the holiness of god by r. c. sproul · holiness of god in its proper and central place in the...

S U M M A R YTHE HOLINESS OF GODBY R . C . SPROUL

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The Holiness of GodO V E R V I E W

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OVERVIEWCentral to God’s character is the quality ofholiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness preciselyis. Many preachers today avoid the topicaltogether because people today don’t quiteknow what to do with words like “awe” or“fear.”

R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts theholiness of God in its proper and central placein the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiringvision of God that encourages Christian tobecome holy just as God is holy. Once youencounter the holiness of God, your life willnever be the same.

Dr. R. C. Sproul (1939 – 2017) was the founder ofLigonier Ministries, a Reformed Christianorganization that exists to proclaim, teach, anddefend the holiness of God to millions ofpeople around the world. He also served as founding pastor of SaintAndrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, the firstpresident of Reformation Bible College, and asexecutive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Hisradio broadcast, Renewing Your Mind,continues to air daily on hundreds of radiostations around the world and can be heardonline. A prolific writer, Sproul authored more than ahundred books, including The Holiness of God,Chosen by God, and Pleasing God, andcontributed dozens of articles to nationalevangelical publications. Sproul was a belovedtheologian and speaker, appearing atconferences, churches, colleges, andseminaries around the world. He also served asgeneral editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

Author: R. C. Sproul

Publisher: Tyndale Momentum

Date: July 1, 2000

Pages: 240

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God is not love, love, love. Nor is He merciful,merciful, merciful. Rather, He is holy, holy, holy.Holiness is the one characteristic of God thricenamed. How often do we reflect on theholiness of God? How often do God’s peoplecorporately meditate on His holiness? A poorunderstanding of His Holiness is detrimental toour understanding of who He really is and whowe, on a creaturely level, really are. How we view God affects everything. It isintegral to our walk as Christians, to ourunderstanding of Scripture, and to our dailylives. It is far too easy to gloss over this muchneglected portion of God’s character. However,by doing so we are dishonoring Him and doingthe Church a great disservice. How should we live and respond in light of Hisholiness? How does our understanding of Hisholiness affect our worship privately andcorporately? As the idea that justification by faith alone, onthe merits of Christ alone, is so central to thegospel, so too, is the proper understanding ofthe holiness of God. The glory of God fills the whole earth. Why,then, would we be content to huddle in thedarkest of caves to ascertain the character ofGod from mere shadows?

This classic book, The Holiness of God, servesto define what is meant by the holiness of Godand bring readers to a clearer understanding ofwho God really us. By knowing the true natureof God, we are able to rightly understandourselves in view of His holiness.

MAIN IDEA

M A I N I D E A The Holiness of God


There is no place on earth that we can flee tofrom the presence of God. There is no place wecan hide from the holy. Our thoughts are notour own. Our desires and the inclinations of ourheart are laid bare in the sight of a sovereignand holy God. For the Christian, it is a paradox. We arecomforted by the thought of Providencedrawing near to us, understanding our pain,struggle, and fears; We know that nothinghappens apart from the will of the Father; allthings work together for the good of those wholove Him. Yet at the same time, it terrifies us.There is nowhere to flee. He is holy, and as Hischildren, He will discipline us, purifying us fromthe indwelling sin we tend to nurture. There are moments when we find ourselvesalone with Him. A holy, awesome God. A Godwho can fill us with terror one moment andpeace in the next. These are the times we canfeel Him pressing against our souls,illuminating the sin we know we should dailybe mortifying but toy with just a little longer.

The God we worship stands alone. He isoutside of time. He alone can create things. Healone has the power of being. By the power ofhis command, He can call words into being. Hispower is overwhelming. Such a God is worthyof respect and humble adoration. God’s holiness is central to biblical teaching.His name is holy because He is holy. Yet theworld tramples His name as if he were nothing.There is no honor or respect. There is no fearbefore their eyes. God is both Creator and LORD of the universe.There is not one square inch that he doesn’tproclaim ownership of. There are no areas oflife outside His lordship. He is inescapable. AndHe is inescapably holy.

KEY INSIGHT #1

God is inescapable andHe is inescapably holy.

God is Holy

K E Y I N S I G H T S The Holiness of God


INSIGHTGRAPHIC #1



In Scripture, we see the word Lord used twoways. These are actually two separate words.Lord is not the name of God, but the supremetitle given to Him in the Old Testament.Translated Adonai, it means “sovereign one.” In the Old Testament, the sacred name of God— the name by which God revealed Himself toMoses in the burning bush — is indicated by theword LORD, as translated from the HebrewJahweh. The title Adonai is reserved for God. It is thetitle given to Jesus in the New Testament. He iscalled the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, atitle previously reserved for God the Father, thesupreme Sovereign of heaven and earth. Moses inquired of the Lord on the mountain,“Let me see your face. Show me your glory.”But no person can see God and live. God permitted Moses to look upon Hisbackside as He passed and when he returned

from the mount, the people were terrified andshrank away from him in horror! This was but areflection of the glory of God. If people are so terrified at this sight, how cananyone stand to look upon God? Yet we, asChristians, are promised that we shall see Himas He is! To come into the presence of the holy, we areundone. We perceive the holiness of God andcatch a glimpse of understanding of who Hereally is and who we, as sinful creatures, reallyare. He is holy, holy, holy. Yet he redeems and healsby means of holy fire. And then he sends. Frombroken to purposed. Such is the work of GodAlmighty.

KEY INSIGHT #2

We should revere God’s nameand behold His glory.

Name of God



INSIGHTGRAPHIC #2



We tend to not think about the holiness of God.It becomes just another attribute of Hischaracter and is easily glossed over. Love,grace, and mercy are the usual refrain of asinful people seeking to make an idol of theOne True God. But when we come into contactwith the holy, we become undone. The presence of the holy makes us deeplyuncomfortable. We are presented with thetranscendent standard of all righteousness andpurity. What can we do but flee? People admire moral excellence as long as it isfar removed from them. They find inthemselves great moral character, denying thestandard of Christ. But presented with true,pure morality, they are apt to decry hisholiness, recoiling from any semblance of Hispresence. Christ is safe if He is bound in space and time,but a present Christ terrifies. We are met withour unrighteousness and presented with thestain of every sin. We can no longer judge

outsiders. We can no longer judge Godaccording to our own standards. We are facedwith the reality of our fallen creatureliness. God is holy, holy, holy. He calls us to be holy, asHe is holy. To do so, we must know him aright.We must know ourselves aright. We must knowthe standard of righteousness and cultivate thefruit of the spirit. And we must approach theholiness of God through faith in Christ alone. Itis the perfection of Christ that keeps us fromutter destruction in the face of God’s holiness. In Christ, what once terrified us will comfort usas we boldly grow the Kingdom of God. The justshall live by faith indeed.

KEY INSIGHT #3

When we are confrontedwith the holy, it terrifies us.

Meeting the Holy



INSIGHTGRAPHIC #3



The holiness of God is basic to our wholeunderstanding of Him and of Christianity. Wecannot expect spiritual growth if we fail tograsp this core truth. He is inescapable. Hepermeates every sphere. His holy character speaks to all areas of life. Itdefines our goal as Christians as we arecommanded to be holy, as He is holy. In orderto reach that goal, we must first understandwhat holiness is. This understanding of the person andcharacter of God will affect every aspect of ourlives. The world has little honor or respect forHim. However, our priority as Christians shouldbe otherwise.

Our God is thrice named holy. This repetition isa form of emphasis. As such, it shouldimmediately call our attention to itsimportance. God is the ultimate standard and ifwe should find ourselves in the presence of theholy, like Isaiah, we would become undone. When presented with the holiness of God, wewill truly begin to understand who God is andwho we really are.

“Not only does he penetrate every aspect ofour lives, but He penetrates it in Hismajestic holiness. Therefore we must seekto understand what the holy is. We dare notseek to avoid it. There can be no worship,no spiritual growth, no true obediencewithout it. It defines our goal as Christians.”(p. 13)

CHAPTER 1: THE HOLYGRAIL

C H A P T E R S U M M A R I E S

“His name is holy because He is holy.” (p. 11) “God’s kingdom will never come where Hisname is not considered holy. His will is notdone on earth as it is in heaven if His nameis desecrated here.” (p.12) “God is inescapable. There is no place wecan hide from him.” (p. 13)

QUOTES

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Was there a time when you were overcomewith God’s holiness? How should your understanding of theperson and character of God affect everyaspect of your life?

CHAPTER 2: HOLY, HOLY,HOLY

The Holiness of God



“LORD is the name of God; Lord is His title.”(p. 19) “Here is the promise of God: We shall seeHim as He is. Theologians call this futureexpectation the beatific vision.” (p. 21) “The problem is not with our eyes; it is withour hearts.” (p. 22) “Only once in sacred Scripture is anattribute of God elevated to the thirddegree. Only once is a characteristic of Godmentioned three times in succession. TheBible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Notthat He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. Heis holy, holy, holy.” (p. 25)

QUOTES God is transcendentally separate. In His holypresence we experience a sense ofcreatureliness that shatters the myth of ourown importance. In His presence we are filledwith a kind of dread. At once we are bothattracted and repulsed. We are drawn close,yet feel the desire to flee. We yearn for the holy,yet in part despise it. We fear God because He is holy. He is too great.He is too awesome. He makes difficultdemands and threatens our security. Holy is a foreign word to many of us, but toreflect on it is to ponder the majesty of theAlmighty God who has separated us from thecommonplace and consecrated us to the Lordand to His service.

CHAPTER 3: THEFEARFUL MYSTERY

We will comprehend the heinousness of sin,recognizing the depth of our own corruptionand our need for a Savior. Yet the promise of God is that we shall see Himas He is. Not merely in reflection, but face toface! Purified and sanctified, we will enter intoHis presence. What an extraordinary thought! A thought thatshould deepen our hunger to learn more of Hisholiness and create in us a desire to taste of Hismajesty.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS What does it mean that the onlycharacteristic of God repeated three times isHoly? How does your understanding of theholiness of God affect how you viewyourself?

The Holiness of God


When we meet Christ, we find ourselves in thepresence of the holy. For the unbeliever, this isexceedingly frightful. Moral excellence iscommendable when it is far removed. Jesus isadmirable as a concept and as an idol of ourown making. But when the transcendent standard of allrighteous and all purity blazes before our eyes,we are undone. The wicked will flee when noone pursues. Christ represents the truth in a world of lies. Hisauthentic holiness condemns and exposes thecounterfeit. But the world cannot abide in thepresence of the holy. The trauma of God’sholiness touches us all.


CHAPTER 4: THETRAUMA OF HOLINESS

“The primary meaning of holy is ‘separate’.” (p. 36) “When we speak of the transcendence ofGod, we are talking about that sense inwhich God is above and beyond us.” (p. 36) “The holy fills us with a kind of dread.” (p.41) “Death reminds us that we are creatures.Yet as fearsome as death is, it is nothingcompared with meeting a holy God. Whenwe encounter Him, the totality of ourcreatureliness breaks upon and shatters themyth that we have believed aboutourselves, the myth that we are demigods,junior-grade deities who will try to liveforever.” (p. 44)

QUOTES

In what ways is God a fearful mystery toyou? Does this comfort or frighten you? When have you experienced anoverpowering and overwhelming sense ofcreatureliness?


“Sinful people are not comfortable in thepresence of the holy.” (p. 55-56) “People have an appreciation for moralexcellence, as long as it is removed a safedistance from them. The Jews honored theprophets, from a distance. The worldhonors Christ, from a distance.” (p. 58)

QUOTES

The Holiness of God


The just shall live by faith. Justification by faithalone, by the merits of Christ alone, wasunderstood by Luther as being so central to thegospel that he called it, “the article upon whichthe church stands or falls.”

Martin Luther felt the burning coal on his lips ashe came to understand who God was. He wasshattered by the reflection of a holy and justGod. Presented with the truth of theseriousness of his sin, like Isaiah before him, hebecame completely undone. How can a just God accept an unjust man? Thisis the question that plagued Luther. But oncehe understood Romans, that God is both justand the justifier, he finally comprehended thegospel for the first time.


“The presence of Jesus represented thepresence of the genuine in the midst of thebogus.” (p. 64) “The world could tolerate Jesus; they couldlove Him, but only at a distance. Christ issafe for us if securely bound by space andtime. But a present Christ could not survivein a world of hostile men.” (p. 71)

In what ways is God’s holiness traumatic? How has God’s holiness comforted you?

APPLICATION QUESTIONS “‘Love God? Sometimes I hate Him.’ This is astrange quote to hear from the lips of a manas respected for his religious zeal as Luther.But he said it.” (p. 73) “Two things separated Luther from the restof men: First, he knew who God was.Second, he understood the demands ofGod’s law. ” (p. 92) “Like Isaiah before him, Luther felt theburning coal on his lips. He knew what itmeant to be undone. He was shattered bythe mirror of a holy God.” (p. 94) “Once Luther grasped Paul’s teaching inRomans, he was reborn. The burden of hisguilt was lifted. The crazed torment wasended. This meant so much to the man thathe was able to stand against pope andcouncil, prince and emperor, and, ifnecessary, the whole world. He had walkedthrough the gates of paradise, and no onewas going to drag him back. Luther was aProtestant who knew what he wasprotesting.” (p. 94)

QUOTES

CHAPTER 5: THEINSANITY OF LUTHER

The Holiness of God


God is the Supreme Judge of the universe andas His image bearers, we receive either justiceor mercy from his hand, but never injustice. The world recoils at the holiness of God,imagining in themselves that they are more justthan He. They stand in judgment of His holycharacter and decry His actions. Neither they nor we understand what it meansto be holy. We do not understand what justiceis. Nor sin. Nor grace. But the justice of God is an expression of Hisholy character. What He does is alwaysconsistent with who He is. His internalrighteousness is rooted in His absolute purity. As a holy God, He cannot act against His ownnature. The Judge of all the earth will do right.


How do you view yourself in light of God’sholiness? What does “the just shall live by faith” meanto you?


“The Bible clearly teaches that God is theSupreme Judge of the universe.” (p. 109) “Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason againsta perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act ofingratitude toward the One to whom weowe everything, to the One who has givenus life itself. ” (p. 115) “We soon forget that with our first sin wehave forfeited all rights to the gift of life.That I am drawing breath this morning is anact of divine mercy. God owes me nothing. Iowe Him everything.” (p. 126-127) “I will receive only justice or mercy fromGod. I never receive injustice from Hishand.” (p. 129) “God’s grace is not infinite. God is infinite,and God is gracious. We experience thegrace of an infinite God, but grace is notinfinite. God sets limits to His patience andforbearance. He warns us over and overagain that someday the ax will fall and Hisjudgment will be poured out.” (p. 129-130)

QUOTES

CHAPTER 6: HOLYJUSTICE

How does the realization that your sinforfeits your right to the gift of life affecthow you view the mercy and grace of God? How has God shown mercy toward you?


The Holiness of God



As unbelievers, our struggle with God is rootedin the war between God’s righteousness andour unrighteousness. This causes fear, hostility,and anger within us toward Him. Our desire is to flee from His presence. Tosuppress the truth in unrighteousness. Todeceive ourselves into believing there is peace. But there is no peace. The struggle remains aswe kick against the goads. There is only oneway we’ll ever be comfortable in the presenceof the holy. Our struggle with God ceases when we arejustified by faith. We can find true, lastingpeace and have access to the throne of God.

CHAPTER 7: WAR ANDPEACE WITH A HOLYGOD

“The struggle we have with a holy God isrooted in the conflict between God’srighteousness and our righteousness.” (p.147) “The first fruit of our justification is peacewith God.” (p. 147)

QUOTES When have you struggled with andchallenged God in your life? What did He reveal to you in response?


“Our peace with God is not fragile; it isstable. When we sin, God is displeased, andHe will move to correct us and convict us ofour sin. But He does not go to war againstus. His bow is no longer bent, and thearrows of His wrath are no longer aimed atour hearts. He does not rattle His swordevery time we break the treaty.” (p. 150) “For the Christian the holy war is over; thepeace has been established. Access to theFather is ours. But we still must tremblebefore our God. He is still holy. Ourtrembling is the tremor of awe andveneration, not the trembling of the cowardor the pagan frightened by the rustling of aleaf.” (p. 153)

QUOTES

The Holiness of God



“Our problem is that we have been called tobe holy, and we are not holy.” (p. 158) “To be spiritual has only one real purpose. Itis a means to an end, not the end itself. Thegoal of all spiritual exercise must be the goalof righteousness. God calls us to be holy.Christ sets the priority of the Christian life:‘But seek first His kingdom andrighteousness, and all these things will begiven to you as well (Matt. 6:33). The goal isrighteousness.” (p. 166) “To yield the fruit of the Spirit, we mustpractice the fruit of the Spirit.” (p. 170)

We are called to be holy, as God is holy,presenting ourselves as walking, breathing,living sacrifices. True faith produces conformityto Christ and our goal is righteousness. Created in the image of God, we were made tomirror and reflect God’s character. We are thecity on the hill, created to express to the worldthe holiness of God. This is our chief end. Toglorify God and enjoy Him forever. As we are set apart, our attitude and behaviorshould be like that of Christ. We are not merelycalled to nonconformity, but to betransformed. We must have the mind of Christ. This isunattainable without the mastery of His word.Our growth as Christians is dependent on in-depth Christian education. True faith is a living faith. It is a faith that bringsforth repentance and righteousness.

CHAPTER 8: BE HOLYBECAUSE I AM HOLY

“The saints of Scripture were called saintsnot because they were already pure butbecause they were people who were setapart and called to purity.” (p. 156)

QUOTES

What does it mean to be holy and to live aholy life? What evidence of growth in holiness haveyou seen in your life? What areas are in need of pruning?


The Holiness of God



sober teaching on this subject, wecontinue to be at ease about the futurepunishment of the wicked. If God is to bebelieved at all, we must face the awful truththat someday His furious wrath will bepoured out.” (p. 175) “If we hate the wrath of God it is because wehate God himself.” (p. 176) “We reveal our natural hostility for God bythe low esteem we have for Him. Weconsider Him unworthy of our totaldevotion. We take no delight incontemplating Him. Even for the Christian,worship is often difficult and prayer aburdensome duty. Our natural tendency isto flee as far as possible from His presence.”(p. 177) “When we understand the character of God,when we grasp something of His holiness,then we begin to understand the radicalcharacter of our sin and helplessness.Helpless sinners can survive only by grace.Our strength is futile in itself, we arespiritually impotent without the assistanceof a merciful God." (p. 179-180)

Our God is a holy God and will one day pour outHis wrath on the wicked. If we shrink at such athought then we have not understood Himrightly and have made Him into our own idol,surely as if He were made of stone. It should grieve us to realize that daily weviolate His holiness, insult His justice, andmake light of His grace. Our casual indifferenceshould give us pause. His wrath is divine, fierce, and everlasting. Howwe must hate Him to treat Him with suchcontempt! Our coldness toward Him at times is a vestigeof our fallen nature which we must strugglewith every day. As we grow in our knowledge ofHim, we will gain a deeper love for His purityand a deeper dependence on His grace.

CHAPTER 9: GOD IN THEHANDS OF ANGRYSINNERS

“Ours is an upbeat generation with theaccent on self-improvement and a broadminded view of sin.” (p. 172) “The tragedy for us is that in spite of theclear warnings of Scripture and of Jesus’

QUOTES

How does your understanding of God’swrath move you to honor Him as a holyGod? How do you depend on God to help youlove Him?


The Holiness of God



the flowers, but we also fail to notice theglory of the flowers’ Maker. ” (p. 191) “His glory is the outward manifestation ofHis most perfect being.” (p. 192) “Just as all goodness finds its definition inthe ground of God’s goodness, so all truth isjudged according to the standard of thetruth of God. He is the supreme Author oftruth. All that is true not only flows fromHim, but it also reflects His character.” (p.195) “God’s love, His wrath, His mercy — all thatHe is — is perfect. Not only is He perfect, butHe is eternally and immutably so.” (p. 198)

Through nature, God’s holiness is on display forall to see. Unbelievers distort this truth andcreate for themselves an idol, worshiping thecreation rather than the Creator. It is not that we fail to know God but that werefuse to believe what we know to be true. Allidolatry is rooted is this fundamentaldishonesty. In sin, God is not honored as God. Our lives are lived in shadows, turning ourbacks to the glory of God all around us. Thoughthe world is the theater of divine majesty, wefail to acknowledge the outward manifestationof His most perfect being. Truth, goodness, and beauty all reflect andpoint to the holiness of God. All that is good,true, and beautiful flows from His character.

CHAPTER 10: LOOKINGBEYOND THE SHADOWS

“Once we refuse to honor God as God, ourwhole view of life and the world becomesdistorted.” (p. 189) “We are creatures who prefer life in the caveto the full light of the blazing sun. The gloryof God is all around us. We cannot miss it.However, we not only fail to stop and smell

QUOTES

In what ways do things that are good, true,and beautiful reflect God’s holiness? How do you see these in your own life?


The Holiness of God



“God’s holiness touches not only space butalso time.” (p. 211) “In sacred space and sacred time Christiansfind the presence of the holy. The bars thatseek to shut out the transcendent areshattered, and the present time becomesdefined by the intrusion of the holy. Whenwe erect barriers to these intrusions, dikesto keep them from flooding our souls, weexchange the holy for the profane and robboth God of His glory and ourselves ofgrace.” (p. 216)

Humanity longs for holy space but it is to befound only in God’s presence. Despite theaching void, the vain search for thetranscendent apart from God, we cannot reachthe holy of ourselves. We must be met withGod’s appearance. This contact is not merely an encounter with adimension of reality. It is the meeting withAbsolute Reality. It is the meeting with aPerson. God is at the center of humanexperience. He defines our entire life andworldview. His holiness meets us in space and time.Biblical faith is rooted and grounded in realhistory – redemptive history with redemptivesignificance. It is in this sacred space and time Christiansfind the presence of the holy.

CHAPTER 11: HOLYSPACE AND HOLY TIME

“We feel an aching void that screams to befilled by the holy. We long for holy space.” (p. 203) “Our contact with the holy is not merely anencounter with a different dimension ofreality; it is the meeting with AbsoluteReality.” (p. 208)

QUOTES

Where do you sense God’s presence andholiness in your life? How can you cultivate more of the same?


The Holiness of God


C O N C L U S I O N

CLOSING THOUGHT

The holiness of God. Have you given it muchthought? It it a word that passes from your lipswithout awe or reverence?

CONCLUSION

The holiness of God is an integral part of ourunderstanding of the nature and character ofGod, but the silence from the pulpits and thecold indifference to the study of God hasimpacted our faith in a negative way. We have not rightly understood who we are inlight of His holiness. We have not grasped theseriousness of our sin. We have lost sight of thebeauty of the gospel. We have failed in ourobedience to walk in His ways. R. C. Sproul, in The Holiness of God, gentlyprods us to refocus our hearts on this much-neglected aspect of God’s character. To knowGod and to dig into the depths of his holiness iscentral to Christianity. We cannot know Him orourselves aright otherwise. To this end, the author has revealed theseimportant concepts:

God is Holy: God is inescapable and He isinescapably holy. Name of God: We should revere God’s nameand behold His glory. Meeting the Holy: When we are confrontedwith the holy, it terrifies us.

The Holiness of God

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