R.C. Sproul: The Holiness of God

Mini Book Review #1: Sproul’s The Holiness of God

Sproul’s classic work on the holiness of God seemed the right choice to kick off a series of mini book reviews on The Restful Home. Look for future reviews weekly! Each short-and-sweet book review will have a brief summary and, especially if I recommend the book, a few favorite quotes.

A book about God’s holiness can seem unapproachable. Yet Sproul presents this book glorifying God’s holiness in a humble, friendly manner, as if he’s your favorite college professor who illustrates with concise stories and never loses track of the main point. I highly recommend this book for those who want to know more about God’s character and don’t want to get lost in the weeds of a too-technical-for-the-layman textbook.

Favorite Quotes from Sproul’s The Holiness of God

“When the Bible calls God holy, it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that he seems almost totally foreign to us….Only God can sanctify something else. Only God can give the touch that changes it from the commonplace to something special, different, and apart.”

(Pg. 32)

“When piety is defined exclusively in terms of externals, the whole point of the apostle’s teaching has been lost. Somehow we have failed to hear Jesus‘s words that it is not what goes into a person’s mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of that mouth. We still want to make the kingdom a matter of eating and drinking. Why are such distortions rampant in Christian circles? The only answer I can give is sin. Our marks of piety can actually be evidences of impiety. When we major in minors and blow insignificant trifles out of proportion, we imitate the Pharisees….Anyone can avoid dancing or going to movies. These require no great effort of moral courage. What is difficult is to control the tongue, to act with integrity, to reveal the fruit of the Spirit.”

(Pg. 117-118)

“The failure of modern evangelicalism is the failure to understand the holiness of God. If that one point were grasped, there would be no more talk of mortal enemies of Christ coming to Jesus by their own power.”

(Pg. 130)

“How can we love a holy God? The simplest answer I can give to this vital question is that we can’t. Loving a holy God is beyond our moral power…Unless we are born of the Spirit of God, unless God sheds His holy love in our hearts, unless He stoops in His grace to change our hearts, we will not love Him. He is the one who takes the initiative to restore our souls.”

(Pg. 131)

Have you read this book? Do you have a favorite Sproul book? Let us know in the comments!

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