[Music] Foreign [Music] Hey this is John from the Bible project And today we're going to release another Question response episode that we did on YouTube here on the podcast so that you Can listen to it and enjoy it without Watching a YouTube video this question Response was on the topic of Holiness so Some of the questions we answered were Does holiness mean Perfection how could Uh some ground be Holy Ground like Moses And Joshua encountered in the Bible when God is everywhere shouldn't everywhere Be holy in the New Testament is the Focus on Holiness mainly moral Purity Since God's holiness is dangerous how Are people and Genesis able to interact With God and John says God is love but Isaiah says God is holy holy holy is This a contradiction we'll jump into all Of these questions looking forward to it Here we go Foreign [Music] We're going to talk about Um this idea of God's holiness and what What is this sun with with circles Around it mean and if you've watched the Video you know what that means we're Gonna answer your questions which are Coming in keep sending us live chatting Your questions and we'll look at those
Um we're really I'm really happy with it Holiness is one of these biblical Religious words That you know nobody uses the word Except religious people yeah or about Religious people like the phrase It's a Negative he he thinks he's holier than Now You know is a phrase that many Non-religious people might use to kind Of make fun of religious people But it's the biblical Uh concept itself is just completely Foreign And unfortunately I think for most uh Religious people it gets reduced to Moral goodness which is why we say That's what I think about when I think About being holy so when Jesus says be Holy As God is holy Jesus says that You say that well he said be uh complete Be completely perfect yeah but he's the Word holy right Peter Peter in his Letter says be holy is God is Holy oh That's quoting a line from Leviticus Okay yeah it's in the Bible Jesus Doesn't say be holy he says he doesn't Use the word holy he uses the word clean Appear and impure okay to talk about Foods and then the state of people's Hearts but holiness Off the top of my head the teaching of Jesus where he says be holy yeah he says
Be perfect And that translation okay yeah okay That's what be perfect as your heavenly Father and that's not the word holy Different different word different word But regardless Peter says be holy yeah He's voting he's quoting from Leviticus And Um and growing up in the church to me That meds be a good person don't do lame Things Um and that's being holy it is Moral Moral Purity yeah that's right Um yeah so with most of Biblical Concepts Usually you know in the popular Imagination there's some truth Reflecting what the Bible says about it But it's usually Half truth or it's a really reduced Version of it and so common assumptions About what Holiness is is a good example Of that where it's such a big huge Rich Idea in the Bible and moral goodness is One piece of it But it's a piece that only comes and you Can really only stay understand what it Is if you get the whole big story in That year round well Sean Horton Actually has a question that'll help tee That up okay so Sean horn asks in the Bible does the idea of holiness mean Perfection Or does it just mean separated cut apart
From I've heard that before growing up In church that Holiness means being set Apart yes yeah that's it that that's the Most basic meaning of the word so in Hebrew three quarters of the Bible uh The words kadosh uh for Holiness and so That's the main one we're operating with And so Um The idea at its core Yes means to be Distinct or unique from set apart Something that's set apart so that's Where we actually began the video was With this metaphor of the sun Um because the you know I don't know the Sun yeah the sun this is the Sun so uh Holiness can refer to all kinds of Things in the Bible it can refer to a Day on the calendar a room a space Certain kinds of people Forks can be Holy so but why is something holy Something is Holy in the Bible always Because it's in some close relationship To God okay and so anything anything That's holy it's Holiness is derivative It's set apart because it's connected Closely to God who is the ultimate holy Unique One of a Kind set apart being Um there is a place in the Old Testament Where all of that gets condensed into a Really helpful place we made it a Centerpiece of the video that's Isaiah The prophet Isaiah has a vision of God's Throne Room
And he hears these Angelic creatures Screaming out That God is Um He's holy holy holy and then those Creatures explain what that means they Say that the whole earth all of creation Is filled up with God's kavod with his Glory yeah yeah so so there's a lot of Concepts overlapping here but it's God's Role as Creator so God is the one and Only being with the power and creativity To make everything that is so that Creation is a testament to God's honor And glory and goodness And so what is it that makes God kadosh What makes them set apart Um he's the only he is the creator yeah Like no one else And the planet or in the universe that We know of right could create yes this Reality yeah that's unique to live in The universe is to be a create created Thing a created thing yeah so there's so Everything has something in common which Is we've all been created Yes except for God so that sets them apart that's right Which is really significant that's right So what's important about that vision of Isaiah is it's giving us the core Grounding idea of what it means for God To be holy he's set apart he's other From all created things as the author And creator of all of life
So that's the core idea and so that's Good God's holiness is good we exist Because of it okay it's his power and Creativity and to bring it back to the Sun the sun's a good metaphor because There's only one son in our solar system Correct and so it's Unique it's only one But it's Unique also because it's Emanating an energy that creates gives Gives the ability for life that's right And so the metaphor breaks down yeah Perfect it's not a perfect medicine Perfect but it's a good one but in the Same way the sun creates life as the Originator of life it's not really the Originator but yeah it's a great source Of life it's source of life it's a stain And it sustains life here no sun we're Gone right I don't know how quickly yeah Disappeared but Um it would take seven minutes for the For us to notice the sunlight was gone Oh that's because that's how long it Takes to take it yeah yeah anyways Um but so so that's how God is Holy so Let me ask you then Um What how are we supposed to be holy what Does that mean we can't be a Creator Originator sustainer of life like God Yes yeah yeah so yeah so the idea of Holiness then Um is that for something to be holy like In the Bible in Israel it means for
Somebody to have some kind of special Relationship with the Creator God that Brings you into proximity of God's Presence And that gets concentrated and all of The ideas around temples in the Bible That temples are this unique place where The one and only holy God takes up a Unique and special kind of residence And if you want to go close to the Temple where God's holy presence is you You can't just Waltz in there as if it's Any other place you have to acknowledge Its uniqueness I'm entering in just like Uh you would probably wear a suit if you Got invited to have dinner with the President or something like that I never Wear suits I hate wearing suits I think They're most oppressive clothing in the World but I would wear a suit to Acknowledge the unique status the holy Status would you wear a tie of the of Totally yeah wouldn't you I don't know it's a little baller just To kind of have the collar open yeah no I did you don't pull any creative stuff When you have dinner with the President Right so it's the same idea I Acknowledge God's uniqueness by treating This space as sacred holy and so any Person who goes into that space the Clothes that you wear the the state of Being that you're in all of that has to Be so when we're called to be holy in
Leviticus when the ancient Israelites Were told to be holy that was them not Trying to be like God and create Universes it was to put themselves in a State in which they can respect and Honor God's holiness that's right so It's different for a human to be holy Than for God for God to be holy yeah Human Holiness is always derivative it's A response derivative explain what that Means oh it means uh God is the source Of Holiness okay and if I want to become Holy it's by honoring and acknowledging God is the Creator and author of life And I'm going to disassociate myself From anything That is anti-life okay so Israel had a Whole set of cultural symbols to do this That the Book of Leviticus talks about So if you've touched dead bodies or Reproductive fluids or blood or mold you Can't just Waltz in to the temple Courtyards That is wrong it's not wrong to have Touched those things and be impure What's wrong is to be in an impure State And Waltz into holiness so I just want To make sure I'm really clear on this For God to be holy he's uniquely the Creator sustainer of Life correct for us To be holy means something different Which is yes we are putting ourselves in A position that honors God's status of Creator sustainer of life and so that we
Can then connect with god Um in some way yeah that's right if I Want to the idea of the temple is if I Want to enter into the closest space in Proximity to God's holiness I need to Acknowledge it in a special way okay Become Holy by shedding any associations With death or mortality and correct I Feel like it's kind of confusing it's The same word what's that for me to be Holy oh God is Holy I'm holy that's Interesting because God's holy and then I'm just respecting that Holiness by Being pure right uh well correct right Yeah so there are different words for it Yeah Purity or cleanness yeah is about But when I put myself in a state of Purity or cleanness of being holy I am Becoming holy okay yes that's a bit About sharing and God that's how yeah That's so that's the core idea is to be Set apart and so a priest in the Bible Is somebody who is set apart to live Uniquely near near God's presence and Work in it and so on the like the the Incense bowls and all of those things Are holy there's a certain kind of holy Oil Uh that's burning in the incense uh Burner in the temple and you can't make That oil for your own home it's set Apart yeah that's the idea so there you Go so that's the core idea is set apart To be in the presence of the one who is
Ultimately set apart as the author and Creator of all of life that's the core Idea okay of holiness Which which then in the video we created A storyline out of by introducing a plot Conflict which is which is a way of Thinking about the story of the Bible That God is the author and creator of All of life and we need to respect that That's right but humans Have done something to each other and to Our world That have corrupted it and disrespects It and disrespects God's holiness and so Paradoxically God's holiness which is Good in the source of all life actually Becomes a threat becomes dangerous Dangerous and that's why we also for the Sun is great like the sun Makes everything grow it's beautiful Yeah but get too close to it yeah and It's gonna or spend a day at the lake or The beach without sunscreen on him the Sun will wound you yeah like hurt you It's bad and it's and not because the Sun is bad it's just because the sun is What it is the sun is so good it's so Unique and holy and Powerful it's power And goodness are dangerous to me as a Mortal creature so yeah it's a great Metaphor so sunscreen is how you become Holy That's how we become holy no what's Interesting about the metaphor is
Um Uh the sun is well let's talk about Let's talk about temples because temples Were a specific place you had to go to To experience God's holiness in a very Like specific like Tangible yeah like it You you wouldn't experience God's Holiness in your house in the same way As the temple however we also know that God is everywhere God's presence is Everywhere yes yes so Dennis asks the Question this way Dennis where yeah Rivera yes Moses and Joshua Have encounters with God and quote Unquote Holy Ground Holy because of God's presence is there But if God's presence is everywhere are We always on Holy Grail yes so talk tell Me about like why is there specific Places like temples where God's presence Is particularly present In Holiness But but as Christians only believe that God's everywhere yeah yeah Yeah that's a good point and the the Biblical authors Um acknowledge that that Genesis 1 is Depicting all of creation as a temple a Sacred Space that's another topic but That is how Genesis 1 with its seven day Framework Uh is depicting all of The cosmos as a temple but there are
Other places where that's acknowledged Isaiah 6 the vision all of all of Creationist God's whole uh handiwork Psalm 139 David's like where can I go And not be in God's presence I go I go Up to heaven go to them to the Sea so There is a sense in which God's holiness And presence permeates all of creation That's true So all the ground is Holy Ground in that Sense But then there are moments and places in The story of the Bible where God's Presence will become more tangible we Struggle for vocabulary here but more More present or more tangible Than at other places and moments and That's what Jacob Encounters in his Dream in the middle of a field where That's what Moses Encounters in the Burning bush And when God's presence shows up usually It's traumatic usually it's some kind of Crazy natural phenomenon associated with Fire and cloud and thunder and lightning So that's why the bush is on fire for For Moses so there you go I don't know What else to say other than that's how The Bible depicts God's unique holy presence showing up in Specific Places and so then that then what Happens is what's happening in the Burning bush is then just a microcosm of
What's happening in the whole story of God's whole universe because it's a good Point if God's whole universe is Holy Then people who corrupt it Don't really deserve to be there like They should be removed yeah But God is committed to sharing his holy Space with people even though they're Corrupt So how is God going to reconcile that or Square make make that happen and that is One way of thinking about the storyline Of the whole Bible is how a holy God is Going to share his holy creation With corrupt screwed up human beings And so the storyline of what happens With the temple in Israel becomes like a Little microcosm a test case Of what God wants to do with all of Creation I don't know if that makes any sense Yeah but Yeah so uh I think another question then To go and I'm trying to feed off of what People are talking about on the live Stream a little bit too yeah um Garen Forsyth Forsyth Aaron Um second to bottom there and get the Whole ceremonial Purity thing how does Moral Purity fit into this idea of Holiness does the New Testaments call to Be holy refer primarily to moral Purity Um and again I think we get so stuck in I get so stuck thinking Holiness that
Just means being morally pure and so we Have to take a step back first and say Well okay Holiness means God's unique Position as a Creator and sustainer but For me to interact and respect God's Holiness for the Israelites it meant two Separate things really or two we can Think of in two different categories Yeah that we talked about in the video Right yes yeah there's ritual Purity and Impurity virtual Purity and then moral So ritual Purity is the things I should Touch and not touch and that kind of Stuff yeah and the core symbol under Those rituals Is respecting is God is the author of All life and if I want to live in Proximity and closeness to that being Which is who doesn't want that it's good Then I need to disassociate myself from These things that are associated with Death and us as modern Non-israelite yeah followers of Jesus uh That's not in our cat we don't have that Category yeah except for we talked about This Leviticus brushing your teeth yeah We have an idea of like an appropriate Or inappropriate the bathroom is a holy Space In in people's homes right if they don't Have a holy space it's holy it's it's Set apart unique and set apart don't eat In the bathroom for showering and Evacuating your body of waste and so
Therefore if you're gonna get the waste Out of your body in that room you don't Put the food in your body so we don't Have a category totally irrational but What I am but what I'm saying is yes we Don't live that way we don't go to when We go to church we don't think like wait Did I touch a dead body yeah maybe like Um you know my my grandfather did he had This thing about never wearing hats in Church sure okay I was a teenager I wore A lot of baseball hats yeah when we'd go You don't you don't cuss at church you Know there's some things you just don't Do at church yeah Okay so that's ritual that's rituals Things you do don't do and one of the Things that you talked about was That's it's not wrong to touch a dead Body so it's not a sin that's not a Sinful issue it's not like uh did you Screw up it's just a ritual practice to Respect the spirit what's wrong or Sinful Is to be in that ritually impure State And then just Waltz into the temple Um Even though that's breaking the rules of What God asked me to do but then there's Also more opportunities yeah so what Happens in Leviticus specifically then Is that language of pure and impure or Holy and Unholy That gets applied
To moral Behavior so Israel was supposed To do the ritual Purity stuff but they Were also supposed to be pure in their Moral behavior and that is a way that That Holiness can refer to moral Goodness in the Old Testament so with Regard to like justice and business Practices treatment of the poor with Sexual Integrity these were always the Israel was to be set up holy And set apart from the Canaanites yeah Is how it's framed in Leviticus 18 19 And 20. and so and what what morally A corrupt Behavior does is it Introduces more evil That creates more relational conflict And death it releases that into God's Good World which defiles God's world That whole language of defiling or Making impure Um if I bring a corpse into a temple I've made it impure If I go sleep with my neighbors uh wife And steal his donkey living in the land Of Israel which I say is you know I'm Part of God's holy people What I've done is Unleashed corruption And death and relational fracture into God's world and so that is Defiling the land it's defiling Myself and that person so that's where The language of moral Purity comes into So there's two different kinds of Purity In a way yeah now is there a distinction
In the Old Testament it talks about both In the New Testament I mean let's just Look at First Peter yeah because first Peter yes yes he says um Therefore with Minds alert fully sober Set your hope and Grace to be brought to You when Jesus Christ was revealed as Coming as obedient children don't Conform to the evil desires you had when You lived in ignorance evil desires so Like yep bad bad things yeah not like Should I touch a dead body or not but Like should I punch that guy in the face Or not yeah should I should I cheat my Neighbor right should I yeah that kind Of stuff so don't conform to evil Desires yes but just as he he who called You is Holy so be holy in all you do Court is written be holy because I am Holy and that's him quoting Levittown so He's so it seems like he's drawing a A similar a parallel between don't punch Your neighbor in the face don't be yeah Immoral yes and people desires yeah and Being holy yeah he conflate like he Conflates the two that's correct and That yeah and he's being faithful to the Book of Leviticus when he does that well Wouldn't Leviticus say well that's one Sense of being holy the other sense is Don't touch dead bodies and don't yeah That's right so but he's not talking About whether or not you touch dead Bodies
Um no so the whole the whole one of the Ways the apostles the earliest followers Of Jesus worked out is that Jesus was The very embodiment of God's holiness And so that in Jesus and the gift of his Spirit To his followers out in the world is That all creation is now truly God's Holy space okay and it's no longer just The temple God totally space isn't Limited to one Geographic Place Everywhere because of Jesus and the Spirit and so Um uh that's why Temple length that's Why in First Peter right before then he Talks about the church Jesus's followers As the temple as being the stones of This Temple and so if you're if we are The temple as for Jesus followers and if We are the priesthood who serves in the Temple what kind of behavior Is appropriate And then he quotes Leviticus being holy Um which for ritual Purity then doesn't It doesn't apply that was that was a Part of the story specific to Israel Living in the land with the priesthood Serving in the temple But the early Christians Jesus himself Said he came as the Fulfillment of all Of those realities But the moral Purity is about being Human It's about it's about
A way of life that fits with the grain Of God's good world it's about a way of Life that brings and creates goodness And so behaviors that destroy Relationships behaviors that distort my Humanity that defile someone else's Dignity As an image of God human those are Impure behaviors So that's how the language of Holiness Gets applied to like sin and Injustice And that kind of thing so there isn't Like a separate concept of Holiness Between the Old Testament and New Testament same concept same concept but In the New Testament when they say be Holy yeah no longer is it really a Ritual thing anymore because there's no Temple anymore yeah and we are the Temple and yeah Jesus is the temple and Everywhere God's prayer is God's Presence so yeah so here's the gain I Think in the New Testament Moral Purity Holiness does refer mostly To moral goodness But why and what's underneath that What's underneath it is this concept of Life and death That behavior that creates goodness and Life and beauty that is appropriate Behavior for people who live in the Universe of a holy God Behavior that destroys relationships That distorts my own Humanity this is
Behavior that causes death in God's good World and it's so it's inappropriate Yeah and so it takes Holiness and it Puts it into the framework of a much Larger story not just like be a good Person that's a bad person you're yeah And be a good person check off this list Of things yeah do the right thing Because you're supposed to do the right Thing and just becomes row and you're Just like why yeah and but instead this More captivating picture of uh live a Life that celebrates God's creativity Yeah and God's goodness and don't live a Life that fights against it and creates Death correct and so by me having an Evil desire and giving in to that evil Desire is playing into this This world of death yeah yeah we all I Mean yeah just speaking as a pastor you Know we all know what those when we each Have a decision we and we know it we Know if I say this or do this that Person's going to be bummed it's selfish They're going to be hurt but I I don't Want to do that well actually I do want To do it and then you do it and then you Have this relational Rift you've hurt Somebody uh you've acted in a way that Actually in the long term is going to be Destructive for you but we do it anyway Like we know what on on a visceral level We know that when we behave in these Destructive ways we're participating in
Death And in sub-human ways of Behaving and so That's what this is about it's that Holiness is actually the way that I Become truly human because I'm becoming Like the author of all of life I'm Participating in love and beauty and Healthy relationships so this is a very It's a very powerful concept that gets Trivialized I think when we only think About Holiness as just be be a good Person this is about what it means to Really be a human Who lives in a world made by the holy And good God Does holiness okay so here's another Question question yes the Mead lamid King l-a-m-i-d-e Sorry if I'm pronouncing that wrong Does holiness have to do with just a Separation of heart or also a separation Of lifestyle and I think embedded in This question is knowing that Holiness Means being set apart oh right so when We're holy hmm Are we trying to separate ourselves Because that's something that we talk About in the Church of being being a a City on a hill right Being set apart so when people look at You and the way that you are living they Can honor God they they see God in that Um is that why did we to be holy yes to Go okay well I'm going to be different
Than the rest of this world and um in Some way now I'm I'm separated yeah There's like almost like a caste system Now in a way of like yeah yeah you know You're Unholy I'm holy yeah so yeah in Leviticus right on through the New Testament there are some things that Israel and then followers of Jesus were To not do To set themselves apart from the culture Around them and that was one way of Being holy So the main ones highlighted actually in The Old and New Testaments is what God's People do with money what they don't do With money and what they don't do with Sex something there's something about Studies yeah something about sex and Money That tell the truth about a person's Ultimate value system and so Israel was To be a nation known for extreme Generosity and care for their poor and Vulnerable and they were to be a nation Of people committed to monogamous Covenant relationships as the only place Where people have sex And to reproduce other humans in the Context of Covenant families so that set Israel apart it sets the followers of Jesus apart in the first century and the 21st century still today and and that's Because there are things that humans do With money that are extremely
Destructive I don't think I need to make An argument for that there are things That people do with sex that are very Destructive And God's people are to not participate In that but then on the flip side there Are things that God's people are to do Not just not do but they're to do them Because and that will also set them Apart So if they're not to be unjust or Corrupt with money they are to Um with like generosity for the poor Generosity to the poor is to set apart God's people Um in the Old Testament and the New Testament all right uh so that's a good Example that's something God's people do That sets them apart whereas sex and Corruption and theft and so on with Money those are all ways that you don't Do something does that make any sense Yeah so there is embedded into being Holy is being separated yes because to To do these things it's going to Separate you yeah so it's not as uh Lamid or sorry we don't know how to Pronounce your name let me let me day Hello it's more than just a heart Disposition it's a way of life it is a Lifestyle God's people are set apart As a way of life by things that they Don't do That everybody else is doing and by
Things that they do that no one else is Doing that's how God's people mark Mark out themselves as holy cool yeah Good question so uh Aurelia D you've got Some great questions in the last couple Months Um you raise an issue About Holiness in the Book of Genesis Specifically since God's holiness is Dangerous in a good way yeah Um how anything ever dangerous in a good Way well it's like Aslan yeah I was like What's a quote from oh yes Um he's not is he safe is he safe I Forget it he's not safe but he's good Is he a tame lion no he's not a team Lion But he's good yeah yeah Similar good quotable very similar so Since God's holiness is dangerous how Were people in Genesis able to interact With God before the laws about ritual Purity we're given it's interesting Here's why it's interesting is that You're right Abraham for example he Didn't have yeah he's depicted as just By hanging out with God it's in over the The stories are condensed from Decades Of his life and there's just actually a Handful of times so it's very rarely That he had these conversations with God But he did like genesis 15 God shows up In a flaming appearance yeah Um and he didn't have to make special
Sacrifice he didn't have to like wash His body well he he didn't have to Sacrifice some animals oh okay and they Have this Covenant making ceremony That's true where he cuts the animals in Half and then Um he passes out on the ground it's Really it's Um but so so I think the the point It's a it's a good question like why Wasn't Abraham incinerated or why didn't He have to do what Moses did so there's Something that uh the the Torah a point The Torah is trying to make about how God related to Abraham it was a very Simple Natural intimate relationship that in That story in Genesis 15 the author Describes that Abraham's posture towards God was that of Faith or trust And so the Torah is portraying Abraham As this model of what a relationship With God looks like it's a this Day-to-day life interaction conversing With God along the way And then unique moments and Milestones Where God interacts with Abraham and Abraham's posture is just open-handed Faith and trust That's in contrast with Moses who had The great privilege of getting closer to The Sun so to speak and Moses who had This unique privileged position to be Right close to God's holy presence
Doesn't trust God that's what that Strange story in the Book of Numbers Where he strikes The Rock instead of Speaking to it but God says yeah you Don't trust me Moses and so the Torah is Giving us two different paradigms of how To relate to God Abraham who related to God simply on the Basis of faith and trust and then Moses Who didn't trust even though he had Special access to God's presence Part of the reason sorry to go all the Way back to your question really is that The way that the story of the Torah Works is that showing that Abraham was Someone who if the temple existed could Have waltzed right in because of his Trust and faith in God's character he Was somebody who could be in God's Presence but not have to do the Rigmarole he could have just walked Right in I think that's how the Torah Presents it yeah really just yeah he Could have just been like he could have Ignored all the other stuff we're not to That point in the story right Um but it is to portray here's Moses who Could go into God's presence and he Doesn't trust God and then you have Abraham Who didn't need any of that he just uh Which is why the author of the Torah but Abraham sorry he wouldn't have just Walked in he would have gone that's true
That's right just like it exactly if he Yes but he didn't have to they didn't Have to he didn't have to it's Interesting and so that's a part of the Way the Torah is emphasizing the faith Theme that the ideal way to relate to God in the Torah Is that you will naturally obey God's Laws if you live a life of faith and Trust yeah that's a part of it anyway Yeah so I don't I don't know if that Really helps you irelia but it Taps into A really important way John stellhammer His Incredible Book on the pentateuch The pentateuch is narrative explores This in a really helpful way so there You go Um let's see keep rocking keep rocking Oh Robin Robin uh Robin Ripple Rempel Asked a question I thought would start a Cool conversation cool Um uh John in his letters in the New Testament says that God is love Whereas in Isaiah and other places we Hear that God is Holy Holy Holy Is this a contradiction or how are those Related How could a God who is so holy That it's dangerous to humans also be Loved be said to be loved Um yeah I was trying to think These words are different ways of Talking about asp As Um
So God it's not that God is either love Or Holiness those are both ways of Talking about the core of God's being Just like if For you to be a wise and good and loving And just if I say John John is love But I could also say John is just or John is fair or John is we wouldn't say That in English John is love but you Would say and you could say John is Loving John is loving is that what that Means when he says God is love God is Loving or as well John's making a larger Claim I think he's saying the ultimate If you want to define the very essence Of God's being that motivates everything God does is love it's love so love is The motivation but Holiness is like Not really it's not a motivation it's a It's almost like the essence of God's Nature it's his nature his nature as Being the unique one and only set apart But ah okay right so that's helpful Because then they become complementary It's like yeah so my nature is I mean my Nature is just I'm a I'm a Homo Sapien And I've got Whatever my needs and desires and Whatever that's my nature God's nature Is the creator sustainer of Life yes and We'll call that Holiness yes My motivation might be I'm hungry I'm Thirsty I'm angry I want money whatever
My motivation is or I want friends or I Want whatever God's motivation is love Correct yes because a holy God could act In all kinds of different ways oh yeah Um a god who's truly holy and set apart From Death doesn't have to be loving he Doesn't have to be loving the holy God Could wipe us out For everything that we've done to his World and to each other and he would be Good and just in doing it but he Wouldn't be loving So so love is is something about the Holy gods Posture to Uh people who are screwed up yeah and That's why the reason the reason John Says that is because in Jesus the holy God is revealed as a god of love And so they aren't you could say that From our Vantage Point their intention With each other because we think well Either you're going to be holy and Eradicate death and evil or you're going To be loving which is to forgive your Enemies And the story of the Bible is a Revelation of how God is both of those Perfectly And I was realizing him it's a really Great question from Robin because the Way she's saying is this a contradiction But there it's not a contradiction but
There is tension there's a tension and That tension yeah you explore that Tension and I that is in one way a Filter you can think about the entire Story that's right the Bible yeah is That tension how does a holy God who's Motivated by love and wants to live with Humans and to create with humans How does that how is he going to do it How's that going to work because God is Committed that his Holiness permeates All of creation and all of humanity he's Committed to that purpose for his Creation and how does he the question is How will he bring that about 8 11 in a Way that honors love yeah and so one way Could be to You know wipe everybody out just like if He flew a rocket to the sun right it Would destroy it which you kind of did And so that was what we tried to do in The video the way that Jesus Reversed your what you would think a Holy God would do but in fact what this Holy God wants to do is let unleash his Holiness into the world in a way that it Transforms and heals people Rather than destroys them Um and that is you're right it's a way Of thinking about the storyline of the Whole Bible Which is why Um In the book of Isaiah
There's this vision of God's holy Presence holy holy holy and so Isaiah Right he's freaked out because he's like Oh no I'm in the presence of the sun Without sunscreen yeah And but then what God actually does is Come to him with his holy presence and He and heal him of his moral corruption And and specifically Isaiah Israel he Repent this is this is really hitting a Nerve with people I mean watching the Chat yeah because there's this tension Of like well What's going to win out God's love or God's holiness and uh and then beats Just yeah just wrote this beats on Beats That's a great name is God more Concerned with his Holiness than with His love for example is love the method And Holiness the priority so like yeah If one had to win Which one will win and in a way this is Another way to say like uh you know Uh well how big is hell you know what's Another way to talk about it so part of This is it's a way of we didn't get to This in the video because it would add Another three minutes to it yeah it Wasn't part of the purpose but but it's The way that the cross Fits in to the storyline because the Death of Jesus becomes the way that God Justly deals with death and evil and Corruption he destroys it he puts it to
Death yeah By taking that death into himself Through the death of Jesus and then in Jesus's resurrection from the dead it's About life it's Jesus being recreated As uh to be a part of the new holy Creation and so the way that God's Holiness and love meet together is in The death and the resurrection of Jesus So God does eradicate evil from his World by by punishing it justly it's Called the crucifixion that's what Christians believe about the cross And that God did that instead of doing That to all of us And so even though there's a tension I think part of the core but Christian Belief is that in the death and Resurrection of Jesus God's holiness and Love Meet together perfectly Um so that he can spread his Holiness Through Jesus to permeate all of his Creation and so the question after that Is simply For me living post-jesus am I going to Submit myself to Jesus and what he did On my behalf or would I rather not be a Part of the Holy creation he's trying to Make yeah resist it and if I resist it Then God will honor That choice and here we get into the Bible's depiction of Judgment of the existence what it means
To live in the contradictory It's a contradiction it's living in a Contradiction Because I'm choosing not to participate In the very thing that sustains my life And existence and you're choosing not to Participate in the very thing that will One day permeate all of creation correct Like so what's going to happen to you Yeah like so like you're fighting Against yeah you're fighting against Something that can't be defeated at this Point because you assumed that it and That's why that's why in the teachings Of Jesus and the rest of the Apostles Um hell is not only a future reality It's something that I participate in and Create now that's why James says that When you insult your James chapter 3 That whole thing about the tongue he Says when we curse and insult other Human beings we unleash hell into God's World we defile people we unleash death And so the whole thing about the Living Dead the zombies in the New Testament You can live in a state of death right Now or you can live in a state of Holiness and true life right now and Then whatever future Destiny is all About it's just following through on the Trajectory that a person's already on in The present And that's why Peter says be holy as God Is Holy it's a way of becoming truly
Alive Um wow so that we got on that tangent Yeah but you know if anybody's Interested I have up on my web website Timmackey.com Um a four-hour set of lectures on Heaven And Hell and final judgment and so on Yeah with tons of notes and it was for Me kind of concluding a few years of Just intense reading on all of that Stuff in the Bible and trying to pull it Together in some classes so that's free Online at timaki.com yeah and I really Want that material to get turned into Some of the videos that we make oh Really one day yeah is that on our list Well Yeah when we get to like New Creation Creation new creation and uh I think we Talked about when we talked about the Day of the Lord that we should probably Do something on judgment or final Judgment yeah and I think this hit such A nerve is because the way that I was Introduced to Christianity most people It's just the it's the story of are you Going to go to heaven or hell and so That question is just yeah just so much A part of a psyche is like yes who's Going to happen who's going to hell How's that work yeah and Um and so we start talking about these Things like God's holiness I start to Think like yeah okay cool like so you
Know what have to do with judgment yeah So so the Bible's way of telling the Story is that God's committed to making All creation holy again And for people who don't want to Participate in that new creation What is their status And that is a way that's more faithful To the biblical to the Bible to frame it Than our ideas traditional ideas of Where do you go after you die [Music] Thanks for listening to this podcast Episode we're really thrilled to be able To put out this podcast every week now We enjoy your feedback we love to read Your reviews on iTunes when when you Send those in so thank you for those of You who've done that and if you like This podcast you can help us by by Giving a review or sharing it with other People we have a lot of other resources On our website thebibleproject.com check Them out and all this is possible Because of a growing number of Supporters who generously pitch in to Help this project be a success we Couldn't do it without you so thanks for Being a part of this with us [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music]