What is holiness? Holiness is not something that comes in different shades approaching perfection like the shades of brown we see on this color scale. Holiness is complete perfection—absolute freedom from sin or wrong of any kind. God is perfect. He is holy. Let us find Psalm 145:17 in our Bibles and see what God says about Himself. He says He is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works. He has never done anything or thought anything that could be even the least little bit wrong.
Another verse in Habakkuk 1:13 says that God cannot look on sin. He is so pure that when He sees sin, He turns away from it. When we think of a holiness like that, all our own goodness begins to look like the dirtiest darkest shade on the color balance scale.
For God, everything that is not absolutely perfect, is sin. Sin is breaking God’s law. God’s law is like a measure, and when the things we do are measured by it, we see how far from perfect they are.
Just think of the commandment which is called the great commandment of the law. You will find it in Matt. 22:36-39: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
No one has ever kept it perfectly for one hour! So you see we have all broken the law, and so have all sinned, in fact, having broken the first and great commandment, we are “first and great sinners.”
You cannot see into my heart, to see whether or not I am a sinner, and I cannot see into yours, but God’s Word tells. I know you are a sinner, and you know I am. Here are the verses: Romans 3:23; 3:9; 3:12; 3:19; Jeremiah 17:9-10. God says we are all sinners. That is why Jesus died for us all.
Some people are better than others when judged by man’s standards, just as we see the different shades of beige and brown on the color scale. But before God all have sinned, and therefore all are under God’s condemnation.
Excerpt From: Donald Grey Barnhouse. “Teaching the Word of Truth.”
Comments
Post a Comment