There is a vast difference between being curious about someone's character and having a deep reverence for that person. When Moses saw the burning bush that was not consumed, he turned aside to look, motivated by curiosity.

His curiosity gave way to reverence, however. For God said to him: "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Ex. 3:5).

There are elements in the experience of faith that are disappearing today. The consciousness of sin is diminishing, as well as the consciousness of the holiness of God. Perhaps we should say that the latter probably is the cause of the former. Because we have lost sight of the holiness of God, we fail to see sin as it really is. The knowledge of God's holiness is no longer profoundly present or practiced (for knowledge demands practice). As the true and clear knowledge of sin and grace disappears, an untrue and unclear experience takes its place. We do well to reflect on this subject from a biblical standpoint.

Moses⤒🔗

God's holiness occupies a profoundly special place throughout His self-revelation. There are more than three hundred references in Scripture to His attribute of holiness. The Old Testament often refers to the LORD as the Holy One. Exodus 3 has already been mentioned. There we find the motif of God's transcendence and infinite distance. God requires that we are circumspect when we approach Him.

The other motif here is the great condescension of God. God is in the fire, just as Israel at this point in time finds itself in the fiery furnace of slavery. Their cries of distress have come up to God (Ex. 3:9). He who is unapproachable (cf. 1 Tim. 6:16), and whose holiness is a consuming fire (cf. Isa. 33:14), has entered into the fire Himself, in order to dwell with His people. On the one hand there is infinite dis­tance and at the same time there is redeeming nearness. "I know their sorrows; and I am come down" (Ex. 3:7). A third motif is that of the call of Moses to be the mediator of the covenant.

These three motifs all foreshadow how God Himself, in Christ, has entered into the fire of judgment in order to deliver His people and call His own to participate in the ministry of deliverance. All these three motifs of God's holiness are present throughout revelation: distance, near­ness, and the ministry of reconciliation.

Isaiah←⤒🔗

We find these motifs in Isaiah's vision of the holy God. Isaiah is called to be a prophet of the Lord. In that context Isaiah sees the Lord sit­ting upon His throne, "high and lifted up." His "train," the long, flowing parts of His robe, fills the temple. The seraphim are with him and call out, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory" (vs.3). Isaiah becomes highly conscious of the infinite distance created by his uncleanness. "Woe is me! For I am undone" (vs. 5) is all that he can utter.

It is most remarkable to see how the distance is bridged. A live coal from the altar takes away the iniquity and atones for his sin (vs.7). Atonement creates nearness, bridges the gap, and calls him to service: "Whom shall I send? Then said I, Here am I; send me."

This call and confirmation of the prophetic office of Isaiah also determines his preaching. Isaiah preached that the holy God is "sanctified in righteousness" (Isa. 5:16). He is the incomparable God. "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One?" (Isa. 40:25). This incomparable, glorious and holy God calls himself "the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. 43:14); or as we read in Isaiah 49:7: "Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee."

Here the prophet, called to bring comfort, is also the means for true comfort. "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isa. 57:15). Isaiah proclaims what Moses experienced at the burning bush in Exodus 3. Both the distance and nearness of God are realities and there is a way whereby these are brought together.

Hosea←⤒🔗

Hosea was the prophet of the burning and consuming love of the God Who is jealous of His honour. Nevertheless, Hosea can also speak about the wrath of God being turned away. "How shall I give thee up ... I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger ...for I am God, and no man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: I will not enter into the city" (Hos. 11:8, 9).

How can this be? God explains: "Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together." God's deep compassion, by which He is inwardly motivated, proceeds from His mercy and His active compassion. It is not contrary to his holiness. Rather, it manifests itself in a holi­ness whereby He shows Himself to be "God and not man."

This points to the miracle of the atonement. God can complain about His people: "They have forsaken the LORD ... the Holy One of Israel" (Isa.1:4). Nonetheless, God dwells with His people. It is because God's holiness does not exclude mercy, but rather includes mercy. Therefore redemption is absolutely certain. He is ''God and no man."

The reference is to the divinity of God and His loftiness, which at the same time speaks of amazing nearness.

The New Testament←⤒🔗

It may seem that the New Testament emphasizes the mercy and compassion of God more than his holiness. Yet both are clearly present. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Holy One: "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Lk. 1:35). He taught His disciples the Lord's Prayer, where we find that despite the familiar address, "Our Father," Jesus nevertheless places a distance, by adding, "who art in heaven." Our Heidelberg Catechism comments, "...lest we should form any earthly conceptions of God's heavenly majesty" (Lord's Day 46, Answer 121).

It can be shown that the New Testament sets forth the holiness of God in a Trinitarian way. Christ prays to the Holy Father: "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me..." (Jn. 17:11). It is in Jesus Himself that God dwells among us — the Holy One in the midst of His own. The Holy Spirit is the divine Comforter.

The Father is in heaven, in "the high and holy place" (Isa. 57:15) and He makes His abode with those who love him (Jn. 14:23). It is the Son in whom God pitches His tent among us: He has "tabernacled" among us (Jn. 1:14). It is the Spirit, who in His applicatory work comes so close to us that it cannot be any closer: He abides with you and "shall be in you" (Jn. 14:17).

Where this happens, the church is brought into being. She is "a holy nation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a peculiar treasure unto God" (Ex. 19:5,6; 1 Pet. 2:9). It is with the saints (or believers) that the Lord desires to dwell. One day the song will be heard in fulfilment of all God's promises: "Thou alone art holy" (Rev. 15:4). The final prospect is that of the Lord who dwells with His people: "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Rev. 21:22).

Luther←⤒🔗

The Middle Ages were characterized by a deep sense of the holiness of God. People spoke with fear and trembling about the divine majesty of God. This was particularly owing to the thought that God's relationship to us is one of righteous retribution. This sense of terror before a vindictive God constrained Luther to become a monk. It drove him to a life of law-keeping and works righteousness. We read that after his consecration into the priesthood he trembled as he approached his first celebration of the mass. When he made the life-changing discovery that led to the Reformation, he continued to see God as very great and holy.

But at the same time He understood that God could dwell with those who are of a contrite and humble spirit. Luther met this God while reading Romans 1:16-17. The righteousness of God convicted him and he could not find peace until paradise was opened to him personally. He dis­covered that the righteousness of the holy God was not a righteousness that He demands, but that He grants. At that point he was altogether born again and entered paradise itself as through an open gate. The just shall live by faith and by faith alone.

Calvin←⤒🔗

The other Reformers shared the experience that Luther had. Calvin was led to this conviction by God Himself by what he called a "sudden conversion," a spiritual quickening, which he underwent around 1533. A profound sense of the holiness of God struck him and made him teachable, motivating him to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This view of God's holiness led him to the conviction that we must live every area of life coram Deo, that is, before God's face. Always and everywhere we stand before God, Whom we cannot know except by divine revelation. Without His self-revelation we would be caught in a labyrinth or we would fall headlong into an abyss.

We are to bow down before the holiness of God as obedient disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin uses many pages of his Institutes on the concept of sanctitas (sanctity). The knowledge of God, which is bound up with the knowledge of ourselves, marks the whole Christian life and includes self-denial, cross bearing and contemplation on the future life. It takes place every day anew before the face of God. Although marred by imperfection, yet there is also an ardent desire for growth in the knowledge and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. A person who bows before the judgment seat of God is justified by faith and is also sancti­fied by union with Christ.

Relevance for Today←⤒🔗

The question may well be asked, whether we can still have this consciousness of God's holiness. Is there still the desire to believe and acknowledge this attribute of God? To be sure, the twentieth century has changed the world tremendously. There is the dark threat of terrorism and war, the all-consuming conformity to the world, the estrangement and eradication of essential Christian values. In general, people have also changed their convictions concerning the con­sciousness of the holiness of God.

Assessment←⤒🔗

How can we come to a true consciousness of God's holiness that is beneficial and can lead to healing?

1. The consciousness of the holiness of God is bound up with a proper view of God. We have heard of the "God is dead" theology, the "suffering God" theology, the "God in process" theology, "the God is our buddy" theology, etc. The problem with all these theologies is that God has been brought down to the level of a mere mortal. God is no longer the totally wholly other. We can only know God through the Son, Who has come down. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9); "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17; 17:5); "...Ye believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1).
2. The consciousness of the holiness of God induces a proper view of the knowledge of sin. The words and the reality of "a contrite and humble spirit" (Isa. 57:15) have gradually come to be regarded as extreme. In line with the Heidelberg Catechism, we need to know ourselves as sinners. This knowledge is something essentially other than feelings of frustration, depression or a general sense of riot being well. The biblical consciousness of sin considers the knowledge of the guilt of sin. The demands that God places in regard to His goodness, righteousness and holiness lead to this knowledge. This must be set forth in preaching. Church members too, need to be converted to God. Perhaps we have forgotten that belonging to a congregation and participating in all sorts of activities does not in itself guarantee that all is well with our consciousness of God's holiness. "Our God is a consuming fire," the New Testament says. The preaching of the necessity of regeneration continues to be absolutely indispensable. Neither should we forget the necessity of justification and sanctification in Christ for the deliverance of the guilt and pollution of sin.
3. The consciousness of God's holiness is something that is part of the experience of faith. Some consider the emphasis on experience old-fashioned, mystical and pietistic. There are, indeed, improper views on experience, which confuse the objective reality of redemption with the subjective application of redemption by the Spirit. We find these views in the charismatic movement and other groups influenced by experience-centred theology. Some so systematize and prescribe the way of faith and experience that no room is left for the holiness of God. God sovereignly reserves the right to lead us by His Spirit on the way of sal­vation. Here too, there can be a transgression of the holi­ness of God. The true experience of faith is particularly characterized by two marks: 1) the consciousness of God's holiness — the infinite distance there is between Him and us; and 2) the experience of God's nearness and partaking of the secret of the Lord (Ps. 25:14).
4. The consciousness of God's holiness has both a personal and covenantal aspect in the life of faith. People are never saved en masse or collectively. It is true; God joins Himself to His people, His Israel, His church, by means of the covenant. Sometimes we act as if we own the covenant and that it is our calling to develop theories about it. Instead, it is the covenant of God, that is, of the Holy One of Israel Who dwells in the midst of His people. It is in the midst of this holy community that the Lord wants to dwell. It is precisely there that God's attributes are manifested. We cannot place enough emphasis on the personal aspect in matters pertaining to church and covenant membership. A new and living way into the holy of holies has been opened for anyone who believes. He or she may come to the throne of grace. Can it be more personal than that? Yet, this personal aspect must be viewed against the background of the full breadth of God's work. For the Holy One of Israel is the God of all the earth.
5. The consciousness of God's holiness is at the heart of the ministry, worship, and the offices in the church. Being an office bearer means nothing less than being placed before the holiness of God while at the same time realizing that one is called to minister in the midst of a sinful people. "Woe is me," Isaiah says, when God calls him. Moses, too, was reluctant to perform the office. Yet we read about Isaiah that he says, "Here am I; send me." He said this, because he had seen on the altar something of the power of the atonement.

The cross of Christ should constrain us. When a sense of the holiness of God influences the office bearer, that office bearer will be truly useful to the congregation. And how entirely different our worship would become! The book of Revelation pictures the awesome glory of a heavenly wor­ship service. This view does not just belong to the future, but something of that glory is reflected in the church of God now when congregations are faithful.

In conclusion, I remind you of the fact that our denomination's logo shows Moses at the burning bush with the words Nec tamen consumebatur (and the bush was not consumed, Ex. 3:2). Reformed churches in other countries, such as France, Scotland, and America also use this symbol. At one time, these churches went through persecution. What persecution fire is there still to come in the future? A consuming fire? Let our churches continue to be faithful and manifest holiness, righteousness and goodness. They come from God, because He is holy, righteous and infinitely good. Let this consciousness continue to be believed among us by the power of Him Who sanctifies His own and renews them unto eternal service for His glory, which is one of full access. Then there will be eternal access without any barriers. Then God will be all in all, the Holy One in the midst of His people.