"If God is holy,
then He can't sin.
If God can't sin,
then He can't sin against me.
If He can't sin against me,
shouldn't that make Him
the most trustworthy
being there is?"
+ Jackie Hill Perry,
Last year, the theme the Holy Spirit continued to bring me back to was holiness, which means "set apart, sacred." It's a good theme to keep in mind for any year and for any season, including Lent.
How am I to see this moment in time as holy, potentially kairos, set apart? And how am I to be set apart in the midst of the gift of living today? These are questions worth exploring for a lifetime.
One beloved sister who helps me focus afresh on what holiness means is one I have listened to many times throughout the past decade: Jackie Hill Perry (JHP). There's something often hallowing about Jackie's words that makes me lean in and need to listen (not just want to listen). Jackie, her husband, Preston, and friends with 2819 Church and the Acts 242 Conference (ex. here's Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell's message, "God Is Holy, Holy, Holy"), have helped me return to the characteristic of God mighty angels can't help but sing in His presence all the time.
Holiness has been a theme of Jackie's for the past few years (and most likely years before) since she released, Holier Than Thou: How God's Holiness Helps Us Trust Him. If you would like to listen to Jackie rather than read this post, here is a podcast link and a sermon link:
But if like me, you want some words in front of you to read, chew on, marinate in, and potentially memorize during this Lenten season, here are some excerpts from Jackie's published work, including a powerful foreword by none other than Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates.
Holier Than Thou
Foreword by Charlie Dates
pg. xii-xiii
Every era needs its own prophet of holiness; a kind of living invitation to marvel in the beauty of God's holiness, and in the holiness of His beauty.
(And) None of us come to love God deeply, to see Him clearly without first having an awakening to our internal depravity which can lead to a fuller appreciation of God's holiness.
We need a grander vision of God
even if the window from which
we see Him is small.
The complex enigma
which is God's holiness
is literally indescribable.
Truth is, words will not do.
God must be experienced.
That, friend,
is a frightening proposition.
Few people,
from Moses to D.L. Moody,
could barely contain
the awful joy
after such an encounter.
When A.W. Tozer wrote that "God is looking for men and women in whose hands His glory is safe," he must have been thinking about a captivated saint like Jackie.
Holier Than Thou
Introduction
pg. 8
Lasting transformation is a spiritual consequence of "beholding the glory of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
That's why we're here:
To set our sights
on a higher love.
to His nature
and fundamental
and fundamental
to His being.
His holiness is what makes Him good,
and loving, and kind, and faithful.
Without holiness, God wouldn't be
beautiful, and so because of it,
He is eternally attractive.
Holier Than Thou
Holy, Holy, Holy
pgs. 19-20, 44-45, 51
To go deeper into what Scripture means when it testifies that God is holy, let's glean from Isaiah's vision of Him. In the sixth chapter of the book titled after the prophet's name, written in it is the song of the seraphim. About God they say to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (v. 3). Notice the word used thrice. It isn't "love, love, love" or "good, good, good" but "holy, holy, holy."
Why is that important? Well, in Hebrew language and literature, the use of repetition was common practice. Jesus used it often by beginning His lessons with the words "Truly, truly." By this, His listeners knew that all that was to follow was significant and true. Rarely in Scripture do you see this literary device used to the third degree, never do you see it used to the third degree to address an attribute of God except here in Isaiah and in Revelation 4:8 ("Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty").
Holier Than Thou
Holy Justice & Vision
pgs. 101, 103, 113, 118, 146-147
If we are brave enough to actually believe that God is who He says He is, we are left with one choice; worship. But if we want to be the center of attention, the source of our joy, and the final authority of our lives, then in our minds, God cannot be holy; He must be just like us. A sinner.
One form of God's judgment is to simply give us what we want. J.I. Packer's framing of this is helpful: "Scripture see hell as self-chosen ... All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshiping Him, or without God forever, worshiping themselves."
He is (somehow) rich with kindness towards those who have never deserved it. To the just and unjust, He has given them a daily life filled to the brim with laughter between friends, love between lovers, a womb to carry a new life, food and culture and entertainment, a diversity of delights. He hasn't withheld such joys from any of Adam's children. They are available to all including ones that will never give Him their hearts in return.
"The issue is not why does God punish sin but why does He permit the ongoing human rebellion? It is customary or usual for God to be forbearing. He is indeed long-suffering, patient, and slow to anger. In fact, He is so slow to anger that when His anger does erupt, we are shocked and offended by it." We are the guilty ones to which God must judge, but He has not given us what we deserve ... A mercy.
God can be trusted
with our cares
because a holy God
cannot be an
apathetic God.
The Holy God has
life in Himself,
forever aware
of what we need
before we even ask.
In Christ, we will
find in God
everything we need.
If we need salvation, He is "mighty to save" (Zephaniah 3:17). If resurrection, He is "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). If peace, He is "the LORD" who can "bless His people with peace" (Psalm 29:11). If compassion, He is "the LORD ... a compassionate and gracious God" whose mercies are "new every morning" (Psalm 86:15; Lamentations 3:23 NIV). With God comes all that the mind needs for wisdom, all that the heart needs for love, all that the body needs for satisfaction, and all that the affections need for joy.
Since Scripture declares
that we were not only made
by Him but for Him
(Colossians 1:16),
it should be no surprise
then that we will never be whole
without Him.
More than that,
if everything good exists
because of Him,
then there is nothing
that exists that is
better than Him.
Closing Song:
God, You're making me better.
You're making me better.
And You choose to do it
however, whenever, wherever.
+ Jackie Hill Perry
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| holierthanthoubook.net |
"Pursue peace with everyone,
and holiness —
without it no one will see the Lord"
(Hebrews 12:14 CSB).
Bonus Quote
You never go away from us,
yet we have difficulty in returning to You.
Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back.
Kindle and seize us.
Be our fire and our sweetness.
Let us love. Let us run.
+ North African St. Augustine of Hippo
More Holy Considerations:
Many blessings of peace and presence,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
