorruptible purity when he learned God was going to judge Israel’s sins through the Babylonians, a nation far more wicked than Israel. In Habakkuk’s wrestling, he notes the holiness of God in Habakkuk 1:12-13 and then takes it to its logical conclusion: God is too pure to approve evil, and He cannot look on wickedness with favor. It seemed like God was doing just that, but Habakkuk was reassuring himself that God was holy; and although it might look like God was acting in an unholy way, that was impossible.

The biggest spiritual problem of our culture is that individuals think they’re generally good people because they’ve never encountered the holiness of God.

James 1:13 goes further, informing us that God is so far from evil – so separate from evil, that He never tempts anyone to do evil nor does He watch someone else do evil. He wants nothing to do with evil at all because He is incorruptibly pure.

The biggest spiritual problem of our culture is that individuals think they’re generally good people because they’ve never encountered the holiness of God – much like the rich young ruler in Luke 18. Just about everyone in the world today is like that rich young ruler: they think there is something good they can do to inherit eternal life. However, despite the mental objections of millions to the idea of eternal punishment at the hands of an almighty God, God doesn’t send good people to hell; He sends sinners to hell because God alone is good. We must declare to the unbelievers in our culture – not that God wants them to have a better life or to help them with their problems or to be all that they can be – but that God is holy, and that they are standing on the precipice of hell because they are wicked people who deserve judgment.

The final angle is that God’s holiness is manifest in His infinite perfections.

This phrase simply means that God’s holiness is not one attribute among many, but that His holiness is the attribute that permeates everything about Him. God is holy in all His perfections. R.C. Sproul once noted that “only once in scared Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree…The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy…The Bible never says that God is love, love, love; or mercy, mercy, mercy; or wrath, wrath, wrath; or justice, justice, justice. It does say that He is holy, holy, holy.”

We might think about this idea by considering some of God’s many perfections, starting with His love. God is not any kind of love; He is a holy kind of love. God’s love is not perverse, self-centered, worldly, lustful, or any other worldly characteristic of love.

God’s wrath is not an outburst of wrath like ours when we give into the flesh, but it only manifests itself at appropriate times and towards appropriate objects; God’s wrath is a holy wrath. God’s grace does not violate His holiness even while He displays that grace to sinners, but that grace comes at great cost in the death of His Son. God shows us a holy grace. We know, too, that God’s omnipotence, jealousy, patience, and kindness are all holy.

These perfections of God are infinitely greater than our manifestations of them. We are not to look at human grace, mercy, love, or wrath – and think that we see what God is like because we’ve seen what men are like. Instead, we are to look at God’s Word to learn what grace, mercy, love, and wrath are supposed to be like – and then conform ourselves to God’s holy perfections.

When we talk about God’s holiness, we can scarcely wrap our minds around it or adequately capture it in human language. We can, though, understand it in measure. Seeing the greatness of God’s holiness leads us to wonder how it is that a holy God can have a relationship with sinful people. Next, we will look at the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.

As we introduced in the previous post, many people and churches in our world have forgotten, overlooked, and ignored the holiness of God. We outlined four disastrous consequences for failing to appreciate, love, and proclaim God’s holiness: frivolous and trivial worship, a lost Great Commission in churches, worldly and ungodly lives, and countless false believers who incorrectly think they know God.

Thankfully, there is a remedy to this widespread problem of forgetting God’s holiness. If we would know and love the living and holy God, we must be people who have truly encountered Him as the God who is holy.

Someone might ask, “How do I know if I’ve encountered this holy God?” Three illustrations from Scripture show us what happens when creatures encounter this holy God. In light of these illustrations, we might put our hearts to the test, to see if we have really understood and grasped that we believe in Scripture’s revelation of God as unchangeably, eternally, and perfectly holy.

The first illustration is that of Moses in Exodus 3:1-6; 33:13-34:8.

Moses encountered God perhaps more than anyone else in the Old Testament, and it’s fascinating to observe how encountering God in His perfect holiness affected Moses. When reading how God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, we see three facts about sinners encountering God in His holiness.

If we would know and love the living and holy God, we must be people who have truly encountered Him as the God who is holy.

First, the holiness of God put distance between God and Moses. Second, God commanded Moses to show reverence for His holiness. Third, when Moses realized he had encountered God (the true and living God who is holy), he hid his face and was terrified to look at God. At this point in Moses’ relationship with the Lord, he was a believer in the God of Israel, but he also appears to know very little about sacrifice, redemption, or forgiveness. Moses’ fear in this episode of the burning bush makes perfect sense. As time goes on, however, Moses begins to learn about the compassion of this holy God, the way of salvation provided through sacrifice, and the forgiveness that comes to sinners. Consequently, Moses’ interactions with God change to reflect Moses’ greater understanding of God’s holiness in its fullness.

In Exodus 33, we observe a significant contrast. Moses has seen the mercy, forgiveness, grace, and compassion of this holy God. Now, rather than desiring to hide his face from God, he wants to know this holy God and be in the Lord’s presence.

God granted Moses’ request to see His glory as much as his sinful humanity could handle, allowing Moses to see the rear parts of His glory and declaring His name before Moses. We see, though, that Moses’ fear and reverence for God were unchanged. Moses never lost that sense of awe before the majesty of God’s infinite holiness. God’s holiness no longer terrified him as someone who wanted to run from God because he knew God had forgiven and accepted him. Nevertheless, the holiness of God still caused Moses to bow in worship, to reverence God, and to fear Him.

The church today has too much familiarity with the Holy One of Israel – a glibness, and a lack of reverence and awe. If we have truly encountered God in His majestic holiness, we will never trifle with Him. Instead, we will long for Him, love Him, adore Him; we will want to be with Him, and we will want Him to be with us – but we will never lose the sense that He is God, and we are not.

Isaiah was another man who encountered God face to face.

In Isaiah 6, we see both Isaiah (a sinful man) and holy angels encountering God. Even the angels in the presence of God – angels who never fell into sin – are overwhelmed by God’s holiness. They cover their face because of the awesomeness of God’s holiness, and they cover their feet as a sign of honor and reverence before this holy God. If such mighty angels, who have never sinned, revere and fear the Holy One of Israel, what would the response of a sinner be to His glorious holiness?

That answer is given to us in Isaiah’s response to this vision. He pronounces a curse on himself, recognizing that no matter how good he thought he was before this moment, he was accursed because of his sin in the presence of the holy God seated on the throne. Isaiah confesses that he is totally and completely defiled before a God so perfect and holy.

Isaiah’s reaction to seeing the holiness of God is similar to Moses’: fear, dread, and impending doom. This is the correct response when a sinner encounters God in His holiness and recognizes that he is fully unworthy and stands under the just penalty of death for his sin.

Once Isaiah’s sins are forgiven later in the passage, the scene’s tone completely changes. Isaiah turns from pronouncing a curse upon himself for his sinfulness to volunteering to serve the Lord. This is a total transformation: seeing the holiness of the Lord in the context of forgiveness produces holiness in the life of the sinner. Isaiah leaves the presence of the holy Lord, realizing his one aim in life moving forward is to be holy, to be obedient, and to submit himself to the will of his holy Lord.

Peter also encountered the holiness of the Lord in Luke 5.

Note that this moment of the holiness of Christ was veiled in human flesh. This was not the same level of majestic holiness Isaiah saw when he observed Christ seated on the heavenly throne with all the angels around Him. Jesus was, to all outward appearances, a normal human man; but even this glimpse of the holiness of Christ overwhelmed Peter when his Lord caused a great miracle during his fishing expedition.

Seeing the holiness of the Lord in the context of forgiveness produces holiness in the life of the sinner.

Peter’s response was exactly like that of Isaiah. He told Jesus to leave because Jesus had exposed his sin. Peter knew immediately that Jesus was holy, but he was not. Peter was filled with dread, with awe, and with reverence; he bowed down at Jesus’ feet. It was here Peter became a full-time disciple of Jesus Christ. He stacked up the value of a lucrative fishing trade and the value of the holiness of Christ that called him as a disciple – and the choice was obvious.

Those comparing the narratives of Isaiah and Peter should note there is exactly zero difference between the holy God of the Old Testament and the Holy Son of God who came to seek and to save that which was lost. The holiness, response, and reverence are all the same.

Hebrews 12:18-29 perfectly encapsulates what it means for the new covenant believer to encounter our holy God. Verses 18-21 remind us of the holiness of God and what a terror it is to sinners under the Law, so that even Moses trembled at the sight! Verses 22-24 explain that we have not come to an earthly mountain, but to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem. We have the blood of Christ covering us; we have a new covenant in which our sins are forgiven; and we have a mediator in Christ who brings us to God so that we might joyfully dwell in His presence forever!

Verses 28-29 summarize the result of this glorious new covenant relationship we have with our holy God as we encounter Him. We come before our holy God with gratitude that He has provided for us a perfect High Priest, a perfect Mediator, a better covenant based on better promises, and blood that has washed away our sins. With that gratitude, we come with reverence and awe because our God is still a consuming fire.

Have we encountered the God who is holy, holy, holy – the God of Moses, the God of Isaiah, the God of Peter, the God who is a consuming fire? Have we heard through the promises in His Word that through faith in Christ He has taken away our sin through the blood of His Son, welcomed us into His holy presence, and transformed us through our encounters with His holiness? These are weighty questions we do well to ask ourselves today.