For some of us, those two words don’t naturally seem to fit together; holiness and love. The idea of God’s holiness can feel daunting or scary, whilst the idea of His love may feel far more warm and inviting. So it’s tempting to see these as two aspects of God’s character which are at war with one another, and some have even gone so far as to suggest that the God of the Old Testament is a God of holiness, whilst the God of the New Testament is a God of love.
But the Bible makes no such division. Instead, from cover to cover, God is depicted as a God who is consistently loving in His holiness and holy in His love.
On Sunday I spoke at Oxford Community Church on Isaiah chapter 6. We considered how Isaiah experienced God’s holy love, and how his vision points us forward to the person of Jesus.
You can check it in audio or video format here. The talk starts at about 40:30 on the livestream.
For more on this subject, you may enjoy:
- Holier than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry
- The Pursuit of the Holy by Simon Ponsonby
- Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? by L. Michael Morales
- This video from the Bible Project
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Photo by Javid Naderi on Unsplash
Liam Thatcher 