Can a sinful person draw near to a holy God?

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

A Holy God and a Sinful Person

We are used to thinking of God as the One we can turn to at any moment.

And that is true.

But we easily forget something else:

God is holy.

When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord, he heard:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!”
Isaiah 6:3

And what did Isaiah do?

He did not feel like a good person who had finally found himself near God.

He said:

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips…”
Isaiah 6:5

In the presence of God’s holiness, a person sees himself differently.

Next to other people, we may appear good.

Next to God’s holiness, what we tried to hide even from ourselves is revealed.

That is why Scripture says:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23

The problem with humanity is not merely that we sometimes do wrong things.

The problem is much deeper: sin has broken our relationship with the holy God.

Sin Does Not Merely Make Us Guilty. It Separates Us from God

After the Fall, Adam did not run toward God.

He hid.

“And they heard the sound of the LORD God… and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God.”
Genesis 3:8

This is one of the clearest pictures of the human condition.

God comes.

The human being hides.

And ever since, people have continually sought ways to live without God, and when God draws near, they often try to hide.

Behind busyness.
Behind pleasures.
Behind their own righteousness.
Behind religion.
Behind the words, “I’m not ready yet.”

But Scripture speaks plainly:

“Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.”
Isaiah 59:2

So the main question is not whether we want to feel God’s presence.

The real question is:

How can a sinful person possibly draw near to a holy God?

We Cannot Make This Way Ourselves

We can try to become better.

Pray more.
Read the Bible more.
Do good works.
Change our lives.

All of these things can be good.

But no good work can erase a sin that has already been committed.

We cannot make ourselves righteous before God.

The Psalm asks:

“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?”
Psalm 24:3

That question is serious.

Who can stand before the holy God?

Not the person who has managed to convince himself that he is good enough.

Not the person who has never fallen.

Not the person with a flawless past.

Because there is no such person among us.

But God Himself Opened the Way

And this is where the Gospel becomes truly astonishing.

God did not say:

“Cleanse yourself — and then come.”

He came to us Himself.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…”
John 3:16

Jesus Christ did not come for the sinless.

He came for sinners.

“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:32

The cross is not proof that sin does not matter.

Quite the opposite.

The cross shows how serious sin is and how great God’s love is.

Our sin deserved judgment.

And Christ bore that judgment in our place.

“He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…”
Isaiah 53:5

Therefore, a person can draw near to God not because he has become good enough.

He can draw near because Christ opened the way.

Now the Door Is Open

In the Old Testament, God’s presence was associated with the sanctuary, and the Most Holy Place could not simply be entered without the prescribed purification.

But Christ’s death changed everything.

The Letter to the Hebrews says:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”
Hebrews 10:19, 22

Think about that.

Not “stay away.”

Not “become holy first.”

But:

“Let us draw near.”

What was impossible for humanity became possible through Christ.

That is why Jesus said:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6

But “Drawing Near” Does Not Mean Remaining the Same

James does not continue without reason:

“Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

God’s grace does not say:

“Your sin does not matter.”

It says:

“Your sin can be forgiven — therefore, return to God.”

True drawing near to God is therefore inseparably connected with repentance.

Repentance is not merely regret over what we have done.

It is a turning.

From sin — to God.
From self-justification — to truth.
From running away — to returning.

That is why God says:

“Return to me, and I will return to you.”
Zechariah 1:3

God Is Closer Than We Think

Perhaps you think:

“After everything I have done, God will not want to accept me.”

But look at the parable of the prodigal son.

The son returns home after leaving his father.

He does not come with the confidence of someone who deserves to be accepted.

He comes in repentance.

And while he is still far away:

“His father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20

This is the heart of the Gospel.

The sinner returns to God — and discovers that God was waiting for him.

So, Can a Sinful Person Draw Near to a Holy God?

Yes.

But not because sin has become unimportant.

Not because a person has cleansed himself.

Not because God has stopped being holy.

But because Jesus Christ opened the way to the Father.

So you do not have to wait for the day when you become “good enough.”

That day may never come.

Another step is needed.

Return.

Confess your sin.

Ask for forgiveness.

Believe in Christ.

Leave behind what separates you from God.

And draw near.

For the Lord does not say:

“Become sinless — and then come.”

He says:

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”

And perhaps the most important question today is not:

“Can God accept me?”

But:

“Am I willing to stop running from Him?”

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
James 4:8