Holiness and Justice (Zephaniah 3:1-7)

"The LORD is righteous.… Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, hut the unjust knows no shame" (Zeph. 3:5).

When you talk about God executing judgment upon people, listeners usually respond with unbelief or defiance. They rail against God’s judgment because they do not understand His holiness. This is the case especially with God’s acts of judgment in the Old Testament. People will often consider God unjust because they are not reading these accounts with an understanding of His holiness.

Several accounts in Scripture are misunderstood because God appears unjust. One is Leviticus 10:1–7 when God killed Nadad and Abihu because they offered unauthorized fire at the altar. Aaron complained to Moses that God seemed unfair in killing his sons so hastily. Moses responded that God must be treated as holy, which means He demands perfection. When that standard is not met, He has every right to pronounce judgment.

Another account in which God is regarded as unfair is in 2 Samuel 6 when Uzzah is struck down for touching the ark of the covenant. God had commanded that no one touch the ark. Uzzah was fully aware of this command, but when the ark began to slip, Uzzah steadied the ark to keep it from falling into the dirt. Uzzah arrogantly assumed that his sinful, unclean hands were less polluted than simple dirt.

While many might say that the mean, angry God of the Old Testament has been replaced by the gentle, kind Jesus of the New, this view does not square with Scripture. God does not change. He is the same yesterday as He is today. If Christ is God, and He is, then He is the same in the revelation of both His justice and His mercy. God’s mercy and His justice are never at odds. He shows abundant grace to us in order to give us time to repent. We should never take His mercy for granted, and we should never demand that He be merciful, claiming that He has been unjust when, in fact, He has been just.

A holy God is just and merciful. Mercy is free and given voluntarily. If God were to deal with all of us according to justice, each of us would perish instantly. In the circumstances above, God chose to show His justice based on His holiness. Those of us who continue to live, even though we sin daily, live according to His mercy—something that is freely given by His grace.

How would you answer the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Do you expect God to be merciful or to pronounce judgment as we deserve? How would you counsel someone who is suffering the consequences of their sin? What hope would you offer them? Thank God for the hope He has given in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Things I Have Learned as an INTJ Preacher

Not everyone is sold on the usefulness of the Myers-Briggs scale, and if you are not and want to skip this post, there will be no hard feelings. Over the years, I have consistently been assessed as an INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging) personality type on the Myers-Briggs scale. This has given me certain strengths in my role as a preacher, such as analytical thinking, strategic vision, and a deep commitment to teaching and sharing truth. However, early on I learned that there were many potential challenges, which thankfully I learned to manage for greater effectiveness in ministry. The bottomline is that we all have strengths and growing edges, and we can work to mature and grow in our roles as preachers. Here are some of the ways I have been impacted by being an INTJ in preaching and ways my tendencies have helped and hindered my ministry - I share them with you in case you are also an INTJ preacher:

1. Preference for Solitude

INTJs tend to be introverted, meaning you may feel most comfortable when working alone and need time to recharge after social interactions. This can present challenges in a pastoral role that often requires frequent and deep engagement with people. The relational aspect of preaching, including pastoral care, counseling, and building relationships within your congregation, might feel draining after a while. While you may excel in delivering sermons, consistent one-on-one engagement may be a challenge.

Solution: Schedule time for solitude and reflection to recharge after more socially demanding responsibilities. Also, develop systems for managing social interactions in ways that feel sustainable for you.

2. Struggles with Emotional Connection

As a Thinking type, INTJs prioritize logic and objectivity, which can sometimes make it difficult to connect emotionally with others or address emotional needs in pastoral care. Congregants may expect their pastor to provide empathy and emotional warmth, which doesn’t always come naturally to INTJs, who focus more on the intellectual aspects of faith.

Solution: Intentionally develop your emotional intelligence by practicing empathy and deepening your understanding of how emotions affect people spiritually. Balancing your analytical skills with emotional awareness will help you engage more fully with your congregation.

I would highly recommend preachers do a unit or more of clinical pastoral education. I ultimately did five units of CPE while training for hospital chaplaincy and it made me so much more capable of understanding emotions and connecting emotionally with others.

3. Perfectionism

INTJs are known for high standards and a drive for excellence. While this can help you craft intellectually rich sermons, it might also lead to perfectionism and frustration when things don’t go according to plan. You may find it hard to delegate tasks, wanting things done in a very specific way, which can sometimes hinder teamwork within ministry settings.

Solution: Recognize that imperfections and flexibility are part of ministry. Learn to delegate more effectively and trust others in their roles, even if they approach tasks differently than you would.

4. Need for Clear Logic and Structure

INTJs value logic, clarity, and well-structured information, which may lead to preaching in a more cerebral or intellectual style. This can be a strength, but it may also result in delivering sermons that are rich in content but less engaging for those who prefer emotional or relational connections. Some congregants may find this style too academic or abstract.

Solution: Make efforts to incorporate stories, illustrations, and emotional appeals in your sermons. This can help bridge the gap between your logical teaching style and the emotional needs of your congregation, making your messages more accessible.

5. Difficulty with Spontaneity

INTJs generally prefer to have a plan and to stick to it. Ministry, however, often involves spontaneous situations—unexpected pastoral care needs, sudden changes in a service, or crisis situations in congregants' lives—that can feel uncomfortable to an INTJ.

Solution: Develop flexibility by building margins into your schedule and intentionally practicing responding to spontaneous situations. This will help you manage stress when faced with the unpredictability that comes with ministry.

6. Tendency Toward Abstract Thinking

Your preference for big-picture thinking means that you’re naturally drawn to the deeper, more abstract theological and philosophical aspects of faith. However, this can make it difficult to connect with people who are more focused on practical, everyday issues or who struggle to follow more abstract or conceptual thinking.

Solution: Work on grounding abstract concepts in everyday life and practical applications. Make your sermons relevant to the daily challenges and experiences of your congregation while still maintaining theological depth.

By being aware of these potential challenges and proactively working on your areas of growth, you can maximize your strengths as an INTJ preacher while also becoming more effective in your pastoral care and preaching.

Woe To Me! (Job 42)

“Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6).

It is a sad fact that too many Christians give little thought to the holiness of God. They think of God as their best friend or their counselor (both of which He is), but they do not regard Him as their righteous King, full of holy wrath and purity. For the church to grow, we need to come face to face with the holiness of God, because only in light of His holiness will we become more holy.

A right response to God is the kind we see in Isaiah, Job, and Habakkuk. Those who have changed hearts have their eyes opened to the significance of God’s holiness and to their own sinfulness. They realize their own unworthiness to stand in the presence of such a pure and perfect Being because they know they are not pure and perfect. When Peter recognized the power and authority of Jesus Christ, he too responded in humility, asking Jesus to leave him because he was a sinful man (Luke 5:1–11).

It is a frightful commentary on the church when many professing Christians do not have this attitude when they approach God. Too often, they come before Him angry, shaking their fists, demanding solutions to their problems. Instead of humility, pride is the ruling factor in much of today’s church. Self-expression is more important than silence before our holy and wise Lord. We have much to learn from the saints of the past, from those who cried “woe is me” when they saw God’s holiness. Many of us would become deadly silent if we saw God for who He really is instead of seeing Him for who we want Him to be. Instead of justifying ourselves, we would pronounce judgment upon ourselves, which is what Isaiah was doing when he said “woe is me.” When he saw the standard of perfection in God’s holiness, he recognized his own shortcomings in living according to that standard. He realized that all his pretenses and illusions of righteousness disintegrated in the presence of holiness.

God responded to Isaiah by placing a burning coal on His lips. He did this to purify and forgive him. Isaiah did nothing to merit this; it was an act of God’s grace. The process was a painful one, but it was necessary to remove all the guilt and all the sin that had made him a foreigner to holiness.

How was Job’s response to God similar to Isaiah’s? Have you ever had such a response before God? Have you ever humbled yourself before God and repented of your sins? If you have, thank God for purifying you and leading you in holiness? If not, do so today. Humble yourself before God and ask for forgiveness in Christ.

The Holiness of God (Isaiah 6)

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

Because holiness is so essential to the Christian life, we will spend the next week examining God’s holiness and its relation to the believer. The Scriptures are replete with commands for Christians to separate themselves from the world and to grow in holiness. To ignore this foundational aspect of the Christian life is to put any professing Christian in a precarious position concerning his eternal state. The very concept of sanctification is based on holiness. It is the process in which the Christian, who has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, puts off corruption and grows in holiness. As obedient children, we are not to be conformed to our “former lusts … but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’ ” (1 Peter 1:14–15).

To understand the believer’s call to holiness, we need to understand the holiness of God. Holiness is not just a single attribute of our Lord, it describes His very essence.

Isaiah came face to face with the holiness of God, and it was so overwhelming, so beyond anything he had ever imagined, that all he could say was “Woe to me, for I am undone!” When Isaiah saw himself in the light of God’s perfection, in light of His holiness, he realized his own corruption and fell down before the Lord in fear and humility.

Isaiah 6 says that the robe of God filled the temple. In ancient days, the length of the monarch’s robe signified his stature and power. This vision of God’s robe filling the temple displayed the infinite magnitude of God’s glory. This is the God who dwells within, not just among, but within, His people. If so holy a Being has breathed life into our dead souls, how can we help but become holy in conformity to His likeness?

If we are truly renewed by His Spirit, we will necessarily grow in purity and holiness because He dwells in us, and His very essence is holiness. This is the God we serve, this is our heavenly Father, this is our holy King, and as His children we are to bear the likeness of our Father and that likeness is nothing less than purity and holiness—the kind that fills the temple in glory and humbles us before His presence.

Read Isaiah 6 slowly and thoroughly. Think about how you approached God when you went to worship yesterday. Did you come before Him filled with reverence and humility? If not, pray that you will be filled with a greater understanding of His holiness so that you will honor Him in worship.

Be Separate (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

"… let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 7:1)

The exhortation for the Corinthians to be holy is not confined to the subject of marriage but is a general command dealing with every association in life. Paul commanded the Corinthians to separate themselves from the unbelievers around them, to refrain from intimate, voluntary association with the wicked. He gives a number of reasons for this command. First, the very nature of God’s people prevents them from having intimate relationships with those who reject Christ. Christians are ruled by righteousness and subject to the kingship of Christ. Unbelievers have none of these principles ruling their lives. They reject Christ and follow the ways of folly and unrighteousness. For a Christian to associate with such a person would cause him to compromise his principles of righteousness.

Second, light has no fellowship with darkness. Too often Christians think of the world in better terms than they ought. Scripture does not soft-pedal the state of unbelievers; they are children of darkness whereas believers are children of light. “The attempt, therefore, of Christians to remain Christians and retain their inward state as such, and yet to enter voluntarily into intimate fellowship with the world, is as impossible as to combine light and darkness, holiness and sin, happiness and misery,” Hodge wrote.

Third, Christ has nothing in common with idols. To those who serve Christ, He is God, “the object of supreme reverence and love; to the other, He is a mere man,” Hodge wrote. “To the one, the great object of life is to promote the glory of Christ and to secure His favor; to the other, these are objects of indifference. Elements so discordant can never be united into a harmonious whole.”

Fourth, God is intimately related to His people. We are His temple, and He dwells in us. Therefore, we are bound to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. This means we do not love the world. We do not value what the world values. We do not take unbelievers into our confidence, and we certainly do not become intimately associated with those who reject God. We are God’s children, called to be separate in all situations. If we compromise this principle and set holiness aside, we will suffer the fate of the Israelites who became defiled by the world and received God’s judgment.

Holiness includes not only separation, but pursuit of moral excellence. Read 2 Corinthians 7:1. Why should you cleanse yourself from corruption? What does it mean to perfect holiness? What should your motivation be in pursuing holiness? What practical steps do you need to make to be more holy? Begin to put these in practice this week.