The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul was an easy read that was both inspirational and deep. I have to admit that I really did not know who R.C. Sproul was before reading this book and was afraid that this content would be too dated. He was up front and honest about his struggle with coming to understand some of the doctrine, making him relateable. At the same time, I feel like he did not overdo it on the illustrations (though several of the details were a bit winded) and yet was Biblically grounded in everything he explained.
This is a refreshingly bold book that does not skirt around sin, hell and it’s relationship to a holy God that cannot stand either. There is one chapter that I do not agree with where he discusses that we naturally hate God. In fact, naturally, what God intended for us, is to love Him and Satan with sin has distorted this. But I understand that he meant our actions of sin, leading us away from a holy God, would resound as hatred for Him. We must make a clear distinction with this theology.
The premise of the book is how we understand the holiness of God and how it affects every area of our life. Because we are unholy, our first impulse is fear since God is holy. Holiness provokes hatred and so the greater the divide between God’s holiness and our own, the greater the hostility toward God from man. This is why Jesus was rejected by his own people.
In a culture that smirks at sin and criticizes faithful biblical teaching, Sproul presents the clear teaching of Scripture, which is not popular even among some Christians today. I found this to be a great work in which I came face to face with my sinfulness in light of a holy God. The book was challenging. It was uncomfortable, it shone light into a dark part of my heart, and I was literally brought to my knees before the Holy of holies and Lord of lords.
I give this book a 4 out of 5.
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