Theologian and Pastor A.W. Tozer famously said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”1
Tozer understood that if our concept of God is incorrect, it will change the trajectory of our lives. Furthermore, at the most basic level, this distinction in the way that one perceives God explains the fundamental differences between major world religions. This is certainly true when it comes to the basic distinctions between the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Biblical Christian theology. Therefore, understanding God as He has revealed Himself is paramount.
What makes God, God?
When seeking to rightly understand God, we begin by asking the question, what makes God, God? God answers this question in His own words in Leviticus 11:44: “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.” (NKJV)
In speaking to the Nation of Israel, God reminds them of their responsibility to be set apart from the sinful thinking and practices of those around them because they belonged to God. This command to holy living is directly connected to the fact that the One who saved them and called them is himself holy.
When the Bible speaks of God as “holy,” it is communicating two important realities. First, God is unique. He is in a category all His own. He is incomparable. Hannah clearly understood this truth when she prayed in 1 Samuel 2:2, “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.” (NKJV)
The second thing that we must understand about the holiness of God is that He is separate. One theologian puts it this way, “Holiness, on the one hand, implies entire freedom from moral evil; and, upon the other, absolute moral perfection.” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, p. 413) The writer to the Hebrews states, “For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29) This statement is made because of the holiness of God. The prophet Isaiah also understood this in a powerful way. (Isaiah 6:1–5)
Any concept of God that does not embrace the full meaning of God’s holiness will invariably lead to other wrong thinking. If God is not, first of all, holy, then our understanding of who we are will also be skewed.
Is Heavenly Father the God of the Bible?
The founder of the LDS Church, Joseph Smith, made the following statement: “God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make Himself visible,—I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man.”2
Consider also the following statement by the LDS Apostle James E. Talmage, “Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body… of flesh and bones.”3
We can begin to see that a false concept of God’s holiness leads to a greatly diminished understanding of God. Our LDS friends need to know that God is unlike us. He is not a man who once became God. He has always been completely unique and set apart. The opening words of the Bible state, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
It is significant that God chooses to draw a clear distinction between the Creator and His creatures. Furthermore, this passage makes clear that it is God who reveals Himself to His creation and chooses to fellowship with mankind. (Genesis 3:8–9) We would have no hope of approaching God were it not for His willingness to make that possible.
How to Communicate God’s Holiness
How then do we helpfully communicate this distinct understanding of the holiness of God to our LDS friends? The Bible passages presented earlier are a good place to start. We can’t end there though. God’s holiness must result in our humility. Pride betrays the holiness of God.
The prophet Isaiah models a correct response to the holiness of God in Isaiah 6. Isaiah’s response to the holiness of God is, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5, NKJV)