To be holy means to be set apart and to be separated from sin. God calls us to be separate from sin and be one with Him. He makes a way for us to experience His presence through Christ because He wants to invite everyone to Him, not alienate them from Him.
Standards exist to separate two sets of people—those who meet them and those who don't. That's how standards are supposed to work. When we put a standard on a membership club, there will be those who meet the qualifications separated from those who cannot. When we put a standard in the workplace, we set apart the acceptable practices and norms from those that are not.
As far as God is concerned, He has a standard as well. His standard is complete and unblemished holiness. He gives us His law as the ultimate standard and commands us to follow it. The law sets two parties apart—those who meet the standard and those who don't.
Unfortunately many people think that humans are separated between those two parties, but truth be told we are all on the same side: the party of the failures. Many people are misled in thinking that, under the light of the law, anyone can exist on the side of the ones who meet the standard.
That's exactly the problem of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 19:17b that "...There is only one who is good" (ESV). But the rich ruler insists that he is one of the good guys. In Matthew 19:20b, the rich ruler says, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" (ESV). Oh, was he surprised to hear from Jesus that he still lacked so many things! It shocked him so much that he simply walked away.
It may shock you to know that we are all on the same side—the side of those who do not meet God's standards. We have all been separated from God because of our iniquity, but that's not because God alienates us. God never alienates people; we alienate ourselves from God. We were the ones who crossed to the other side of the standard.
But in all this, God still invites us to Him. His standard is an open door to all, and it has been opened by the finished work of Christ. The veil of separation of God's presence from everyone else was torn when Jesus met the standard for all of us once and for all. All we have to do now is accept that Jesus' work was enough and is our fulfilment of the standard and we can and will cross to God's side where the Father will be waiting for us, welcoming us to His side.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (ESV). God invites us to His standard openly through Christ because Jesus made a way for us. In no way should God's laws alienate anyone by making one feel unable to approach God. Through our sin we were separated from God, but by the power and love of Jesus Christ that has overcome sin, we can now approach God.
