Thinking about Holiness

sermon, Theology & The Bible

In preparation for this week’s sermon on Leviticus 19, I have had to think quite a bit about God’s Holiness. Here are a few quotes I have run across.

 Holiness is more than a mere attribute of God—it is the sum of all His attributes, the outshining of all that God is. -Jonathan Edwards

 There is nothing which my heart desires more than to see you, the members of this church, distinguished for holiness. It is the Christian’s crown and glory. An unholy church! It is of no use to the world and of no esteem among men. Oh, it is an abomination, hell’s laughter, heaven’s abhorrence. And the larger the church, the more influential, the worse nuisance does it become when it becomes unholy. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church. -C. H. Spurgeon

 Holiness is the quintessential quality of Yahweh. In the entire universe, he alone is intrinsically holy. The nominal sentence, Yahweh is holy, points in this direction. That God is holy means that he is exalted, awesome in power, glorious in appearance, pure in character. God’s holiness is contagious. Wherever his presence is, that place becomes holy. -John E. Hartley

Holiness is God’s beauty and glory. When God would be drawn—as much as He can be—He is drawn in this attribute of holiness. Power is in His hand; omniscience in His eyes; mercy in His bowels; but holiness is His beauty! -Stephen Charnock