Holiness- Steven Lawson at the Scottish Reformed Conference -part 1

I had the privilege of hearing Steven Lawson today in Hamilton, he was one of the speakers for the Scottish Reformed Conference 2018 . His subject was the Holiness of God and he walked us through some of the passages in the Old Testament in the morning and in the afternoon he unpacked holiness in parts of the New Testament. 

 He started with an A W Tozer quote, 'The most important thing about you is what you think about God'. Lawson went on to say we cannot have too high a view of God, and His holiness is the most important aspect of who and what God is. The radiance of His perfection is made manifest not in that He is love (though He is love) not in his power (though He is omnipotent) but in his absolute holiness. The holy Seraphim cry not love, love, love but Holy, Holy, Holy, every revival begins with a fresh awareness of God's holiness.  We need to be gripped by it, we cannot enter into His presence casually, or laid back we need a reverential fear of God.  

What does the holiness of God mean- He is not on our level, He is wholly other, He is High and exalted, far above anyone and anything else- distinct  from everything.

But He is also morally pure, perfect in thought, in word, in deed, motive, flawless and sinless, completely separate from sin. He judges and condemns all that doesn't square with His Holiness and He must- for His own Righteousness sake. 

When Moses meets with God, we hear of holiness for the first time, Moses is commanded not to come near- for the ground is holy- consecrated by God's holiness and Moses is not. He encounters God and he experiences, soul crushing, jaw dropping, knee bowing holiness. 

Exodus 15- God is greater than all the so called gods, carnal minds cannot create a God like this one, The Holy One.

God called Israel to be a nation to be distinct from all those around them. in Exodus 19 v 9 God urges them to cleanse themselves before they could come remotely near to Mount Sinai before giving them the Ten Commandments which not only reveal how God wants His covenant people to live but reveals His own Holiness.