If I could sum up the thrust of the book in my own words, it would be something like this. The reason why most of us do not marvel and meditate upon God, the reason most of us do not tremble at our sin, the reason most of us cannot understand the judgment passages of Scripture, the reason most of us take grace for granted is because we have such little regard for and knowledge of The Holiness of God!

As should be expected with Sproul, he does an excellent job of combining scriptural exegesis, biblical theology, and historical theology to help his readers grasp what has been such a mystery, The Holiness of God. Part of the genius of this work is Sproul’s examination of biblical and historical figures such as Moses, Peter, Luther, and Edwards. Maybe one of the more valuable chapters was Sproul’s handling of the texts throughout Scripture where the Lord killed individuals on the spot for their transgressions. More than any other treatment I have encountered, this chapter enables one to rightly assess just how far we have fallen from the glory of God.

One of Sproul’s sayings that struck me most was when he was addressing how we long for God’s holiness, while simultaneously fear consumption in his majestic presence (and rightly so, for no man has seen God and lived!). He writes, “Part of us yearns for the holy, while part of us despises it. We can’t live with it, and we can’t live without it” (p. 52).