Holy! Holy! Holy!

Theme: God is holy.

Scriptures:
Exodus 15:1-21	Leviticus 19:1-4
Joshua 24:19-28	1 Samuel 2:1-3
Psalm 99	Proverbs 9:7-12
Isaiah 5:13-25	Isaiah 6:1-6
Ezekiel 39:1-24	1 Peter 1:14-21
Revelation 4:8-11

Objectives: (From the D6 Fusion Sunday School Lesson book)

Know: God is the Supreme Being in existence.

Think: Understand the holiness of God as foundational to proper respect and worship.

Do: Worship God with confidence, knowing His ways are truly best.

A1 Song: Holy, Holy, Holy Audrey Assad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTXn6O6I9wA

A2 Holiness

B1 Defined

C1 Words

D1 Hebrew: קֹדֶשׁ qôdesh (and related words) which means something set apart, separateness.

D2 Greek

E1 ἁγιάζω hagiázō (and related words) which means separated, purified.

E2 ὅσιος hósios which means something sanctioned by God to be holy, without sin, etc.

C2 Uses

D1 Hebrew

E1 Exodus 3:5 (MEV) He said, “Do not approach here. Remove your sandals from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

E2 Leviticus 10:10 (MEV) so that you may differentiate between what is holy and common and between what is unclean and clean.

D2 Greek

E1 Matthew 6:9 NLT - Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. (Holy is γιάζω hagiázō).

E2 Matthew 23:17 CSB - "Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? (Sanctified is γιάζω hagiázō).

E3 Revelation 15:4 NKJV - Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested." (Holy is ὅσιος).

B2 Holiness is not the same as sinlessness.

C1 No human, except Jesus Christ, is sinless.

C2 God does not pronounce anyone sinless, except His son, Jesus Christ.

C3 God does mention being blameless.

D1 Zacharias and Elizabeth were declared blameless: Luke 1:6 NKJV - And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

D2 Us

E1 Philippians 2:14-16 CSB - Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn't run or labor for nothing.

E2 1 Thessalonians 3:13 CSB - May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.

B3 Consider:

C1 Exodus 3:5 (MEV) He said, “Do not approach here. Remove your sandals from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

D1 The ground, dirt, pasture, whatever was there, would have looked exactly the same as the non-holy ground. Moses didn’t even know the difference, but God did.

D2 What made it different?

D3 The universe and everything in it was holy when God created. It was pronounced good.

D4 After Adam’s sin, God cursed the universe and everything in it. It had become contaminated and not good.

D5 The ground where God commanded Moses to take off his sandals was holy ground that was not cursed. It had been sanctified by God. It was not cursed ground; it was holy ground.

D6 This is the first use of קֹדֶשׁ qôdesh in the Scriptures.

C2 God is holy. Here are some uses:

D1 His name: Psalm 33:21 (MEV) For our heart will rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.

D2 His throne: Psalm 47:8 (MEV) God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.

D3 His character and His speech: Psalm 60:6 (MEV) God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the Valley of Sukkoth.

C3 Difference between holy and unholy: Leviticus 10:10 (MEV) so that you may differentiate between what is holy and common and between what is unclean and clean.

D1 The word for holy is קֹדֶשׁ qôdesh. This something separated, set apart.

D2 The word for common/unholy is חֹל chôl. This is something common, not separated. It is something contaminated.

A3 What is holiness?

B1 We must start in Genesis 1. We must understand Genesis 1 in a plain, normal sense. If we cannot, we have no choice but to reject everything in its plain, normal sense.

B2 After creating, God reviewed everything and pronounced it good: Genesis 1:31 (MEV) God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

B3 The standard God used to judge creation, is the standard we call holy/holiness. Thus, it is always separate from what is not holy, that is, common or profane, for those things are stained by sin and the God’s curse.

B4 God’s standard is always the best for society, family, church, business, government, environment, etc.

B5 God does not change His standards: Malachi 3:6 NKJV - For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Also see Hebrews 13:8.

B6 The Old Testament was for Israel, a DNA, a people who has a land with boundaries. This will not change: Genesis 15:18 NKJV - On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— and many other places (Genesis 17:8, Genesis 24:7, Numbers 34:3, Joshua 1:4, Nehemiah 9:8, Psalm 105:11, etc.

B7 The New Testament is the standards of doctrine and practice for Christians. Again, all must be understood and interpreted in the plain, normal sense. It is the standards for preaching the Gospel, building a church, a family, and an individual. We do not need to follow some other plan, for the other plan will not measure up to God’s standards.

A4 Scripture

B1 1 Samuel 2:1-3 (MEV) Hannah prayed, saying: My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is bold against my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none besides You, and there is no rock like our God. Do not multiply proud speech, nor let arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by Him actions are examined.

C1 Is any human—other than Jesus Christ—who is holy like the Lord?

C2 Will following any other standard be the best for the church, the family, society, business, leadership, government, etc?

B2 Some things

C1 We worship in holiness: Psalm 105:3 CSB - Honor his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

C2 Everything about God is perfect: Deuteronomy 32:4 CSB - The Rock —his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.

C3 We follow His standard, because: 1 Peter 1:16 CSB - for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

B3 Psalm 99:4 (MEV) The King’s strength loves justice; you establish righteousness, and You execute judgment and fairness in Jacob.

C1 What 3 things are declared to be holy?

C2 What is justice?

D1 Justice is making a decision involving another.

D2 We are to make a just decision, too.

E1 For the poor, that is, not to decide for the rich because he is rich or the poor because he is poor: Exodus 23:2-3 CSB - You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. "Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.

E2 One of the reasons for the book of Proverbs is: Proverbs 1:3 CSB - for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity.

E3 Not loving truth results in a lack of understanding for justice: Proverbs 28:5 CSB - The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand everything.

D3 How has God administered justice?

C3 What is fairness?

D1 It has the idea of being equal and even handed.

D2 Jesus is completely fair. We see this prophesied and in the records of His life. This passage was not fulfilled in His first coming but will in His second. Isaiah 11:4 (MEV) but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and reprove with fairness for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

C4 What is righteousness?

B4 Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

B1 Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom?

B2 Bill Crowder writes on this passage: Albert Einstein was heard to say, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” Sadly, it does seem that far too often there is no limit to the foolishness we get ourselves into—or the damage we create by our foolishness and the choices it fosters.

It was in such a season of regret that David poured out his struggle and complaint to God in Psalm 38. As he recounted his own failings, as well as the painful consequences he was enduring because of those failings, the shepherd-king made an insightful comment: “My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness” (v.5). Although the psalmist does not give us the details of those choices or of his worsening wounds, one thing is clear—David recognized his own foolishness as their root cause.

The answer for such destructive foolishness is to embrace the wisdom of God. Proverbs 9:10 reminds us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Only by allowing God to transform us can we overcome the foolish decisions that cause so much trouble. With His loving guidance, we can follow the pathway of godly wisdom [emphasis is mine].

A5 A few more questions

B1 What is holiness?

B2 What is the standard for holiness?

B3 Why are we required to be holy?

B4 How do we become holy?

B5 How do we stay holy?

B6 Is holiness the same as sinlessness?

A6 Next week:

B1 In control

B2 Theme: God is sovereign

B3 Scriptures:

• Deuteronomy 10:17-22
• 1 Timothy 6:13-16
• Isaiah 46:5-13
• Acts 4:23-31
• Psalm 97:1-12
• Jeremiah 23:23-24
• Jonah 1:1-10