Lesson Three: A Holy God
Note: This lesson can be done alone or in a group. If you choose to lead a group using this study, there are some directions inserted within the study to help you stimulate discussion and insight into the meaning of the text.
Aim: For the people in the study to come to a true humility before God that leads to repentance.
Prepare: The content of this study involves God's holiness, which can become a controversial subject. It will be important for you to have thought it through before you lead a group to discuss it. A book that might be very helpful in your preparation is The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. Remember, you always study more than you teach, so don't expect to pass on everything you learn to the group. Also, remain sensitive to the individuals in the group. Your relationship with each of them remains of foremost importance.
Hook:
In the first lesson we asked how you would describe God. Tell us in one word what you think best sums up what He is like. [Give them time to think and answer. Respond positively to suggestions.] Did anyone choose the word "Holy"? Probably not, because this is not a word that is common to our vocabulary. But it is an important word when considering the character of God, because it involves many other of His attributes: His love is a holy love, His mercy a holy mercy, His knowledge a holy knowledge, etc. In addition to looking at God's holiness, we will also look at two other qualities that are closely related: His righteousness and justice.
Book:
I. God's holiness, righteousness, and justice
A. Read these verses that talk about God's holiness.
Exodus 15:11, Isaiah 6:3, and Leviticus 20:26.
Q. How is God described in these verses?
A. As holy, majestic, like no other.
Q. What is God's holiness? [If no response, ask: What do you mean when
you call
someone holy?]
A. God's holiness is not something we can fully define. The word "holy"
means
"separate." It connotes that God is separate from and exalted above all
His creatures. In
this sense, another word for holy might be "transcendent." This word, when
applied to
God, distinguishes Him from us in that He is totally perfect and pure and
complete, so
purity is also contained within the idea of holiness. Notice the rhetorical
question in
Exodus 15:11: "Who is like you?" The implied answer is "no one." When applied
to us, the
word holy also means "separate" or "set apart," but specifically set apart
by God and
purified for his purposes.
B. Now let's look at God's righteousness.
Read Psalm 71:19.
Q. What word is used here to describe God?
A. Righteousness.
Q. What do we mean when we call God righteous?
A. The word" righteous" means straightness in Hebrew. It connotes the idea
of moral
perfection. God's righteousness is the standard by which He measures our
morality. It is
because of this that He has instituted moral governments and imposed just
laws on His
creatures.
C. God's justice
Read Psalm 89:14.
Q. What two things make up the foundation of God's throne?
A. Righteousness and justice.
Q. What does a throne represent? So what does God's throne represent?
A. A throne is a symbol of rule or royalty, so God's throne is a picture
of His ruling
power.
Q. We have seen what God's righteousness is, but what is God's justice?
[If no response
ask: What do we mean when we say someone is "brought to justice?" What
about when
someone is "denied justice?"]
A. Justice is that which involves fair dealings with another person, based
on that person's
actions. Usually it involves fair punishment for crime, or the executing
of laws involving
rewards and punishment. So God's justice is that characteristic of God
by which He acts
in a right or fair manner.
Q. What does it mean that righteousness and justice are the foundation of God's throne?
A. His reign is founded on these things. He is never unrighteous or unjust in His actions.
Look:
II. What it means to us that God is holy
A. He is the standard.
In lesson
one we talked about the fact that as Creator, God has the right to set
the s tandard for our
behavior.
He is the owner and knows what is best for us since He created us. His
holiness implies
another reason
for our obedience: He himself is the source and standard for all things
and is worthy to
be respected
and obeyed.
Read 1 Peter 1:14-16.
Q. What should our response be to God's holiness?
A. Holiness.
Q. How do we know what holiness is and how we should behave?
A. We have to continue to look at God's Word, which is the revelation of
who He is. Our
understanding of what holiness is will increase as we know Him better.
It is similar to a
child understanding and imitating his parents' behavior.
B. He cannot tolerate sin.
Q. From what you know about mankind in general, has anyone lived up to
God's standard
of holiness?
A. No. In the first lesson we looked at how from creation [refer to Genesis
2:15-17 and
Genesis 3:1-7 if refreshment is needed]. Man rebelled against God's authority
and
decided to set his own standard of holiness. We can also look at the world
around us and
see the results of sin running rampant. Murder, envy, extortion, etc. all
point to man
choosing his own standard of what is right and wrong.
Read Psalm 5:4-6.
Q. What is God's response to sin? [Remind them that sin is anything contrary
to God's
plan for us. It is anything that falls short of His standard of holiness.]
A. He cannot tolerate it. He cannot stand it in His presence. [Opt. verse: Habakkuk 1:13]
Read Romans 6:23.
Q. What is the just penalty for sin against God?
A. It's wages are death.
Q. Why such a high penalty for sin?
A. Because sin, in whatever form, is really treason against the God who
created us, and
a violation of his standard of holiness. His justice, which demands that
the punishment fit
the crime, requires a high price for such treason.
Q. Is it only murderers, extortionists, and the like who will fall under
God's punishment for
sin? [Let them answer before turning to the next passage.]
Read Romans 3:23.
A. No. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Biblically speaking,
no one is
innocent because we all share the same bent towards sinning.
Q. But surely God would not require punishment for small things. Isn't
He above
worrying about the petty little things that we do?
Read James 2:10.
A. Since sin is really cosmic treason, to violate the law on one point
is to violate the
whole law. This is true whether that violation is murder, or envy, or cheating
on a test, or
sexual immorality. If God did not react to sin strongly, He would cease
to be completely
holy, righteous, and just.
C. Sin must be dealt with.
So that you will not think that this teaching on God's holiness and His
reaction to sin is
only in isolated passages, let's look at several passages that talk about
God's wrath. The
wrath of God is the reaction of a righteous God against sinful people and
evil in all forms.
Read Romans 2:5.
Q. How will God deal with mankind because of their sin?
A. Pour out his wrath.
Read Psalm 11:4-7.
Q. How is God's wrath described here?
A. Fire and burning sulfur and scorching wind for the wicked.
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10.
Q. Who will receive the wrath of God?
A. Those who don't know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus - v. 8.
Q. What will the result be to those who receive the wrath of God?
A. Eternal destruction, shut out of God's presence forever - v. 9.
Q. When will this take place?
A. Second coming of Christ, when He appears again - v. 10. We can see from
these
passages that the consequence of sin really is death: Death now in that
we are separated
from God's fellowship because He can't tolerate our sin, and death eternally
in a
separation of our souls from God and punishment forever. God's holiness,
righteousness,
and justice demand such a strong dealing with sin.
Took:
III. Personal implications of God's holiness
Discussing
God's holiness can be an "unpleasant" subject, in that none of us likes
to think about such
negative
concepts as guilt, wrath, punishment, or our own sin. Despite its negative
connotations, such
an understanding
of God is necessary if we are going to react to Him properly. Let's look
at some of
the personal
implications of God's holiness.
Q. What is your attitude towards the fact that God asks you to be holy as He is holy?
A. Sometimes I am indignant that His requirements would be so high. At
times I can be
overwhelmed with the impossibility of the task.
Q. Would a father really love his son if he didn't want him to be as perfect as possible?
A. No. God's standards are high for us because He loves us, just as a father
loves his
children and wants what is best for them.
Q. From where do most people draw their standards of behavior?
A. Some people look to governmental laws, some to other people such as
parents or
influential peers. Ultimately most people look to themselves to determine
their own
standards of behavior.
Q. Why is God's character a better standard for conduct for you than that
derived from
the world or yourself?
A. God's character will not change. Since He is perfect His holiness sets
a perfect,
unchanging standard. It will also be a more demanding standard than that
set by public
opinion or majority rule. Our own laws are constantly fluctuating in comparison.
Q. How much do you seriously seek to know the holy God?
Q. What does this tell you about yourself?
A. Men avoid hearing of God's holiness, because they don't want to see
the evilness of
their own deeds. I avoid truly knowing God in His holiness because this
forces me to see
how far short I fall from His standard.
Q. Do you think that you personally are sinful, falling short of God's
standard of holiness
and deserving God's wrath?
A. All of us fall in this category. If you have trouble picturing your
own sinfulness or still
consider sin to be only the "big" things like murder, picture yourself
writing down in a
diary every thought, word, and action for a period of 24 hours. How would
you feel if you
lost that diary or saw someone else reading it? All of the things that
we would be
uncomfortable if anyone else saw are seen by God, and all of those things
are
accountable to Him.
To believe
in God as personal and creator, but to ignore His holiness, is to believe
in something
different
than the God of the Bible. As we have said before, to be a Christian is
to hold together all of
the parts
of God's character as He has revealed Himself to be, and accept them as
a whole.
Q. What do you think an appropriate response would be if you believed God
was holy? In
other words, summarize what you think we've talked about today.
A. If God is holy, it means that He not only has a standard, but He is
the standard. He
expects me to be holy in response. Recognizing that I fall far short of
holiness, He
expects me to accept responsibility for my sin and not ignore my guilt.
Turning to Him for
mercy is the only way to avoid His wrath.
This has been
a rather sobering week as we have looked at God's character. Next week
we will be
looking more
closely at His love and mercy, and how He can be holy and just, loving
and merciful at
the same
time. If you would like to continue thinking about the things we've talked
about, you might
read Romans
1:18-32, and Ephesians 2:1-10 and write down everything it teaches about
mankind and
God.