In a culture consumed with finding our authentic self, what if we can't face the true depths of our sin? Face-to-face with God, we are undone. Pastor Lutzer shows two reasons God's holiness shows us our sin. In God’s presence, the real us is unmasked. This episode was originally published January 21, 2019 as "The Attributes of God | Week 3: Holy."
"And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!'"
- Revelation 4:8
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Transcript: Hi, welcome to 5 Minutes with Pastor Lutzer. We are exploring the attributes of God; the marvelous, mysterious attributes of God. In this study we're going to discover that there are times when our minds can only go so far. We're going to be discussing issues such as the infinity of God, understanding Him, contemplating Him to the extent that we can. I believe that whenever we contemplate God, we have a response—there is transformation. Either we are rebuked, we are encouraged; always we should be led to worship.
Well today, I'm talking about the holiness of God, and the verse of Scripture comes to us from the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation. And we read, "And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'" What a marvelous verse. Because it not only introduces us to the holiness of God, but it also helps us to understand the eternality of God. He was, He is, and He is to come. What a God it is that we worship and we serve.
Now a similar passage is, of course, in Isaiah chapter 6 where the seraphim are saying "Holy, holy, holy." No other place in Scripture do you ever have other attributes given that kind of attention. The angels don't say "The love of God, the love of God, the love of God;" no, but "Holy, holy, holy." Of course God is love. But God is, in His essence, holiness.
Now what's our take away from this? Wherever you find in Scripture that people experience a vision of God, like Isaiah did, you find them understanding themselves better to the extent of their sinfulness; a sinfulness that they have never previously understood. And that's important. It is important so that we understand the beauty and the nature of redemption. You have, for example, Isaiah who says, "Woe is me, for I am undone." People in the presence of God—you and I in the presence of God—we finally understand the depth of our sin. And I could just say this to you, that once you and I understand how deceitful our hearts actually are, we discover that no matter what people say about us... it's actually worse than they are describing. That's been the experience of people throughout the centuries who have really confronted their own sin in the presence of God's holiness.
You know, I'm reminded of Job. He said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye sees thee and I repent in dust and ashes." You and I, the real you and I, are what we are in God's presence; nothing more, nothing less. But the good news is, He doesn't leave us there. He shows us our sin so that we might better appreciate our glorious redemption. So today as you go about your many responsibilities and your duties, contemplate the fact that this God is holy. We worship Him as holy; but also, gratefully, He is also merciful and therefore we can be redeemed. "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty." Today my friend, go with God.