FORGIVENESS AND HOLINESS are inseparable companions. Read the following narrative from the holy Scriptures:
“And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day. David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”” II Samuel 6:6-9 NKJV
Perhaps you remember this story. Poor Uzzah! Death is a tad bit harsh of a punishment, would you agree? Yet, throughout Scripture God warns us that He is holy and we are not. We cannot approach a holy God, we are not His peers nor His equals. It is only through the precious blood of the Lamb that we can even come near. Yet, we often bring Him down to our level, giving Him our attributes and make Him more appeasing to our senses and merely common. We listen to false preaching of a love gospel and give our itching ears to things that make us feel good, producing more apathy towards an awesome God.
The Lord gave me a word a few weeks ago during a Sunday service (you might remember it if you were in attendance), Christians were/are treating Him and His house as a “common thing”. There is no reverence for Him, His house, His sacraments, or His ministers. Christians are treating the House of the Lord as Uzzah treated the Ark- commonly, like a Walmart or grocery store. And because God is restraining His punishment; you continue to treat Him commonly. God is holy. The disciples asked of the Lord, “teach us to pray”. Jesus responded, “Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed (holy) be Thy name”. It’s the very first sentence of the prayer. He is not common.
What if the first time you treated Him as a common thing, you were struck down? The book of Acts (Hello? NT) records a husband and wife lying to the Holy Spirit and both being struck dead, producing the fear of the Lord in His people. Paul said to the Corinthian church that many of them were sick and had already died for taking communion in an unholy manner, treating it as a common thing. The writer of Hebrews tells us that to continue to sin willfully is trampling on the blood of Christ, treating it as a common thing. Forgiveness and holiness are not at odds with one another, they are inseparable.
“In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.” Proverbs 16:6 By the fear of the Lord; by a reverence or respect unto God, by a holy fear of offending God and dread of God’s judgments; men depart from evil. Those who wholly fear and are faithful to God are kept from abusing pardoning mercy, and from returning to folly or wickedness. Thus showing that justification (forgiveness) and sanctification (holiness) are constant and inseparable companions.
I hear this all the time, “I am in Christ and I can boldly go to throne! I march in and tell God what I want!” Be careful. While it is true that we can approach Him through the blood of Jesus; boldness does not mean “demanding” or “brashly”; it means “with authority”. All the other Scriptures apply when we come near Him. We come humbly. We come obediently. We come with clean hands and a pure heart. We come after examining ourselves. We come near in love and in fear. Do not fall into the common trap. God has not changed. He was holy then, He is holy now. We can approach Him as our Father because we’ve been forgiven and cleansed; and still remember and be in awe of His holiness.
“Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”” Exodus 3:5
To Learn More About Pastor Crystal please visit the Leadership Page
