How can a sinful person worship a holy God?
There is no question more important than this. And God has given us the answer. The story of the entire Bible is the story of how a holy God can accept sinful man into His presence. But first we have to define what we're talking about.
Holy God!
One of the things I love about the Lord, is that He has revealed Himself to us through his creation, his word and biblical history, God has revealed Himself to us. He didn't have to. He could have closed the book and ended the story right after we first sinned in the garden of Eden - Genesis chapter 3. But He didn't.
So what is the revelation?
Through Creation we see:
"Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made." Rom 1:20
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge." Ps 19
Through the Scriptures we see the attributes of God as well as the Names a Persons He's communicated: (this list could go on and on…)
His Person - He is:
Creator, King, Shepherd, Prophet, High Priest, Savior, Lord, Lamb of God…and many more. His essence clearly taught in the Bible is that God is Triune - three persons in one: Father, Son and Spirit.
His attributes - He is:
Eternal, Merciful, Good, All-powerful, Gracious, All-present, Holy, All-knowing, Immanent, Righteous, Never-changing, Self-Existent, Just, Sovereign, Love, Transcendent. (taken from https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/attributes.cfm )
Especially notice the repetition in these two verses:
"“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" Exodus 34:6
"“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Is 6:3
In the Hebrew language, repetition was a way of showing emphasis - of giving more weightiness to the word. We might say something is really, really, hot! But the Hebrew says it's hot! hot! hot! - which I rather like. The repetition gives more weight to the word. The triple repetition is rarely used and no other attributes of God have this emphasis.
The word "holy" means to be set apart, to be unlike anything or anyone else. He is set apart from Hi creation. He is set apart from sin. He can not tolerate sin in His presence and His justice demands judgement because all sin is an act against God and others.
Sinful Man
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Rom 3:23
Man is sinful. Since the fall of Genesis 3, we have been bent toward going our own way, against God's design and desire for our lives. Sin means to miss the mark. It's an archery term. We miss the bulls eye of God's righteous commands and rebel against Him in many ways. And the Bible declares that the results of even one sin is death - death in our relationship with God. It creates an irredeemable (as far as our abilities are concerned) breach in our connection to our Creator God, for whom we were created.
"For the wages of sin is death" Rom 6:23
Can a sinful man truly know and worship God? These and other Scriptures clearly say, "no… but!" The good news of the gospel provides a way.
Romans 6:23 goes on to say, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Likewise, Romans 3:23 continues, " for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
We receive this justification - "just-as-if-I-never-sinned" status with God when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. This verse begs the question, "Have you received God's provision (Jesus Christ) by faith, as your Savior?
It is through a personal faith in Jesus Christ, who died in your place on the cross, who granted you forgiveness and His righteousness, that you are able to come before Holy God and worship Him in all of His beauty and majesty. This is the great story of the Bible. We are irredeemable as far as our own ability to make our selves acceptable. But because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we now come before Him, declared by Him as holy and blameless! Col 3:16 There is no condemnation because of our sin when we're in Christ. Rom8:1,2
Authentic Worship must include the Cross
Authentic worship is "in spirit and truth." The type of intimate worship God desires from us means we come through Jesus. We come through His redemptive work on the cross. The cross, where the righteous Lord reveals our sin, bears our sin and takes the punishment for our sin, brings us into His presence. We never come with anything of ourselves to merit God's favor. When we forget the cross in our worship, we're in danger of offending God's Spirit. The same is true with unconfessed sin. When we fail to agree with God regarding particular sins He reveals, our fellowship and intimate worship is blocked. Our relationship is secure but our fellowship is blocked - we've distanced ourselves from Him. It is only through the cross that our fellowship can be restored. Again, we must keep the sacrifice made on the cross before us! When we're in the place of worship before Him, through the cross, we are free to enjoy all of God's person and grow in our knowledge of Him which deepens our worship of Him!
Are you growing in this knowledge?
Have you experienced this salvation Jesus offers?
If you have not made this decision and would like to receive Christ by faith, you can express it in prayer (talking to God.) Here is a suggested prayer
"Dear God, Thank you that you loved me so much that you sent your Son to die on the cross for me. I confess that I am sinful and as a result separated from you. Thank you, Jesus, that you took the penalty I deserved for my sin on the cross and rose again to life. I receive You as my Savior and Lord. I place my faith in You to bring new life. Thank you, by faith, for coming into my life and loving me unconditionally. Help me to now grow in You and make me into the person You want me to be."
Beginning a relationship with God is an exciting adventure. We'd love to help you along the way. Please contact us for more resources or mentoring. Also, seek out other Christians or a Bible teaching church to learn and grow. And keep seeking to grow in your knowledge and worship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
"The revelation of God is the fuel for the fire of our worship"
Matt Redman
