There is a division in many Christian circles today; and this division is between the holiness of God, and the Grace which Jesus Christ has brought to humanity. You may have heard it spoken in church or preached from the podium, that “God is a Holy God. His Holiness is uncompromising and His eyes see everything.” This is an absolutely true statement – no doubt about it at all. But what is the intent of the message? For believers in Christ Jesus who have been cleansed from all of their sins, is the holiness of God still something to fear?
I have spoken to many believers who are facing confusion, because they have been taught that they should be in fear regarding the holiness of God and should constantly be weighed-down in remembrance of their sins. To do otherwise would mean that God had “given them up to their sinful lusts” or that they have a “seared conscience”; and we have an entire separate study on the true meaning of a seared conscience for those who are trapped in the psychological jail-cell of sin and guilt because of that particular false teaching.
The question we will be answering today in this study is: Is the Holiness of God separate from the Grace of Christ? Many people think that they are on two opposite ends of the spectrum, as if God has a split-personality disorder. Yet is this what the Bible actually teaches? We will be looking at this today in the scriptures.
We previously learned in a study on Holiness, that the Biblical definition of the word “holiness” (also called “sanctification” in the Bible) is to be set apart for an intended purpose. For example, whenever I drink water out this bottle, I am sanctifying it, because that is its intended purpose; and that in Christ Jesus, we are made holy, set-apart for God’s intended purpose for us. God also, is Most Holy, He is totally set-apart, both from sin (1st John 1:5), and also to His intended purpose. Now just what is God’s intended purpose? His intended purpose is to be God. He is the One that holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). God also has given Himself additional roles and duties for our benefit. Some people take objection to this, because they perceive it to be arrogance or greed to think about God as doing things for us and giving things to us… they say that we should be doing things for God and giving things to Him. However that opinion presupposes that we are capable to do things for God or give things to Him without first receiving from Him – an idea that is totally false. We are totally helpless without God – without Him we can do absolutely nothing (John 15:5). The very air that we breathe is the breath from His Spirit. (Genesis 2:7).
So does the holiness of God demand some kind of action, work or behavior on our part to be appeased? The people who ask this question honestly do not know the mercy of God or their bankrupt condition and inability to perform. They speak of the holiness of God, but truly they do not know His holiness either, because if they did know His holiness and how perfect His holiness really is, then they would realize that there is no way for them to appease His divine holiness through their own performance – even to the smallest degree!
To understand this better, turn with me to Deuteronomy 19:2-7:
“You shall separate three cities for you in the middle of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess it.
You shall prepare you a way, and divide the coasts of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;
As when a man goes into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetches a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the helve, and lights on his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee to one of those cities, and live:
Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
Why I command you, saying, You shall separate three cities for you.”
This is God’s Law concerning manslaughter… this is not preconceived murder, this is accidental death. And in such cases, God told His people to designate cities in the middle of the land; and the purpose of these cities was so that one who accidentally killed another could flee to these special cities, and escape the “avenger of the blood”, a pursuer whose intent it was to take revenge upon the person who caused the accidental death. A life for a life. But God says that such a person is not worthy of death, so God had these special cities of safety designated. They are called “cities of refuge” in Joshua 20:2.
Today, we also have a place of safety, which is also in our midst – today we have a refuge to flee to in order that we may escape the avenger of blood, the place we have to flee to is squarely in the arms of Jesus Christ through the cross of Calvary and His completed work upon it (Proverbs 14:26). Satan would murder us if he could, but when we are safely abiding in Christ, the devil cannot touch us.
Now this is where some people get mixed-up concerning the holiness of God, because there are many teachers out there who claim that this is referring to accidents, such as the accidental death of the neighbor here in these verses; but it does not apply to us because we sin willfully, and Hebrews 10:26 says that if we sin willfully, there is no sacrifice left for us.
You see, there are always some people who will desperately try to disqualify themselves and others from the grace and mercy of God.
The truth however is that on the cross, Jesus put all of our sins under the category of an unintentional act, just as in the examples of Deuteronomy 19 and Joshua 20. Remember one of the seven utterances of Jesus on the cross was “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” in Luke 23:34. You see, Jesus is not excusing the sin… the sin still requires forgiveness, but by placing it in the category of unintentional ignorance, everyone now qualifies for the city of refuge – which today is Jesus Christ. Isn’t it beautiful, the Grace and Mercy that Jesus Christ offers. And He does it so completely and perfectly, that His divine beauty just shines forth as you meditate on the scriptures which reveal Him. The Holiness of God is perfectly appeased and satisfied in Jesus Christ.
So then, where does Hebrews 10:26 come in? Because as was mentioned earlier, there are many who believe that this verse is describing the ability to lose salvation by violating the holiness of God through disobedience. Let’s look at the verse now:
“For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins”
First of all, who was this verse written to? It was written to the Hebrews, to the Jewish people. This does not mean that the book of Hebrews has no value for us; in-fact it has quite a lot, but it is important to know to what people-group the book was written because it helps us place the verse in historical context and helps us understand its meaning.
Notice what the verse says “if we, sin willfully…” and know that this is the author’s “we” being used here. Now this phrase sin willfully is a point of confusion for many. This is where the argument is born that our behavior can cause is to lose our salvation – all because people do not understand the meaning of the phrase “sin willfully”. So let’s examine it…
When we come right down to it, all of our sins are willful sins. If you go down deep to the root of every sin, there is an element of willfulness to it. Yet we still have the truth of what we have just learned regarding what Christ has done for us on the cross; putting all of our sin in the category of unintentional accident. So what does this verse here mean when it refers to sinning willfully? Well, remember that Hebrews is written primarily to the Jewish people. This sinning willfully can only refer to one thing: the rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. These are not believers being referred to here. These are people who have heard the truth of the Gospel, but have chosen to reject that truth. They heard the truth about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, but have chosen to return to the temple sacrifices instead. Notice that the verse says they have received the knowledge of the truth, but they have not actually accepted the truth itself, they have only received the knowledge. They know of Jesus, they have knowledge of Him, but they have not actually received Him. In-fact, they have rejected what they heard, in favor of their rituals and temple sacrifices. And having rejected Jesus, as the verse truly states, there remains no more sacrifice for sin. How many understand, Jesus is the only true sacrifice for sin and there is no other.
This, my friend, is one of the main stumbling blocks being presented in the church today. People trying to appease the holiness of God through morality, self works, self effort, law-keeping… whatever spin they want to put on it, it is still the same pile of dung (Philippians 3:8); it’s still the same filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
The same people who like to tout the holiness of God, try to claim that He can be reached, appeased or pleased by man’s efforts – and that is the very height of hubris and hypocrisy. God’s standard is not low enough for man to ever reach it! Remember that His holiness is perfect; His holiness is divine, His holiness never fades and His eyes do indeed see everything! That is precise the reason why what God has done is so very awesome! This is why you see believers sing and dance and shout for joy! Because if Jesus did not come and sacrifice Himself in our place, we would all be dead and forever lost in our sin.
The perfect standard of God demands a perfect performance. One that cannot be found in the sinful nature of man. Yet here comes Jesus. Perfect God, who came down as a man, yet still divinely perfect, and He did what no human on earth could ever do: lived a perfect life – and then died a perfect death for you. Furthermore, He rose again on the third day, not only demonstrating His power over death, but also to show you that now you are completely justified before God in Him (Romans 4:25). So why would you ever look for another sacrifice? Why would you ever fall back to empty rituals or dead works to try and please God, when He is already well pleased in Jesus, His beloved Son (Matthew 17:5) and you are fully accepted in Him (Ephesians 1:6).
Today, for believers in Christ Jesus, the Holiness of God is not something to be afraid of. Instead it is something to delight in, because the perfect standard of God has been met by the perfect sacrifice of His Son. Whenever I read about God’s Holiness in the Bible, it reminds of of what Jesus has done for me, and how today I am covered in His divine righteousness and justified completely in Christ. This is what I want for you today… and more importantly, it is what God wants for you as well. (Colossians 1:21-22).
So the next time you read or hear about God’s Holiness, it does not need to be a fearful thing for you, but actually a wonderful reminder of what Jesus Christ has done. The Holiness of God should spawn genuine worship in you and not terror, because the holiness of God leads to Jesus.