What comes to mind when you hear the word “holy?” Most of us tend to think of the moral behavior of religious people—doing what’s right/avoiding what’s wrong. God’s holiness involves much more than moral behavior. When the Bible talks about God’s holiness, it’s saying that he is separate from us, utterly unique, distinctly different, one-of-a-kind, in a class by himself. Holy is the ground, the essence, of his very being. So that means, God is holy in his love, in his power, in his wisdom, in his judgments and justice, and in what he says is true and right and good. God is holy all the time, in every way. And that means, everything he has created and gifted to us is holy. It means everything he says is holy. The ramifications of God’s holiness for our daily lives are huge.
READ Isaiah 6:1-8
What happens when Isaiah finds himself in the presence of Holy God? He sees his sin and the sin of his people. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a healthy thing to know you’re not fit to be in the presence of a holy God. Isaiah is completely undone. His sin and guilt are exposed. So, how does a holy God handle that? One of the seraphim takes a hot coal from the altar and touches his lips and God declares, “Your guilt is removed and your sin is atoned for.” Wow! Yes, being in God’s presence is terrifying. It exposes our sin and guilt. But in this passage, the purpose of God’s holiness is to cleanse, heal, save, and transform. The very moment Isaiah confesses his sin, God cleanses him and forgives him. And when God then asks, “I’ve got a mission to cleanse, heal, save, and transform this world, “Who will go for me?” Isaiah doesn’t hesitate, he says, “Here I am, Lord. Sign me up. I’ll go.”
Isaiah 6 foreshadows the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus took the searing heat of God’s judgment on and into himself so that our sins could be atoned for and our guilt removed. When Jesus died on that Cross, in the same moment, God’s holiness was satisfied, and his love was poured out. And all who confess their sin and come to God by faith in Jesus are in that moment cleansed, healed, saved and called to live on holy life on mission with Jesus.