There’s a word we don’t use as easily anymore.

Holy.

It can sound distant. Untouchable. Almost like it belongs somewhere else.

And for some, it carries weight — something strict, something severe, something far removed from ordinary life.

But when Scripture speaks about the holiness of God, it isn’t trying to push us away.

It’s trying to describe something we don’t quite have a category for.

Not Just Moral — Completely Other

When the Bible calls God holy, it isn’t just saying He is morally good.

It’s saying He is set apart.

Not like us, just better.

Different altogether.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts…” (Isaiah 6:3)

That repetition matters.

It’s not accidental.

As R. C. Sproul puts it:

“Only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree… The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy, but holy, holy, holy.””

In other words, if we’re going to understand God at all, we start here. Holiness isn’t something God switches on and off.

It’s who He is.

The Reaction to Holiness

What’s striking is how people respond when they encounter it.

Isaiah:

“Woe is me, for I am undone…” (Isaiah 6:5)

Peter:

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8)

Holiness brings clarity.

You don’t suddenly become worse — you begin to see more clearly.

And that can feel uncomfortable.

It often does.

Because it touches the places we’ve learned to live around.

And Yet — God Moves Toward Us

Here’s where the story turns.

Because the holiness of God doesn’t result in distance.

It results in movement.

Isaiah isn’t cast out. A coal touches his lips.

“Your iniquity is taken away…” (Isaiah 6:7)

Peter isn’t rejected. Jesus says:

“Do not be afraid.” (Luke 5:10)

Holiness reveals — and then God responds.

As A. W. Tozer wrote:

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

We tend, often without realising it, to move toward the kind of God we believe Him to be.

And it’s important to understand this, because if holiness only means distance, we will keep our distance.

If it only means severity, we will relate through fear.

But Scripture keeps showing something else. Because holiness is not God stepping back from us.

It is God being so completely Himself that everything false is exposed — and then dealt with.

If holiness is who God is, then encountering Him will always involve truth.

But not truth on its own. Truth that leads somewhere.

The Cross Changes How We See It

Good Friday brings this into focus.

At the cross, holiness isn’t lowered.

It’s revealed.

Sin is not ignored and brokenness is not dismissed.

It is faced. Carried. Dealt with.

Holiness and mercy meet in the same place.

As John Stott writes:

“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man.”

And this is where C. S. Lewis steadies the whole picture as he writes:

“How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important.”

Because the question isn’t only what we think about God –

It’s what God, in His holiness, has chosen to do about us.

And the answer is not distance.

Not dismissal.

But costly love.

Not Cold — Clear

Holiness can sound cold if we misunderstand it.

But Scripture speaks about it more like light.

“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

Light doesn’t distort.

It doesn’t manipulate.
It doesn’t carry hidden agendas.

And this is where it connects more closely to how we live than we might expect.

Because much of what people struggle with isn’t just behaviour.

It’s confusion.
Mixed motives.
Internal conflict.
Ways of coping that made sense once, but no longer lead anywhere good.

Holiness, in that sense, is not distance from real life.

It’s clarity within it.

A life where things begin to align.

Where what is true, what is good, and what is lived out start to come together.

Holiness and Us

This is where it becomes more personal.

“Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)

That can sound like pressure.

But it’s actually direction.

It’s not a demand to become flawless.

It’s an invitation into a different way of being.

A life shaped by truth.
By integrity.
By being made whole over time.

Not driven by fear.
Not managed by appearances.

But formed.

In that sense, holiness isn’t about becoming less human.

It’s about becoming more fully human — the way we were meant to be.

Where This Lands

A week on from Good Friday, it’s easy to move on too quickly.

But the cross only makes sense when we understand who God is.

Holy.

Not distant.
Not harsh.

But completely true, completely pure, and completely unwilling to leave things as they are.

And that includes us.

Final Line

The holiness of God is not what pushes us away.

It is what draws near, reveals what is real, and begins the work of making it whole.

A quiet note

If words like holiness have felt heavy or distant in the past, it’s okay to take time with them. Scripture often reveals them slowly, not all at once.

There are times when people need space, support, and wise guidance. Nothing here replaces that. This sits alongside it — holding together care, honesty, and the possibility of growth over time.

If something here has stirred more than you expected, you don’t have to carry that alone. In the UK, Samaritans are available 24 hours a day on 116 123, or at www.samaritans.org.

If this feels familiar…

You may want to read:

The Weight of Hopelessness
Not Every Trigger Is a Threat
Not Every Struggle Is a Relapse
More Than the Wound

MY Story

To read more of my own journey into and life with Christ please click here

Books

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