Is there any better way to begin the summer than studying about the holiness of God and how His holiness should impact every area of our lives? Chapter 1 reminds us that all Christians are called to lead a holy life, a life lived “in conformity to the moral precepts of the Bible.” We are also given three basic problem areas that hinder our growth in holiness. Chapter 2 provides a definition of the holiness of God; it is “the absolute absence of any evil.” Because God is holy, His reaction to sin is also covered in this chapter.
Now it’s your turn! What have you learned in Chapters 1 & 2? How will these insights impact your life? How have some of your previously held beliefs been confirmed or challenged? We look forward to hearing from you as we share insights with one another this week. Please remember to keep comments current and on topic.
Comments for Chapters 1 & 2 will be accepted through June 16, 2008. We will cover Chapter 3 June 17 – 23.
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Chronicles on the West Side (Albuquerque) has one copy of the book available as of Tuesday morning.
Bibles Plus has two copies on order
Confession: I wish I had taken more time to muse over the Scripture passages during the week instead of reading them and moving on.
I love reading about the glorious aspects of God's holiness.
I was busted about how "our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered." Does anyone else feel that way?
Although the concept of being holy may seem unatainable, when you re-think holiness as a pursuit of God we are drawn to the challenge.
How about compromise? If we are willing to compromise in the small things are we willing to compromise in all things.
Penny said, we need to learn to view sin through the lens on Gods eyes.
Holy asks, where is your sin compass? What standards of holiness belong to God and what are mans?
Lenya spoke of the "Law of Love". If you love God you don't even want to get close to the appearance of evil.
Are we responsible for others actions?
Penny said you approve of others actions by doing them yourself.
God will judge the sin of believers sometimes more severly than non-believers. Moses never saw the promised land because he hit a rock.
Larrissa said that this changed her view of Gods standard of holiness. Where she might have been willing to give Moses a pass, God brought judgment.
"compromise on the little issues lead to great downfalls"
Lenya said, "God is always consistant to His character."
He will not practice His holiness apart from His justice.
We can't take the circumstances of our life personally. Lenya.
The Holiness of God.
God is so Holy, He cannot even look on evil.
Holly said,sometimes we come to God in prayer for something but our standard of holiness is so low that we are covered with sin that God cannot even look on.
Misty said, God doesn't have to choose to be holy, He just is. We choose obedience.
What are we taking away?
We need to raise our standard of holiness to meet Gods. We need to be proactive when it comes to sin. We need to return to our first love. We need to make a concious effort to continually focus on the holiness of God. We need to view sin as sin. What would Jesus think? Be light, God can't gaze at the darkness we shouldn't either.
We had a great time together today. We're hoping to have more laptops next week so we can blog in real time. Please feel free to share your thoughts on Chapters 1 & 2 with us!
Awesome study! I was so struck by the fact that I often catagorize my sins into "bad", "not so bad", "somewhat acceptable". But God doesn't look at my sin that way -- there is no 'little sin' or 'big sin' in His eyes. And, if I honestly look at the sins in my life -- they are all based on my own pride..not the humility that Christ calls me to. To gaze on the holiness of God is to look at my own sin in a new light. God hates sin intensly wherever and whenver He finds it. Yikes! If that isn't a call to holiness I don't know what is!
Hi Lisa! In keeping with that thought, it was also interesting to recognize how our culture promotes the idea of some sins as less severe or important than other sins.
I loved our conversation about how, as Christian women, we need to rise to God's standard for holiness not fall to the world's standard.
What an awesome study! While reading, many things brought me to my knees before the Lord and opened my eyes to His glory. It was convicting to see that my attitudes toward sin (even the small things) were very flippant. I made it all about me and my failures rather than about God and how it grieves His heart. One thing that struck me was that my shame should only come second to His grief and in the past I have always put myself first. Also, the fact that it says God is holy and He can never overlook or excuse any sin we commit, however small it may be and that in fact it appears He judges His children more severely than the world really made me look at my behavior. There were so many things that really pierced my heart and I cannot wait to dive further into the study.
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