The Holiness of God (Revised and Expanded)

por R. C. Sproul

Editorial:

Tyndale

, 1998

Overview

What is the holiness of God? Are you intrigued by it, or are you terrified? Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.” R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love; or mercy, mercy, mercy; or wrath, wrath, wrath; or justice, justice, justice. It does say that He is holy, holy, holy, that the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Page 25)

“Ministers are noteworthy of their calling. All preachers are vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. In fact, the more faithful preachers are to the Word of God in their preaching, the more liable they are to the charge of hypocrisy. Why? Because the more faithful people are to the Word of God, the higher the message is that they will preach. The higher the message, the further they will be from obeying it themselves.” (Pages 32–33)

“To mention something three times in succession is to elevate it to the superlative degree, to attach to it emphasis of superimportance.” (Page 24)

“When the word Lord occurs in lowercase letters, the translator is indicating to us that the word adonai is found in the Hebrew Bible. Adonai means ‘sovereign one.’ It is not the name of God. It is a title for God, indeed the supreme title given to God in the Old Testament. When Lord appears in all capital letters it indicates that the word Jahweh is used in the Old Testament. Jahweh is the sacred name of God, the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. This is the unspeakable name, the ineffable name, the holy name that is guarded from profanity in the life of Israel. Normally it occurs only with the use of its four consonants—yhwh. It is therefore referred to as the sacred tetragrammaton, the unspeakable four letters.” (Page 18)

About R.C. Sproul

R.C. Sproul (1939-2017) was a respected teacher, theologian, and pastor. He is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries where he serves as executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.

Sproul held degrees from Westminster College, Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, Free University of Amsterdam, and Whitefield Theological Seminary. Over his career, he taught at several colleges and seminaries including Reformed Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary, and served as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, in Sanford, Florida. Sproul’s teaching can be heard regularly on the “Renewing Your Mind” radio broadcast which plays in over 40 countries.

Sproul wrote over 70 books and numerous articles including the classic The Holiness of God, exegetical works in the R.C. Sproul Exposition Collection, and several theological articles in Tabletalk magazine.