God Is Holy

God has already revealed who he is, so nobody gets to define him according to culture, preference, or casual language. The word holy gets thrown around for everything from “holy cow” to “holy grail,” and that kind of loose language can leave God’s holiness feeling like a dozen different things. God’s holiness, though, is not casual, ordinary, or up for interpretation. Holiness means being totally dedicated to God, set aside for his special use, and set apart from sin and its influence.

Peter’s command, “Be holy because I am holy,” can sound like varsity-level Christianity. The command can make a person want to say, “I’ll do my best and hope for the rest,” as though God grades on a curve. But God’s holiness does not lower the standard, and the impossibility of holiness cannot become an excuse to quit trying. God’s people should resemble the God they serve.

God’s presence in Exodus shows the fiery intensity of holiness. The ground around the burning bush became holy simply because God was near, and Moses had to hide his face. The mountain at Sinai burned with God’s presence, Moses’ face glowed after speaking with God, and even the tabernacle became too holy for Moses to enter. God’s holiness is not something people get to approach however they want.

Nadab and Abihu show what happens when holy things get treated as ordinary. Their unauthorized fire was still fire, but it was not the fire God had commanded. Their sin was bringing their own terms into God’s presence, as if fire is just fire and God should be fine with whatever seems sincere. A holy God decides how people approach him.

Jesus is the way God has provided. Religious effort, personal goodness, church attendance, and sincerity are all modern-day versions of bringing personal fire before God. Hebrews says that old sacrifices could only deal with sin for a little while, but Jesus offered himself once for all time. Christ is the better High Priest, and his sacrifice is better than every sacrifice that came before it.

Christ’s one offering has forever made complete those who are being made holy. Completion is already finished for those who belong to Jesus, but holiness is still happening right now. God is not trying to make his people acceptable someday if they behave. Christ has already made them acceptable, and they now participate in the lifelong work of being made holy.

Holiness should make sin increasingly ugly. God exposes sin not to shame his people for still growing, but to make them hate what once felt normal. Grace cannot become an excuse to stay where sin is comfortable. Repentance lays down cluelessness, apathy, and willful sin before the holy God who is anything but ordinary.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God defines holiness, not culture. God’s holiness cannot be built from slang, feelings, or whatever a person happens to mean by “holy.” The word must be filled by God’s own self-revelation. A casual view of holiness will always produce a casual view of God. [03:17]
• 2. Holy things are never ordinary. Nadab and Abihu did not deny that God was real; they treated his commands like details that did not matter. Their unauthorized fire showed the danger of approaching God on personal terms. God’s holiness requires reverence because his presence is not safe to handle casually. [16:50]
• 3. Christ alone provides access to God. Personal goodness, religious activity, and sincere intentions cannot carry anyone into the presence of a holy God. Jesus does not make God less holy; he provides the sacrifice that holiness requires. The gospel is good news because Christ opens a way that nobody could open alone. [18:14]
• 4. Completed in Christ, being made holy. Christ’s sacrifice has already made his people complete before God, and that finished reality keeps working in the present. Holiness is not an attempt to earn acceptance but a response to acceptance already given. God’s people participate in that ongoing work through real choices and real repentance. [29:24]
• 5. Growing holiness produces hatred for sin. God’s work of holiness often shows up when formerly normal sin starts to bother the conscience. That grief is not proof that grace has failed; it can be proof that God is exposing what needs to change. Grace forgives sin, but grace never gives sin permission to remain at home.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:04] - Who Gets to Define God?
• [03:43] - Be Holy Because God Is Holy
• [05:32] - What Holiness Means
• [08:37] - The Danger of Casual Holiness
• [10:18] - God’s Fiery Presence in Exodus
• [13:45] - Nadab and Abihu’s Unauthorized Fire
• [16:50] - God Decides How He Is Approached
• [18:00] - Jesus Is the Only Way
• [20:46] - Jesus, the Better High Priest
• [24:15] - Made Complete and Being Made Holy
• [29:24] - Participating in Holiness
• [31:15] - Learning to Hate Sin
• [34:21] - Repenting of Casual Worship
• [36:20] - Pursuing Holiness Because of Grace

1. In 1 Peter 1:14-16, what contrast does Peter make between the believers’ former way of living and the way they are now called to live? [19:46]
2. What made the ground around the burning bush holy in Exodus 3, and what specific response did God require from Moses? [11:07]
3. In Leviticus 10:1-2, what was wrong with Nadab and Abihu’s fire, and what was the result of offering it before the Lord? [15:48]
4. According to Hebrews 10:11-14, what differences are given between the repeated work of the old priests and the one sacrifice offered by Jesus? [22:19]

1. Why does God’s command, “Be holy because I am holy,” begin with God’s character rather than with a person’s ability to perform perfectly? [06:05]
2. Nadab and Abihu brought fire, incense, and religious activity, yet it was still unauthorized. What does their example show about the danger of approaching God based on what seems reasonable or sincere to a person? [16:42]
3. Hebrews says believers have been made perfect forever and are also being made holy. How can both be true at the same time without turning grace into an excuse for sin? [24:10]
4. If Jesus’ sacrifice is once for all time, why does ongoing repentance still matter in the life of a believer? [31:40]

1. Where might casual language, cultural ideas, or personal preferences be shaping the way you think about God’s holiness? What would it look like to let Scripture define God instead? [02:28]
2. People can sometimes approach God with their own “fire”—their goodness, church attendance, spiritual habits, or sincere intentions. Which of these is most tempting for you to rely on, and how can you more fully rest in Christ alone for access to God? [17:19]
3. Is there an area of your life where you have treated something holy as ordinary—perhaps worship, prayer, obedience, sin, or God’s commands? What would honest repentance look like this week? [34:21]
4. Hebrews says that those who belong to Christ are already made complete before God, while they are still being made holy. How does this truth change the way you respond when you become aware of sin or failure in your life? [28:06]
5. What sin or pattern that once felt normal has begun to bother your conscience? How might that discomfort be evidence of God’s work of holiness rather than merely shame? [31:46]
6. Busyness can quietly push holiness to the side. What specific part of your schedule, habits, or priorities could be adjusted this week to make room for prayer, Scripture, repentance, and obedience? [29:59]