God's Holiness and man's exceeding sinfulness

                Now we come to the aspect of holiness that every person must grasp if they are to understand the vileness of their sin.  Because God is set apart from all His creation and because He is entirely morally pure, He hates sin. He loves everything which is in conformity to His laws, and passionately hates everything which is in opposition to them.  He cannot even look upon it.

Habakkuk 1:13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity;

               He cannot look at sin...sin cannot dwell where God is because God, by His very nature is a pure, blinding, white light of holiness. 

Psalm 5:4  For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. 

                Without a basic understanding of the holiness of God, men cannot understand their sin. Man can no more understand he is a sinner than a fish can understand he is wet. Men have not changed since the days of Job...

Job 15:15-16
15  Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
16  How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

                God is set apart from all His creation. He transcends high above everything He created in every way possible. He is pure in His holiness…so pure that heaven is not clean in his sight. And we are abominable and filthy men and drink down iniquity like we drink down water.

               Not only does God hate sin, but we must of necessity go even further. We live in a time and culture when men are preaching that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. Not so! To be honest with men's souls, we must preach and teach all of God's word. Yes God is love,  but always remember, His love is a Holy Love. His love cannot contradict His holiness.

             God hates the sinner just as much as He hates sin. How can I say that? I can say that because that is what God says in His Holy word which is magnified above His Holy Name.

Proverbs 3:32   For the froward is abomination to the LORD:

             The word "froward" means habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. That is exactly what the sinner is, and the sinner is abomination to the LORD. The word "abomination" is the strongest word possible to attempt to describe the extreme disgust or hatred which God holds for the sinner. It really can't even be described.

Proverbs 15:26  The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD:

             Every single thought a sinner has is an abomination to the LORD.  The sinner is defiled in all his ways.

Titus 1:15  ...but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

           Every thought, every action taken by the sinner is defiled, polluted, contaminated with sin. Every fiber of his being is totally morally depraved and wicked, vile and loathsome to a Holy God.

          God says that the froward person who habitually disobeys Him and is habitually in opposition to Him is an abomination.

Psalm 5:4-6
4   For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5   The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hates all workers of iniquity.
6   Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

         God hates all those who do sin and of a necessity must destroy them. He must punish sin. The existence of sin demands His punishment as much as it requires His hatred.

Nahum 1:2  ...the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

        God hates sin so much that it was for only one sin Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden. For one sin, Ham and all his descendants fell under a curse which remains over them to this very day (Genesis 9:21). For one sin, Moses was not allowed to enter into the Promised Land. For one sin Elisha's servant was smitten with leprosy. For one sin Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives.

Psalm 7:11  ...God is angry with the wicked every day.

      An angry God does not sound at all like the God of modern day preaching, but this is the God of the Bible! His holiness demands hatred for sin. The problem is men today do not really believe in the Holiness of God. Their concept of God is one sided because for the last 60+ years the only thing that has been preached in American churches is “God is love.” God will never send a man to hell because God is love.

                God says to those who think this way…

Psalm 50:21-22
21  These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22  Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

               

                …He says, "you thought I was like yourself." The "god" that is worshipped in our country on Sunday mornings in many churches is a figment of the imaginations of the members and not the Holy God of the Bible. I know that sounds hard, but it is true.

                The “god” they worship is patterned after their own evil hearts and that is why they continue to live in their sin. The attributes of God, like His holiness, as seen in the Holy Scriptures, clearly demonstrate they are of supernatural origin.  The Holiness of God is not something men could have or ever would have come up with.

                The God of the Bible hates sin and those who do the works of iniquity. Nothing will reveal the total depravity of man, his exceeding sinfulness, his vileness, his wickedness like showing him the One true Holy God of the Bible.

                For most men today, they view sin as breaking man’s laws. Basically sin is committing a crime. Anything short of that they label as a mistake, a defect, or a disease. Even if a man break’s a law, such as speeding, he makes up excuses as to why he did. He doesn’t consider it a sin.

                The “god” which the vast majority of professing Christians “love” is thought of as being like Santa Claus…sure he knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, but he will bring you gifts anyway. Though they think their “god” does not like sin, yet he is lenient and winks at the “indiscretions” of youth.

                The word of God tells us (Psalm 5:5) that He hates all workers of iniquity and (Psalm 7:11) He is angry with the wicked every day. Even though clearly seen in the Bible, men refuse to believe in the true Holy God. They gnash their teeth in anger as His hatred for their sin is faithfully brought to their attention…because the “god” of their imagination is contrary to the Holy God of the Bible.

                Since God is Holy, He cannot accept man’s works. That is why we are saved by grace through faith and not because of our works. All our works are tainted with sin. Our best we have to offer are filthy rags before a Holy God.

Titus 1:15  ...but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure;

                In order for man to see how vile and repulsive his sin is he must be shown the Holiness of God in the pages of the Scriptures. God is Holy. He transcends all of His creation. He is completely, totally, wholly pure. By His nature He hates that which does not conform to His nature. Flowing from His holiness is His holy justice. Next we will attempt to study the attribute of the Justice of God.