The God of the Bible tells us in Scripture about His many attributes, e.g., love, omniscience, omnipotence, mercy, etc., but what many non-believers and believers alike don’t bring up is one of His main attributes, which is HOLINESS. And because they don’t see the holiness of God, they don’t see the realness or seriousness of their depraved condition known as sin. Too many Christian churches have watered down the message of sin, hell, repentance, the cross of Christ, and the Holiness of God. And, no, I’m not just focused on the hell and brimstone side of things, but we do have to look at all of the Word of God and not just pick the happy/loving verses. There are so many preachers today who are not talking about these other important elements from the Bible, and it is in my opinion one of the main reasons the church is failing in the United States and why so many people walk away from the faith not understanding why they need the the Savior.

Yahweh

Throughout the Old and New Testament, God identifies Himself as Holy. When the prophet Isaiah had a vision from the Lord he saw the seraphim (celestial beings who surround God) shouting, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (English Standard Version, Isaiah 6:3)! And when he saw this grand vision he said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)! Isaiah knew that he was unclean before the Holy One. And if you or I were in the presence of the King of Kings, we too would feel this way because God is morally perfect and so is His law (The 10 commandments). And the more you read the Bible, the more you see God speaking about Himself, or other people speaking of Him as a Holy God.

Adam and Eve

We all know the story in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But many people don’t understand the consequences of that choice, which is we are now all born with a sin nature. When they did this by following the Serpent’s temptation, and with their desire to “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5), they were basically questioning God’s goodness and truth. They put themselves in the driver’s seat to be in control of their own lives and to be their own god (which the natural man still does today), and they would decide what was right and wrong by their own standard. This all lead to the fall of mankind and the curse of the earth. Man had now separated their selves from their creator, who is the one we are all made by and made for. This sin condition is now transferred to every human born, this includes even babies in the womb (Psalm 51:5), and continues on throughout all humanity.

The Moral Law

We are now all under the moral law of God, which is known today as the 10 commandments. And because God is holy, good, and loving, He must also be just in his judgments. That means for every sin we have thought, said, or done, we are now accountable to the creator of the universe for those sins. Let me give an example of what this looks like because many people at this point will say, “Well, isn’t God loving and forgiving, so shouldn’t He just let me in to Heaven?” Try saying that in front of a judge in a court of law. You are standing before the judge and you say, “Well judge, I stole that car and committed other crimes, but I think you are a good judge who is loving and forgiving, so you should just let me go.” The judge isn’t going to do that, and if he is GOOD, he must also be just and make sure the punishment fits the crime. So, he is legally obligated to carry out the law. He must make sure that justice is served, otherwise he would be a bad judge, not a good one.

This is another place where people may say things like, “Well, I still think I’m a good person” or “Nobody is perfect”. Let me ask you this. By what standard are you basing your “goodness” on? Are you comparing yourself to other people? Is it what culture or the government says is morally excellent? Because if you are comparing yourself to those other people and things, you must realize that laws change, cultures change, and people’s standards of morality change. But God’s law is perfect and absolute. It never changes. This is what people don’t see. They don’t see that they really aren’t as good as they think they are. They compare themselves to Hitler or serial killers, but God says if you have ever hated someone you have committed murder in your heart (1 John 3:15). Have you ever looked at someone with lust? Jesus said, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). And just think of how many lies you have told. God says “all liars will have their part in the lake of fire” (Rev. 21:8). That standard of God’s is so high that none of us can live up to it, and this is why we need someone else to pay that debt that we can’t pay. We are all guilty! And this is not to shame you, or to make you hate yourself, but to think. Stop for a minute and think about what the Bible really says about the nature of mankind and the seriousness of sin. Think of how holy God is. Think about the real God of scripture, and not some idol-god we make up in our mind to satisfy our lifestyle.

Jesus Christ Paid our Fine

This is where the Good News comes in which you will hear so many Christians talking about. Christ died on the cross to pay our fine. As I said earlier, when you are guilty before the judge of the law, and if the judge is just, he will make sure that the guilty will be charged. But, if someone comes into the courtroom and pays your fine, you are now free to go. Not because you are innocent, but because your debt was paid by someone else. You can legally walk out of the courtroom a free man or woman. This is what Christ offers to us. And it’s free! You just have to take it. When one repents of their sin and puts their trust in Christ, God legally pronounces that person innocent. We broke God’s law, but Christ paid our fine. This is the Gospel. God is holy. Man is a sinner. But Jesus has defeated death and risen from the grave. This is what it means to be born-again. Once we are born-again, God gives us a new heart with new desires that will want to obey His commandments out of love for Him. We will still fall and sin, but God will help us in our walk. We can live in joy that although we still mess up, Jesus loves us and paid our fine. This is what gives Christians so much joy knowing that we are forgiven in Him. We want the whole world to know about His love for us and the amazing gift He offers everyone. Death is coming for us all, but let us remember what the Scripture says: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).