Holiness: Seeing God as He Truly Is

As I prepared my first message as your new pastor, I found myself reflecting on the moments in my life when I was overwhelmed by the greatness of God—those seasons when I couldn’t learn enough about Him, when His character became my anchor in trials and temptations. One of the books that deeply shaped me during seminary was Knowing God by J.I. Packer. It reminded me that while God is far beyond our full understanding, He graciously reveals Himself through His Word. And the more we come to know who He is, the more we learn to trust Him with every part of our lives.

That’s why, as we begin this journey together, I want to start with the foundations—the attributes of God. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore who God is so that our faith can rest on something stronger than our feelings or circumstances. We begin where Scripture begins when it describes God’s character: His holiness.

In Isaiah 6:1–8, we see a stunning picture of God—high, exalted, surrounded by seraphim crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” When Isaiah encountered God’s holiness, he immediately saw the truth about himself: “Woe is me… I am a man of unclean lips.” God’s holiness reveals our sinfulness—but that’s not where the story ends.

In His mercy, God cleansed Isaiah. A burning coal from the altar touched his lips, and God declared, “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” What Isaiah experienced in a vision, we experience fully through Jesus Christ. God’s holiness doesn’t just expose—it transforms. Through Christ, the Holy One purifies, forgives, and makes us new.

And just like Isaiah, cleansing leads to calling. Once Isaiah was forgiven, he responded to God’s voice: “Here am I. Send me!” That’s what God does—He takes broken, redeemed people and sends them into the world to reflect His holiness and share His mercy.

My prayer for our church is simple:That we would see God as He truly is—holy, powerful, and full of grace—and that this vision would change us. May our worship be filled with awe, our hearts with humility, and our lives with a readiness to say, “Here am I. Send me.”The God who called Isaiah still calls today. And He calls us to go into a hurting world with the hope of His holiness and the promise of His mercy.