As we will be studying what God’s word has to say about His holiness, I thought I would quote some of what our elders have said on the topic of holiness in this brief preface to our study. We can learn from their wise counsel. Also, We would be remiss to do a study of holiness without first acknowledging the source. The holiness of God is not merely, or solely, an attribute of His among many others. To quote Charles Hodge, “The holiness of God is not to be conceived of as one attribute among others. It is rather a general term representing the conception of God’s consummate perfection and total glory. It is His infinite moral perfection crowning His infinite intelligence and power.” There is no other quality of God that the seraphim angels praise three times, time and again in eternity. [Isa 6:3 NASB] “And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” To know God, we must know He is holy, and we are not. “Only one attribute of God, in sacred Scripture is emphasized three times. Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love; or mercy, mercy, mercy; or wrath, wrath, wrath; or justice, justice, justice. It does say that he is holy, holy, holy, that the whole earth is full of His glory.” R.C. Sproul.
God,
Being distinct, other than, separate, set apart, in moral perfection,
transcendent in His holiness, cannot be fathomed by man. This
holiness also manifests as majesty. The chasm that separates us from
Him due to our sin is so great, only the cross can bear us from one
sin to glory. R.C. Sproul wrote, “The most violent expression of
God’s wrath and justice is seen in the Cross. If ever a person had
room to complain for injustice, it was Jesus. He was the only
innocent man ever to be punished by God. If we stagger at the wrath
of God, let us stagger at the Cross. Here is where our astonishment
should be focused.” The only way to please the holy God, is for Him
to provide what is pleasing. In Christ, He has provided
righteousness for our justification. In Christ, we are separated
from sin, and set apart for His use. We are consecrated to and for
the glory of God. Jonathan Edwards wrote, “Never did God so
manifest His hatred of sin as in the death and suffering of His only
begotten Son. Hereby He showed Himself unappeasable to sin, and that
it was impossible for Him to be at peace with it.”
Our
problem is that we are not holy. Here is a quote from R.C. Sproul,
“Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure
Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom
we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you
ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the
most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we
disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the
righteousness of God. We are saying, “God, Your law is not good. My
judgement is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me.
I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what
I want to do, not what You command me to do.” It is evident that
we must come to the knowledge of what holiness is by contrasting our
dire lack of it with its perfection in God’s being.
A.W.
Tozer had this to say, “We cannot grasp the true meaning of the
divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and
then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of.
God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered.
We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique,
unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man
is blind to it. He may fear God’s power and admire God’s wisdom,
but His holiness he cannot even imagine.” This is the transcendent
holiness of the Creator. It is on display for us, in the natural
creation, in His word, and personally in His Son.
“Without
such a vision of God’s holiness, true worship is not possible.
Worship is not giddy. It does not rush into God’s presence
unprepared and insensitive to His majesty. It is not shallow,
superficial, or flippant. Worship is life lived in the presence of an
infinitely righteous and omnipresent God by one utterly aware of His
holiness and consequently overwhelmed with his own unholiness… If
you have never worshiped God with a broken and contrite spirit,
you’ve never fully worshiped God, because that is the only
appropriate response to entering the presence of Holy God.” John
MacArthur.
“God’s
holiness means He is separate from sin. But holiness in God also
means wholeness. God’s holiness is His “God-ness.” It is His
being God in all that it means for Him to be God. To meet God in His
holiness, therefore, is to be altogether overwhelmed by the discovery
that He is God, and not man.” Sinclair Ferguson.
“If
every attribute of the Deity were a distinct member, holiness would
be the soul to animate them. Without holiness His patience would be
an indulgence to sin, His mercy a fondness, His wrath a madness, His
power a tyranny, His wisdom an unworthy subtlety. Holiness gives
decorum to them all.” Puritan, Stephen Charnock.
The predominate cult determines the culture. Until the last one and a half centuries, Christianity was the predominate, “cult” if you will, in America, and much of the civilized world. Post-modernism, and secular humanism have had their sway for the last 50, or more years. This has culminated in a Post-Christian, atheistic, and ever increasing antichrist cult, and resultant culture. The views of this cult are evident in the dogmatic doctrines of the leftist, otherwise known as socialists/communists. God is replaced by the state, because you shall have no other god than the state according to the enemy. After all, if they knew they were outright worshiping satan, the couldn’t immediately stomach it, or convince others to do so either. Give them the state as god, and they will rend themselves into a bloody foundation for it to set atop as a glorious, and gory crown to their sacrifice of neighbors, friends, and brothers. Its gaping maw ever open, ever consuming the human chattel like chafe tossed into a boiler furnace to further power the all-consuming monster of human suffering.
The god they worship has given them a sliding rule of right and wrong, that is more often than not, an inversion of God’s created order. This blasphemy, rebellion, and idolatry is no accident. It is engineered by the most infamous of totalitarian rulers, the devil himself. Our enemies are not of flesh and blood, but rather are spirit. Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Like unto marionettes dancing on the silken black threads of their malevolent master, they dance the dance of demoniacs immemorial. They have taken what is good, by force, blackmail, coercion, deceit, fraud, and theft, and corrupted it. They have convinced the world of the dead, enslaved to the satanic system that what is good, is actually evil, and that what is evil, is actually good. Good has become such an evil it requires the ultimate humiliation and punishment. They cry for blood, and have swift feat to carry them along to its macabre end. It is a slight of hand that should not work, but does.
For who can blame the deaf, blind, and dead, for not being able to discern the truth from a lie? From their state, there is no excuse. They remain fully culpable for their estate. God is just, and those who remain dead in their sins and trespasses will experience God’s wrath eternal. Would you like to change the world? Are you greatly vexed, as I am with the insanity, and immorality of the leftists? You won’t find the solution as a politique. Much like the politique of 16th century France, if you believe you will find the solution in human policies, and national strength, you will be disappointed.
The solution for our current debauchery lies in the miraculous power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. It quickens the dead soul to life, true life, life eternal! It makes the word of God come forth and dominate the darkened mind, it illuminates it, bringing light into the darkest man! O there is nothing more grand and glorious than the power of God displayed saving a wretch from his defiled and putrefied body of death except for God Himself! Preach the gospel to all the Earth, make disciples of all men! By His stripes we are healed! God commands all men everywhere to repent! Preach repentance and faith in our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ! For when a dead sinner becomes our true brother, he cannot help but to be changed in spirit, and soul! He will begin to hate the sin that he reveled in, and love the glory of God above all else! [1Co 6:20 KJV] 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. [Psa 115:1 KJV] 1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, [and] for thy truth’s sake.
[Eph 6:10-24 KJV] 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 21 But that ye also may know my affairs, [and] how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and [that] he might comfort your hearts. 23 Peace [be] to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace [be] with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
[Isa 53:1-12 KJV] 1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him [a portion] with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
[Act 17:22-34 KJV] 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, [Ye] men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead. 32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this [matter]. 33 So Paul departed from among them. 34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which [was] Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
[Rom 1:15-32 KJV] 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Let’s look a little closer at what the RCC believes about Mary. Here is a quote from the RCC(Roman Catholic Church) Catechism that was included in a Cripplegate article;
Catechism of the Catholic Church. In Article 9, section 6, paragraphs 966-969, it says:
966 “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.
967 By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) of the Church.
968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”
969 “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”
In the first sentence we see that Rome claims Mary was not born with a sinful nature like all other humans were after the fall. This is false. Mary did have a sinful nature just like the rest of us. The RCC also claims that Mary was taken up body and soul instead of awaiting the resurrection and the judgment, and that she is the “…Queen over all things…” reasoning that in so being she would be more conformed to the likeness of Christ. This means that she is more like Christ than any other Christian could ever hope to be. Many in the RCC insist that the, “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin” means that she did not die, but rather was taken up like Enoch. This is also wrong as witnesses in the first century were at her funeral and recorded it in writing. Many other Catholics believe that she died, and here body was taken up. “we must remember that the Patristic Fathers defended the Assumption on two counts: Since Mary was sinless and a perpetual virgin, she could not suffer bodily deterioration, the result of original sin, after her death. Also, if Mary bore Christ and played an intimate role as His mother in the redemption of man, then she must likewise share body and soul in His resurrection and glorification.”1 Much more erroneous is the insistence that this assumption was part of Christs resurrection and that of Christians who would die after them. Regardless of whether she initially died or not, they believe that she was bodily alive either by resurrection, or not dying to begin with, when she ascended to heaven. We read this NO WHERE in scripture. It is solely a doctrine of man created by the RCC. We know from the record of scripture that Christ had younger siblings sired by Joseph with his wife Mary. This is not debatable. The RCC claim that she remained a virgin after the conception, and birth of Christ is completely fallacious, and without merit. They misunderstand what it means to be the mother of Jesus, and place an import on it that corrupts proper Christocentric theology, and conflates the role of Mary with that of the Savior. This is evident by the next claim that it is her prayers that, “will deliver our souls from death.”
Understanding that they believe Mary to be perpetually sinless it follows that they would also believe that she accomplished, “complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit,” This ignores that Biblical fact that she was sinner, and needed a Savior just as much as the rest of us. It is yet another contrived tradition of the RCC. Because of this doctrine they elevate her to the model of faith and charity, thus supplanting Christ, and robbing Him of His due glory. To further elevate her the catechism states, “preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) of the Church. In other words when the Church is referred to in the Bible as the bride of Christ, Mary is to be understood as the fulfillment of that type instead of the Church itself, thus ostensibly setting up some incestuous relationship between Mary and Christ, equating in blasphemy.
If these blasphemous heresies were not enough, they go even further into their doctrines of the devil by stating this, “968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.” This is blatantly and abjectly satanic! The glaringly obvious and grievous error of attributing Mary with regenerative work quickening the human soul, replaces the Holy Spirit with a mere mortal woman! In this heresy she becomes our mother due to her regenerative work. What happened to being sons and daughters of God, through adoption? I guess now, Mary is the wife of her son and God. Notice the switch from, “For this reason” referring back to her, “work of restoring supernatural life to souls” to being, “mother to us in the order of grace.” The switch is explicit in line 969. It completely disregards the earlier clause, “for this reason” which made clear that it was addressing her regenerative work in regards to the soul.
The annunciation is the RCC tradition that surrounds the Biblical account of the angel Gabriel informing Mary of her coming conception, and motherhood to Jesus. According to the catechism, because of her consent to this (as if she had a choice) Evidently, due to her being the mother of Jesus, she suffered as He did during the crucifixion which earned her merit with God, and apparently still suffers until all the number of God’s elect come in. The next sentence leaves me bewildered how anyone can read it, affirm it, and claim to be Christian. “Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation” Wow! Who knew Mary had a saving office, and made manifold intercession? Here I always thought there was one intercessor between God, and man, and that being the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! Of course then there is a, “therefore” and we must ask what it is there for? “Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.” According to the RCC catechism because she is our intercessor, and savior, she must be blessed and recognized as our advocate, helper, benefactress, and mediator. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t at least a couple of those attributes of the Holy Spirit? Just sayin’… Come on Patrick!
Having unpacked all of that, I’m wondering how the jam pack such a small statement with so much heresy? I am also pretty sure that is why people don’t refute it more often. It would take them forever to get through it all. If you obfuscate epochally enough the pile of manure you’d have to dig through to get to the bottom of it would be so large it would become its very own repellant to discovering the true extent of their lies.
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