Sermon Starters: The Awesomeness of His Holiness

The second lecture, third presentation as part of the B. H. and Dorothy Phaup Holiness Emphasis Lectures at Southern Wesleyan University, delivered Tuesday evening, October 30, 2018 (would have been my Dad's 94th birthday).

The Awesomeness of His Holiness
Introduction

• two elements to the meaning of holiness in the Bible
• We all know about purity (although in the past it has devolved into superficial, external things like dress and appearance, not going to movies, etc, very much like the Pharisee's tradition of the elders).
• But the core meaning, especially in the Old Testament, is set apart as God's. Or in the case of God himself, the set apart Godness of God.

I. The Holiness of God
A. Isaiah 6:1-5 gives us a great picture of God's holiness (NRSVish).

• "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: 'Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!'"
• Our human reaction to God's awesome holiness is instinctively fear and unworthiness. It's a little like the way you would react to an elephant moving around in the same space you're in. The elephant isn't trying to hurt you, but watch out!

B. So does Exodus 19:10-13 and 20:18-21

• The Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and sanctify them [make them holy] today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’”
• When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.” Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
• English throws us off, but the word sanctify in both Greek and Hebrew is the same root as the word holy. To sanctify is to make holy and holiness is the state of being sanctified, set apart as belonging to God.
• Yes, purity is part of it, but in this case as much "ceremonial" purity is mentioned--moral purity as God had revealed it to the Israelites thus far is assumed.
• This reminds me of the Nazi scene in the first Indiana Jones movie.
• This also reminds me of what happened to Uzzah.

C. Taking stock of the holiness of God.

• We have lost sight of the awesomeness of God.
• The question, "Why should I believe in God can be a foolish one?" Why should God believe in you? If God exists, it doesn't matter what you think about him. He's God. You are the one that needs to deal with it.
• Plantinga's possible word argument for the existence of God. It is in the nature of God that if God exists in one possible world, he must exist in all possible worlds. By definition, he is the ground of all being (and not in the Tillich way).
• If God exists, He is the deal.

II. Holy People
A. So God is awesome.

• A million volt fence doesn’t kill you because it’s angry with you but because you are not equipped to handle its awesomeness. How can we stand the holiness of God?
• Guardians of the Galaxy - Starlord can stand the infinity stone because there is something inside him, "something ancient, something special." The Holy Spirit inside us is a little bit of God inside us. The Spirit makes it possible for us to partake in the holiness of God.
• Like being plugged into God or better, God plugs into us (like the scene in Guardians where they are holding hands and the power of the stone spreads among them).
• The early holiness writers compared holiness to newly implemented electricity. When God is touching us, we get electrified by his holiness.

B. Some examples of divine electrification/sanctification

• 1 Corinthians 7:14-16: The unbelieving husband is made holy [sanctified] through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so… Wife, how do you know if you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know if you will save your wife?
• The unbelieving spouse and young children aren't even believers! But they can be made holy. They can be sanctified. They can be brought into the force field (cf. Incredibles).
• 1 Corinthians 1:1-2: Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified [made holy] in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• The Corinthians are carnal, but they are sanctified. They are brought into the force field because Christ has touched them.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely [make you holy through and through]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
• This is what Wesleyans have referred to as entire sanctification. It does imply blamelessness. Note also that the language is corporate!

C. Two for the road. Yes, it also means "moral" purity.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5: This is the will of God, your sanctification [holiness]: that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion.
• Hebrews 12:14: Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.