Articles
Approaching God Appropriately
Those who know God and His word also likely know that there is a vast difference between the character of God and the character of mankind, in general. With God, “there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Psa. 92:15), but “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil” (Eccl. 9:3); men will lie about anything and everything, but “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Num. 23:19); and God is holy (Lev. 11:44) but we live in a world where men are “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:2-4). Add to this the reality “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) and we find that this difference seems to imply we are not worthy to even approach God.
Isaiah, writing during a period where God’s people had strayed far from God’s ways, looked around and concluded, “You are indeed angry, for we have sinned — in these ways we continue; and we need to be saved. But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities” (Isa. 64:5-7). We might even wonder why God bothers with man at all [and many do believe He does not], much less allow us to even approach Him. But this only illustrates the great love for mankind and the measure of His mercy and compassion. The psalmist also wondered this, and wrote, “Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psa. 144:3, 4); but he also wrote, “The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?” (Psa. 113:4-6); indeed, there is none like our God, who is not too high to bend low and consider the needs of His creation, man.
Since He created us and has all knowledge and power, God also knows our situation and our helplessness to be worthy enough to approach Him. The fact of His holiness is such that we cannot even approach His greatness, His power, or His moral perfection. It would seem, again, that approaching God is not something any man could ever hope to do, for we are not in a position or a condition that would seem to permit such an approach. A pitiful earthly example to illustrate this great disparity might be a homeless man who hasn’t bathed in years and who wears clothing just as foul and unclean as the man who wears them, seeking to have close counsel with a king in all his glory and splendor. This just isn’t a scenario we would ever believe could be possible.
And yet despite our unpleasant condition, God grants us the possibility of approaching Him! As we might expect, though, there are some conditions that must be met before we may approach Him.
The Basic Requirement. With the knowledge of God’s character and being, it is only logical that we see we cannot approach him in this ruined condition, stained by sin and unrighteousness. Paul notes for us in his words to the brethren at Corinth that “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God…And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Where once they were stained with unrighteousness, they had been cleansed of all unrighteousness by the Spirit. He would later remind them it was through the sacrifice of our Lord that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). We become righteous through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, so without that cleansing, there is absolutely no possibility of approaching God.
Humility. It must also be noted that as ones who have been given this opportunity to approach God, though we were certainly undeserving, humility must be a constant mindset. Peter reminds us, “Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Pet. 5:5). When God spoke to Solomon after the dedication of the temple, He told Solomon that there would be times when God would punish the people for their disobedience, but then promised, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven” (2 Chron. 7:14). Again, humility is needed if we seek to approach God and be heard. It will not be until we acknowledge our unworthiness and, comparatively, God’s greatness, that we have the right frame of mind and can approach our great God.
Recognition of God’s Holiness. When Nadab and Abihu “offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” and He punished them with fire, God said, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified” (Lev. 10:1-3). Regarding God as holy means more than simply recognizing His moral superiority and greatness; it must include a view of God that also recognizes His great power and place in all of Creation [something that should be a cause for us humbling ourselves], and a desire to do what pleases Him. It is this recognition that should then move us to glorify Him as God and be obedient to His commands, without question or hesitation.
With Boldness. This might seem contradictory, for we have already noted humility is needed; but consider the context of where this is stated, and the reason we should have boldness. In the letter to the Jewish Christians of the first century, the writer of the book of Hebrews reminded them, “we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God” (Heb. 4:14), and then further encouraged them, saying, “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15), concluding, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). You see, as Christians, we can come “boldly” to God’s throne in prayer because we have a High Priest — Jesus — who intercedes for us, and who knows what we go through in temptations, and He can sympathize. You see, the boldness does not come because we can consider ourselves ‘worthy’; it comes because we know who is there, speaking on our behalf! We know, as this same writer would say later, “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
When we “believe that He is [i.e., that God exists], and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6), it is then we will be pleasing to God and only then can we approach Him. How about you? If you believe God is, do you also acknowledge His holiness and seek to glorify [honor] Him by your life? Are you willing to humble yourself and submit to Him in all things?
We cannot come to God on our terms; we do not have that right. — Steven Harper
