More on Holiness

Theology & The Bible

Sunrise over Mt. SinaiMore quotes on Holiness (His and ours) . . . 

A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.  -Jonathan Edwards

Nothing whatever in the way of goodness pertaining to godliness and real holiness can be accomplished without [grace].  -Augustine of Hippo

The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of him— and of her. In all her prayers and labor this should have first place. We do the greatest service to the next generation of Christians by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished that noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that art or science can devise.  -A.W. Tozer

The command “be ye perfect”” is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command.  -C. S. Lewis

To ask that God’s love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God: because He is what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled by certain stains in our present character, and because He already loves us He must labour to make us lovable. We cannot even wish, in our better moments, that He could reconcile Himself to our present impurities–no more than the beggar maid could wish that King Cophetua should be content with her rags and dirt, or a dog, once having learned to love man, could wish that man were such as to tolerate in his house the snapping, verminous, polluting creature of the wild pack. What we would here and now call our “happiness” is not the end God chiefly has in view: but when we are such as He can love without impediment, we shall in fact be happy.  -C.S. Lewis

Nay, my brethren, I believe the holier a man becomes the more he mourns over the unholiness which remains in him; but he is in very truth a far better man, he is a spiritual and holy man.  -C. H. Spurgeon

Those whom free grace chooses, free grace cleanses. We are not chosen because we are holy, but chosen to be holy: and being chosen, the purpose is no dead letter, but we are made to seek after holiness.  -C. H. Spurgeon

How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets real thing, it is irresistible.  -C. S. Lewis

Photo by Mark Southron (License:  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)

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