God is holy and separate from us. God also has righteous standards. Truth means he is faithful and veracious.

Let’s begin.

I. Holy

A. Brief intro

God call us to be holy—but not by our efforts of following rituals, but by the Spirit-filled life.

B. Short word studies

Mounce says the Hebrew adjective for holy is qadosh and is used 117 times. “It describes that which is by nature sacred or that which has been admitted to the sphere of the sacred by divine rite. It describes, therefore, that which is distinct or separate from the common or profane” (p. 337).

In the New Testament, the Greek words are hagios (holy, sacred) and are used 233 times. The verb hagiazō (make holy sanctify, consecrate or awkward “holy-ize) is used 28 times (p. 338). Then Mounce gives us this nugget: “The proper sphere of the holy in the NT is not priestly or ritual, but the prophetic. The sacred no longer belongs to things, places, or rites, but to manifestations of life produced by the Spirit” (p. 338). In other words, when the believer is filled with the Spirit—the Holy Spirit, he is on his way to work out this holiness day by day. It is a process.

C. What do theologians say?

Williams teaches us that redemption, the heart of the gospel, depends on God’s holiness that cannot tolerate sin. We can come in God’s holy presence during our life and after we die only by his grace and fee invitation, and his grace and invitation are available to us because Jesus died for our sins and paid the penalty for them. He qualified us to come into his thrice-holy presence.

Then Williams goes deeper:

The basic connotation of holy and holiness in the Old Testament is that of separation / apartness from the common, mundane, and profane things of everyday life. This true of God in His total otherness, also of persons and things set apart for Him and His service (vol. 1, p. 60, note 41).

God’s majesty speaks of God’s awesomeness and majesty. “At the heart of divine majesty is the white and brilliant light of His utter purity. There is in God utterly no taint of anything unclean and impure” (p. 61).

Williams agrees with Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof who says that holiness can be called “majesty-holiness.” Berkhof continues by saying there is an ethical aspect of holiness. “The fundamental idea of the ethical holiness of God is also that of separation from moral evil or sin. … Used in this sense the word holiness points to God’s majestic purity. … It also has a positive content, namely, that of moral excellence” (p. 73). One way, Berkhof says, that holiness is manifested is moral law, “implanted in man’s heart, and speaking through the conscience, and more particularly in God’s special revelation,” the Bible (p. 74).

This agrees with Charles Hodge, Princeton theologian of the nineteenth century, who says, “This is a general term of the moral excellence of God” (vol. 1, p. 413).

Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck tells us that sanctification or the process of making a thing or person holy in the Old Testament “is something more than merely being set apart; it is, by means of washing, anointing, sacrifice, and sprinkling of blood (etc.), to divest a thing of the character it has in common with all other things, and to impress upon it another stamp, a stamp uniquely its own, which it must bear and display everywhere (Lev. 8:15, 16:15-16; Job 1:5).” (Reformed, p. 206). In the New Testament, “God’s holiness is finally supremely manifest in Christ, in whom God gives himself to the church, which redeems and cleanses from all iniquities” (ibid.). The Holy Spirit become the purifier and sanctifier.

Millard Erickson says that the two aspects of God’s holiness is first his uniqueness and being totally separate from all his creation. The second aspect is his absolute purity and goodness. He is “untouched and unstained by the evil in the world. He does not in any sense participate in it” (p. 256).

D. Quick definition:

This attribute and perfection of God means that he is completely distinct and separate from the ordinary and profane and common, and which prompts him to reach out to people to separate and save them from evil.

E. What do the Scriptures teach?

This verse issues a command:

⁴⁵ I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (Lev. 11:45)

God chose the ancient Israelites out of his grace. They did not earn or deserve it. When God saved us, we did not deserve or earn it. Holy in this instance mean set apart from other nations—unique, special.

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deut. 7:6)

Hannah prayed with gratitude and discernment about God’s uniqueness, no doubt witnessing the oversexed, Canaanite fertility deities:

“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (1 Sam. 2:2)

David praised the Lord as he ministered before the ark of the covenant, which held the Ten Commandments:

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. (1 Chron. 16:10)

David was discouraged, but he proclaimed this truth:

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. (Ps. 22:3)

This is an exultant psalm about people praising God—or they should praise him:

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. (Ps. 97:12)

Isaiah saw a vision of the LORD in his holiness, and the seraphim called to each other:

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Is. 6:3)

God will judge the Assyrians for their atrocities:

The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. (Is. 10:17)

Here we see God’s function of redeeming and his name, the LORD Almighty:

Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel. (Is. 47:4)

This is the first time the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the New Covenant Scriptures. It is about the virgin birth of Jesus:

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 1:18)

Demons recognized who Jesus was:

“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24)

And the disciples recognized him too:

We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:69)

Our bodies can become holy by our surrendering it to God as a sacrifice:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Rom. 12:1)

God’s holy people—the saints or all of us—need the power to grasp God love.

 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (Eph. 3:17-18)

This is a clear call by Peter:

¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16, cf. Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2)

Once we know who we are in Christ, we can act holy. Peter reminds us of our divine status:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, (1 Peter 2:9)

The Spirit is called the Holy One, in line with the Old Testament verses that call the LORD the same term:

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. (1 John 2:20)

Jesus is holy and true:

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. (Rev. 3:20; cf. Rev. 6:10)

We end this section with the same idea in Isaiah 6:3, heavenly beings proclaiming God is thrice holy:

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev. 4:8)

Other Scriptures to study:

• He is holy (Ps. 99:3-9).
• He is called the Holy One of Israel (2 Kings 19:22; Is. 30:11-12; Is. 30:15)
• His Spirit is holy (Is. 63:10)
• His name is holy (Ps. 111:9)
• His throne is holy (Ps. 47:8)
• He is majestic in holiness (Exod. 15:11)
• His holiness has splendor (1 Chron. 16:27)
• He is unique in his holiness (1 Sam. 2:2)
• He swears by his holiness (Am. 4:2)
• He will show himself holy (Is. 5:16)
• His words are holy (Is. 5:16)
• His arm is holy (Is. 52:10)
• The Father is holy (Matt. 6:9; John 17:11)
• The Son is Holy (Luke 1:35; Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30)
• The Spirit is holy (Acts 2:4; Rom. 1:4)

F. Knowing God better through his holiness

The word and reality of holy and holiness can be scary for some and delightful for others. Scary because it conjures up images of legalistic Christians of bygone times, who looked like they continually swallowed unsweetened lemon juice from an invisible source. It may be delightful to others because they are close to God and don’t feel deficient in their walks with Christ.

Holiness has to proceed from our lives in the Spirit. He comes to live in us—the Holy Spirit dwells in us. When we let him flow through us, we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22). Holiness does not come from wearing your hair in a tight bun, no makeup, and hemlines down to the ankles—and no jewelry. It does not come from using “churchy,” insider language like “Amen!” “Hallelujah!” No, Galatians 5:22 tells us it comes from life in the Spirit.

Let’s apply the verse to our lives. No apple tree has to struggle and grunt and groan to produce its apples. Life flows through it because it follows its DNA code, its nature, and it is nourished by water (another symbol of the Spirit), the sunlight (a symbol of God’s glory and encompassing presence), and the rich soil (a symbol of nourishment, when it is worked correctly and wisely by the farmer).

In other words, don’t be anxious about whether you exhibit or show enough holiness. It does not mean you separate yourself from the world by living in a monastery or in a closed-in Christian community. How, then, could you proclaim the gospel to the lost world? It means that as you interact with the world and its evil, you pray and allow the Spirit to maintain your life in Christ. Dirty jokes at work? Pray and drift away from the conversation or excuse yourself naturally, without a “holy show” that makes lost sheep feel isolated. Were you once an alcoholic or drug addict, yet God set you free? Don’t go back in to that world, or else you might fall back in it. However, if God clearly calls you to back in to witness to your old friends, don’t go alone. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two (Mark 6:7). Holiness can be friendly, not “holier than thou.”

Holiness is about the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Live life in him.

II. Righteous and Just

A. Brief intro

God is immutably (unchangeably) righteous and just. He is the absolute standard of those two attributes or perfections.

B. Short word studies

The Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says that the Hebrew noun of righteous and righteousness are ṣedeq (pronounced tsedek, the ts- is pronounced like the ts- in bits). It is translated “righteousness, justice, rightness.” It describes “the state of quality of that which accords with some recognized standard (not always expressed). It can be God’s law or natural law or some other assumed standard” (pp. 592-93).

Another noun, ṣ^edaqa, generally means “righteousness, justice, innocence” (p. 593). It is a synonym to ṣedeq.

The adjective, ṣaddiq, is rendered righteous, just, innocent. It describes “those who acts in such a way that their behavior accords with some standard. In general, this word describes as ‘righteous’ persons rather than an abstract concept like law” (pp. 593-94).

Finally, justice is the Hebrew word mišpat (pronounced mishpat) and “carries a legal or judicial connotation, though it is used in a variety of way. It is found most often in the prophets, particularly Is. 40-55, where it is tied to God’s sovereign execution of world affairs.”

In the New Testament, the verb is dikaioō (pronounced dee-ky-oh-oh), which means to “declare righteous” or “to justify.” It appears 29 times in Paul’s letter of the  39 times it is used throughout the New Testament (about 70% in Paul’s letters). The noun is dikaiosunē (pronounced dee-ky-oh-soo-nay) which means “righteousness, innocence, justice, justification.” It appears in Paul’s letters 58 out of the 91 times of the total throughout the NT (64%). The adjective, dikaios, means “righteous, innocent, just, upright.” It is a synonym with the Hebrew ṣaddiq. “In summary, therefore, like salvation … ‘righteousness’ is a gift we receive from God when we believe, is a present reality in our lives, and is a future hope towards which we aspire” (p. 595).

C. What do theologians say?

Norman Geisler defines it thus:

God’s righteousness refers to His absolute justice or rightness. Righteousness is the intrinsic characteristic of God wherein He is the ultimate standard of just and right actions and because of which he must punish all unjust and evil acts. (p. 573)

But it must be noted that in Geisler’s chapter on righteousness: “Jesus became a perfect substitute for our unrighteousness for ‘God made him who had no to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Cor. 5:21).”

Theologians correctly divide God’s justice into more subsets or concepts: rectoral justice and distributive justice, and the latter term is further divided into retributive and remunerative.

In the first God is the moral ruler who imposes moral law on his world, his creation (Ps. 99:4; Rom. 1:32). He has the right to do this since the world belongs to him, and he intends people to live in peace and harmony—to get along.

Distributive justice or righteousness means that God executes his moral law, both rewards for doing right and punishments (yes, that word exists in God’s vocabulary) (Is. 3:10, 11; 1 Pet. 1:17). It means he judges people and either condemns or vindicates them or declares them just or unjust. He is the judge.

Retributive judgment is the punishment phase of distributive justice. People get what they deserve as the penalty for their sins (Gen. 2:17; Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10; Rom. 6:23).

Remunerative judgment is the positive side of distributive justice. He distributes rewards to the obedient and righteous (Deut. 7:9; Ps. 58:11). It is a blessing that it is more prominent and means his “righteousness is viewed favorably as the attribute by virtue of which God vindicates the righteous and raises them to a position of honor and well-being. … YHWH [the LORD] is the true judge, and the manifestation of his righteousness is simultaneously the manifestation of his grace” (Bavinck, Reformed, p. 207).

In other words, God wants to extend his grace when we cannot meet his absolute righteous and just standards, even though we don’t deserve it. We need to pray for mercy and grace, and take care about praying that God must impose his justice on us!

D. Quick definition:

The attribute of righteousness and justice mean that he is the ultimate standard of just and right actions, which prompts him ultimately to judge unrighteousness and injustice.

E. What do the Scriptures teach?

In a remarkably revealing verse, the ancient Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, proclaimed that law-keeping was their righteousness, but in the end they could not keep it:

And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness. (Deut. 6:25)

Righteousness and judgment can punish those who do evil, for in this verse God’s wrath is his judgment:

God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. (Ps. 7:11; cf. 9:4, 8)

In the previous verse, think of an old English judge with his wig. That’s the picture of wrath.

In the next verse righteousness and justice go hand in hand:

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. (Ps. 33:5)

A heart can be upright, when it perceives God’s righteous standards:

Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it. (Ps. 94:15)

It may feel odd in our shortsighted minds to sing in the presence of the LORD for his judgment on all the earth, but he will put all to rights:

Let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. (Ps. 98:9)

The next verse says God is full of grace, righteousness and compassion—it’s a balance:

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. (Ps. 116:5)

This verse prophesies the coming of the Messiah, King Jesus, who will ultimately reign in righteousness:

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Is. 9:7)

Whether the Law of Moses or the moral law, it is based on God’s righteousness:

It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. (Is. 42:21)

Righteousness and justice have a moral side for us humans. God loves them:

But let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. (Jer. 9:24)

“Righteous Savior” is God’s name:

In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord our Righteous Savior.’ (Jer. 33:16; cf. Jer. 23:6)

Now let’s move on to the New Testament.

When we seek his kingdom and his righteousness, everything else follows:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:33; cf. 5:6)

In explaining the Parable of the Weeds, in which wheat and weeds grow up together, until angels will sort them out, Jesus says that in the eternal kingdom:

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matt. 13:43)

Next, Stephen denounced certain bad, ancient forefathers of his fellow Jews, who killed the prophets who predicted Jesus’s coming:

They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— (Acts. 7:52; cf. 22:14)

Romans 3:21-26 teaches us that God’s law is perfectly righteous, but we cannot follow it perfectly. Therefore God had to intervene on our behalf. He had to declare us righteous, even though we were sinners. But how? Despite God’s forbearance in the past (v. 25), a penalty had to be paid, in God’s absolutely righteous judgment and absolute standards. The word propitiation is tucked inside “sacrifice of atonement” (v. 25). In other words, his absolute righteous standard was satisfied (propitiated) when Jesus took the penalty on himself. So God can now remain just (a penalty was paid) and justify us. All we have to do now is believe it or have faith in Christ.

The Spirit enables us to experience righteous growth (sanctification), after we have been declared righteous by an act of God’s grace:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17)

God’s grace to us extends so far that Jesus becomes our righteousness, as if we wear a garment of righteousness that he placed on us—we are in him:

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Cor. 1:30)

Here is a great verse that explains the Great Exchange, our sin for his righteousness. Jesus was “made sin” or a sin offering (cf. Lev. 6:24-30):

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

After Timothy was declared righteous, he was commanded to pursue righteousness, and so should we, in our walk with God:

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (1 Tim. 6:11)

See Psalm 103:6; Ezra 9:17; Nehemiah. 9:8, 33

F. Knowing God better through his righteousness and justice

Contrary to certain Christian teaching, people outside of Christ—even hardened atheists—can behave righteously, when for example they stop at red lights or help little old ladies to cross streets or give $100 million to charity. These are righteous deeds. God is pleased that these unbelievers did them (Acts 10:4), but these righteous acts do not justify the do-gooders before a thrice-holy God, so they can stride right into God’s presence on their own merits.

We are all so needy that God must extend to us his grace for salvation while we live on earth and for entrance into heaven after we die—eternal life on earth and in heaven.

God has absolute, righteous standards, but he has absolute grace that he must offer us to make up the difference between our impoverished righteousness and God’s righteousness. Grace and righteousness reveal God’s character. Each attribute is perfectly infinite and equal in God’s being. And by them we can know him better. But for us down on earth, grace through faith first, and then righteousness second, because we can’t keep up with his absolute standards.

III. Truth and Faithfulness

A. What do theologians say?

Let’s appeal to Reformed theologian, Louis Berkhof, who writes:

The Scripture uses several words to express the veracity of God. In the Old Testament ‘emeth, ‘amunah, and ‘amen, and in the New Testament alethes (aletheia), alethinos, and pistis. This already points to the fact that it includes several ideas, such as truth, truthfulness, and faithfulness. (p. 69)

Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck says that the Hebrew and Greek words are translated, as follows:

English translations, accordingly, have “true,” “faithful,” and “faithfulness.” That is why the trustworthiness of God is an attribute of the will as well as of the intellect. Veracity and truth, trustworthiness and faithfulness, are so closely associated that they cannot be split apart (Reformed, p. 202)

Norman Geisler defines it more straightforwardly:

The Hebrew word for truth (emet) means “firm,” “stable,” “faithful,” “reliable,” “correct.” The Greek word for truth (aletheia) means “truthful,” “dependable,” “upright,” “real.” In brief, the term truth, as used in Scripture, means “that which, because it corresponds to reality (the facts, the original), is reliable, faithful, and stable. Used of words, truth is telling it like it is. True statements are those that correspond to reality and, hence, are dependable. (p. 581, emphasis original).

Millard Erickson boils biblical truth to these synonyms, with integrity as the bigger category and these terms fitting under it: Genuineness, veracity, and faithfulness (pp. 260-62).

Finally, Renewal theologian J. Rodman Williams uses these synonyms:  Jesus is the truth; truth is complete integrity; no deceit, hypocrisy, no dissimulation; complete dependability; sureness of promises; faithfulness (vol. 1, pp. 68-70).

B. Quick definition:

This attribute or perfection of God means that he is stable, dependable, faithful, integrous, honest, accurate and completely veracious.

Let’s dig into Scripture to find out why these theologians define truth with those synonyms.

C. What do the Scriptures say?

Jeremiah proclaims that God is true:

But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. (Jer. 10:10)

Jesus makes truth personal. Here it means both himself in his person and his teaching:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

In that verse, above, it was remarkable for a man in human flesh to claim such a thing. No one but God incarnate would do it.

The Spirit of God is the truth, too:

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.  (John 15:26)

So in the above three verses we see the Trinity sharing the same attribute.

In the next verse, God is living and true—the truth stops with him.

They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9)

A reminder that the opposite of truth is a lie. God can’t do it.

It is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18)

Eternal life is not about what you know, but who you know:

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

Next, John repeats the same idea in his epistle—truth in the Bible is relational and built on God, not our own goodness and faithfulness, which changes one minute to the next:

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

Sometimes we get confused when we listen to competing voices and gurus of truth and teachers in eastern religions. John teaches us how not to fall into the trap. It’s the God of the Bible and the Bible-teaching Christian community.

We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:6)

The next verse is full of insight and rich concepts. God does not lie or change his deep purposes and thoughts, as if he is in development. He promises and fulfills it.

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Num. 23:19)

Recall that truth and faithfulness come from the same root word:

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. ² I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself. (Ps. 89:1-2)

David prayed, reminding us that truth and trustworthiness also come from the same root word in Hebrew:

Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. (2 Sam. 7:28)

And this psalm repeats the reality of God’s trustworthiness and faithful promise keeping:

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. (Ps. 145:13)

Finally, this verse in Revelation, talking about Jesus, links faithfulness and truth:

I saw heaven standing open and before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. (19:11)

D. So how does this help me know God better?

That was a very rich and full Bible study. God’s character has been unfolded before our eyes and minds. When we meditate on those verses, our minds become renewed.

Let’s get more personal.

Next, all truth is God’s truth. God created the universe and the human within it. He gave humankind a good brain that can figure out how to live on earth and even send vessels and satellites into space. No Renewalists or Charismatic of any background should fear logic and science and education. It is discouraging when to this day fiery preachers denounce education or lightly dismiss it. Shortsighted. Rather, all of us should be the best we can, in our fields to which God has called us. I’m not talking about a university degree, necessarily, but train to be what god called you to be, even a soccer mom.

Next, let’s look at the ethical side of things. When we follow the God of all truth, we are truthful—or must be truthful.

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Eph. 4:25)

Who may dwell with God in his house? This person:

The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart. (Ps. 15:2)

Now let’s turn to worship, where Renewalists of all stripes feel most comfortable and excel. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We must worship God in the Holy Spirit and in truth. Recall that truth not only means abstract truth, but God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness. It is also his revelation or propositional truth, like the verse we just quoted. But we must go deeper than just theological truths. We must experience God, the truth in his being and reality. He initiates, we respond to his character as seen in all these attributes. We worship him in return.

Finally, let’s turn to the foundation of all that we do and our character development: Jesus. He began it all and he will finish it. We can trust his faithfulness to carry us through. It’s hard to believe that I quote from the Message Bible, but I decided to let it stand..

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. (Heb. 12:2-3, Message Bible, emphasis original)

Jesus started this marathon of new life in him, and he will be faithful and trustworthy to ensure that we cross the finish line, even if he has to carry us all the way there.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited