Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

These words mean something. They do not mean several things. They do not mean a variety of things. They do not mean what I would like for them to mean. But they do mean something, and it is important, even urgent, that we come to a precise understanding of what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.

We were fashioned by the hand of God and quickened to life by His own Spirit, thus there is something in every man that yearns to know Him.

Much of religion, world-wide and age-long, has, beneath all the trappings, been a quest of the human spirit for God.

I believe this is the case, from ancient pagan rituals to modern expressions of worship. We were fashioned by the hand of God and quickened to life by His own Spirit, thus there is something in every man that yearns to know Him–unless that innate yearning has been smothered by opposing influences. There is also an inbred consciousness, even fear, that we are accountable to this God (however we may define Him) for the life we have lived in this world. Romans 2:14-16 makes this clear. This is what the Apostle calls the holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Modern concepts of holiness, even within the Church, distort or fall far short of this …holiness. Unlike the attempts of religion to address this need, there is nothing either negative or onerous about it. It is both a demand and a gracious provision from the hand of a holy God!