Holy Archives | Northstar Church

“For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy…” – Leviticus 11:44.

If you’ve ever started reading Leviticus, you know how challenging it can be to interpret. The detailed procedures for sacrifices, lists of clean and unclean animals, and peculiar laws in the book of Leviticus may seem too complicated and irrelevant for us today and often leave modern readers scratching their heads in confusion or zoning out in boredom.

Leviticus 11:44 is a snapshot of the Book of Leviticus. There are many things in Leviticus that are holy. Twice, in verses 44-45 we hear these words, “be holy, because I am holy.” To understand what it means to be holy, we have to fully understand that God is holy:”O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.” (Psalm 40:5). The psalmist tells us, “Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.” (Psalm 96:9) Solomon writes, “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” (Proverbs 9:10)

Leviticus reveals Christ’s sacrifice to us through the pictures in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of one who walked in holiness. If we look at how He lived and exemplified holiness, we see a life committed to honoring God, showing love, honoring parents, and serving others. But being holy isn’t natural, and it isn’t something we can do under our own strength. Walking in holiness requires the Holy Spirit. Holiness is only possible when we are put on the new self and live life as the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV) God wants us to be. Although holiness isn’t natural to us, we are instructed in scripture to follow or pursue holiness.

Leviticus 11:44 also talks about being consecrated. Leviticus 8 describes the instructions God gave Moses to consecrate and ordain Aaron and his sons so that they could begin their priesthood. “Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and on their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments” (Leviticus 8: 30 NIV).

When we consecrate ourselves to God, we wholly dedicate ourselves to Him. It is the act of setting yourself aside and dedicating yourself to God. We consecrate ourselves when we surrender our lives and will to Him as a living sacrifice and live our lives for the glory of God. Consecration is offering ourselves, our stuff, plans, wants, desires, and will to Jesus.

God’s ultimate purpose is to sanctify us – make us holy – to make us like Jesus. Holiness begins when we are born again but that is not the end-point of our life with Jesus; it is only the beginning of a holy and consecrated life.

Discussion Questions:

Can you define the word holiness in general and more specifically for your life?
Do you believe a person can become holy?

What are God’s attributes? When we talk about the attributes of God, we are trying to answer questions like, who is God, what is God like, and what kind of God is He? An attribute of God is something true about Him. Each Friday we will look at the attributes of God. This week, God is holy.

“ It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” – Isaiah 6:1-5

In Isaiah 6 we learn about Isaiah’s unique encounter with God. There is a progression in his throne-room vision of God. What he sees utterly terrifies him – God is high and lifted up, and the train of His robe fills the temple. He is beyond comprehension. We get no description of God other than him sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of His robe filling the temple, and His total, perfect holiness. In the vision, he sees and hears angelic creatures crying out, “Holy, holy, holy.”

Isaiah sees a glimpse of God’s absolute holiness and he finds himself utterly devastated. He feels a profound sense of dread in the presence of a holy God. He realizes that God is totally holy, perfect, and pure and that he is by comparison unclean, impure, and sinful.

The God of the Bible is a Holy God. As we meditate on God’s supreme holiness, we cannot help being overcome with a sense of awe. The psalmist tells us, “Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.” (Psalm 96:9) Solomon writes, “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” (Proverbs 9:10)

John Piper has this definition of God’s holiness: “God’s holiness is His infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that He is and who by grace made Himself accessible — His infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that He is. Our goal is to be holy as He is holy.” Leviticus 11:44: “For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.…” 1 Peter 1:15 says “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”

Discussion Questions:

Can you define the word holiness in general and more specifically for your life?
Do you believe a person can become holy?

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