The Holiness of God - chapter 4: "The Trauma of Holiness"

The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul

“The Trauma of Holiness” – Chapter Four

Jesus, the Holy One

• As God incarnate, Jesus Christ is fully holy as God is holy.
• In becoming man, Jesus made the transcendent holiness of God become immanent.
• Sinful people were then in the presence of the holy.

Fear and Hatred

• Being in the presence of the truly holy can bring two responses due to our sin:
• Awareness of our sin in the presence of the holy causes fear.
• Our hypocritical holiness in the presence of the truly holy causes hatred.

“Go away…”

• Disciples’ response to Jesus’ calming the storm (Mk. 4:41):
  • “What kind of man is this?”
• Peter’s response to the miraculous catch of fish:
  • “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.” (Lk. 5:8)
• People’s response to Jesus’ casting demons out of a man and sending them into a herd of pigs:
  • “all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear.” (Lk. 8:37)

Hypocrites’ Hatred

• Hatred is the natural response when hypocritical righteousness is exposed by the truly holy.
• The Pharisees and Sadducees hated Jesus, because he exposed their hypocrisy.

Darkness Hates Light
Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20, NIV).

• Christ has called us to be light in the midst of this dark world (Matt 5:14–16).
• As we seek to live holy lives in obedience to Christ, the world will likely hate us as it hated the holy Christ.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18-19, NIV)

Questions

• Is your view of God’s holiness like Peter’s? Do you want to run from it?
• What is our natural response when our sin is exposed?
• What is our response when our sin or hypocrisy is rebuked?
• What is our response to the holiness of Christ as revealed in Scripture? Fear or Hatred?
• What should our response be to the hatred of the world as we seek to live holy lives as representatives of Christ?