The topic for today’s conversation is crucial, yet so hated by the modern church. The reluctance for pastors to preach on the holiness of God is, in part, because it is unfamiliar and taboo. We can only ever just begin to scratch the surface when it comes to Holiness. In fact, holy is the only word in the Scripture in which one word is repeated three times. The more our pastors proclaim God as holy, other, and separate, the greater the view we will have of Him. Jerry Bridges said, “Holiness describes both the majesty of God and the purity and moral perfection of His nature. It is as necessary as His existence… It is a perfection of all of God’s other attributes.” It is a misconception that someone focused on God’s holiness is harsh and uptaight, and Ray is the perfect example of this. Isaiah 43:15 says “I am the Lord, your Holy one, the Creator of Israel, your King.” D.A. Carson does a great job at helping us understand what he means by this, asking whether holiness is communicable or incommunicable. Holy is, in fact, an adjective to describe God.
Turning to the argument atheists often use in claiming God is an egomaniac for demanding us to worship Him, the guys discuss the idea that God’s glory and holiness is for our joy and good. When He calls on us to worship Him, it is all while knowing we will experience the joy which comes with knowing His glory. God’s law is a reflection of His perfection. When we break one, we break them all. Before we become a Christian, we feel relieved of our sins rather than enslaved to them. Galatians 4:8-11 states “When you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not Gods.” Finally, they touch on how the holiness of God affects their own preaching. Only God can bring us to a place of awe and wonder, so we should be careful in how we use those words. As the episode wraps up, listeners are reminded that without holiness, no one will see the Lord.