Moses stretched his hands over the Red Sea and the waters of the sea came back upon the Egyptian army destroying every one of them. Thereby, God saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians. Israel saw God’s power, and they believed in the Lord. For this reason, Moses and Israel sang, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 ESV). The basis of God’s holiness is that no one is like God.

            God is holy as His works reveal the attributes of His nature. God is the source of holiness. God makes holy. When God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai, God called, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exod 3:5). God’s presence makes holy as God’s presence made the inner room of the sanctuary to be the holy of holies. God is set apart from all other peoples and their gods, and even more so, God’s presence makes a place holy set apart from all others. However, God is present throughout the earth by His Spirit (Ps 139:7–12). God makes a place holy by His presence in the sense of revealing Himself and His message to humanity in that place.

            God decides what He makes holy. In Genesis 2:3, God made the seventh day marking His rest as a holy day by blessing it. The Sabbath day is consecrated and special. How does God resting make a day holy? In the seven days of creation, the seventh day was set apart as God rested meaning that He ceased from all of His work in creating the universe and all life. The seventh day marked the completion of creation. God spoke from Mount Sinai to Israel revealing, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11).

            What do we do with what God has given us to keep holy? Do we keep our spouses and children holy (1 Cor 7:14)? Do we keep our bodies holy (1 Cor 6:19–20)? Christians must keep holy what God has set apart to be holy. The church are His people to be unlike others and separated from wickedness and sinfulness of the world. God has called all believers to “be holy for I am holy” (1 Pet 1:16).

            When each Christian consecrates his or her life, the believer will not tie oneself together with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14). They are sacred and have no partnership with Satan (2 Cor 6:15). Concerning the church, Paul observed, “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,’” (2 Cor 6:15b–17; cf. Lev 26:12; Isa 52:11).