Someone asked about God's holiness and how it affects our lives. Great question!

When we talk about God being holy, we can perhaps think of it in two senses: (1) God is set apart from us, that is, supremely above us, or, almighty. And (2) God is supremely good and supremely righteous.

When God created Adam, He created him holy in His own image. Adam had an original righteousness before God. However, this was lost at the fall, and the results were the birth of sin, death and evil. Yet, thanks be to God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, we can be restored to God.

So, we know that God is holy and that we may be made holy also. God declared: "Be holy, for I am holy." Scriptures talk about this in two ways. One way has to do with justification — that is, God, by His good grace, declares us righteous in His sight when we believe in the person and works of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Romans 4 is a great explanation of this, when it talks about how Abraham was counted as righteous. The other way "to be holy" is used has to do with sanctification — that is, God graciously gives us His Holy Spirit, who produces good fruits in us, and so we are gradually moulded or transformed into the image of Christ. There's a great summary of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23

So when we consider God being holy, we should understand that consequently we, His children, are also made holy. So the practical application of this is a great comfort in God's grace and a great joy in His working in us. And from this comes a new heart that produces love for God and love for neighbour, and this certainly shapes our lives in our various vocations, that we may with a glad heart do the good works the Lord has prepared for us. In a word, it's the light yoke of Christ put upon us; the freedom we have in God.

FIAT LUX

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