The Hole in our Holiness - Week 3

Week 3 of our Pseudo-Family study over The Hole in Our Holiness is in the books.  We had a solid turnout this evening and people showed up ready to discuss and delve deeper into the chapter.  Per the new tradition, we started with finding out what each other was learning this week in the Word.  Yours truly has considered this to be one solid accountability tool because nobody wants to be that person who’s the first to say, “I don’t have anything for this week.”  The themes of the week for people (which per Dustin's request were not decided via Aussie Rules) included the following:

• ·         Enduring and comforting others during the bad times
• ·         Viewing the sacrifices in the OT in light of Christ’s sacrifice for us
• ·         Looking at the Bible through a different culture
• ·         The ever-lasting focus on improving our character and breaking from a “past life.”
• ·         How to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

The first part of the book discussion focused further on the process of sanctification, as well as justification.  To rehash previous discussion topics, sanctification is the process of growing in godliness while justification is the act of being justified by God.  However, Kevin presents additional definitions to consider in definitive sanctification and progressive (not soup or insurance) sanctification.  Definitive sanctification would be the process of God covering our sins and Progressive is the act of continually sanctifying ourselves by growing closer to God. 

From there we began a discussion of churches in society.  It seems like some parts of God’s word are intentionally glossed over at times in order to avoid controversy and stepping on toes.   While it’s good to speak out, we need to learn to temper ourselves properly in order to show love and not be too extreme.  It’s a fine line to walk that can be difficult at times.  Also, we discussed why we’re more willing to be tolerant of our friends and show grace to them for the sin in our life as opposed to the people that we don’t know.  It’s easy to judge the guy on the street that we don’t know whereas we’ll  give a break to our friends.

Next was a discussion of virtues and vices.  The laundry list of vices shown in the book read like your typical ‘Grand Theft Auto’ game while the list of virtues seem to be much shorter.  In most of our lives, we were more willing to admit our faults rather than seeing the virtues that God has bestowed.  The discussion then flowed to how to develop and grow our virtues.  The major way seems to be through following our conscience.   We also talked about how much of an impact modern society has on us as we have become so desensitized to many things.  This can definitely affect the impact that our conscience has on us.   For the most part, our time in the Word will continually grow and shape our conscience and it’s up to us to figure out what’s right for us in our walk and what isn’t.  Some may abhor drinking or certain movies while others may find them ok.  While following our conscience may not ever turn us  into Beaver Cleaver, we can take steps to move away from being Ron Burgundy.  

Some verses that we hit on this week during our time in the book in order to further our discussion are as follows:

• ·         Luke 5:27 – 31
• ·         Romans 12:16 – 21
• ·         1 Corinthians 10:23
• ·         Romans 2:14 – 15

And now for the moment of reflection…

The Hole in our Holiness - Week 2

So last week, I kind of stayed to the side of uber formal and thoughtful for my blog post on study.  Therefore, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I normally do.  LOL.  This week, the goal is for me to be myself a bit more while also getting across the point of the study and also some of the great moments/tangents/bunny tracks of the study.

The first thing that we really went into for the study was discussing things that God had been teaching us over the past week in our times in the word.  The theme seemed to be showing us how our confidence in God and trust in God tends to get us through all of the rough times that we encounter.  I believe that Patches O’Houlihan (by means of our favorite Tyler) said it best, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”  The purpose of that applies back to Paul and all of the struggles that he went through in his ministry.  Paul was able to get around anything as long as he relied on God to get him through the struggles, the good times, and the bad.  If we’re relying on God and doing the same thing, then we should be able to take on all of the ups and downs that life puts in our way.

After diving into The Hole in our Holiness, we focused initially on the reasons for why God saved us instead of letting us fail.  The main reasons that we discussed were that God loves us and wants us to be holy and that this simple act brings glory to God.  Also, I believe that God created us to do good works (i.e. Helping the little old ladies cross the street).  Going deeper into that, we asked why did God save us directly?  For me, I see that God gave me a pretty good outlook on life and allowed me to be an outspoken person.  For someone who was crippling shy in my teenage years, I feel that I’ve popped out of my bubble some and can be myself more and more (I’m sure that my friends appreciate that fact).  I’m very thankful to God for bringing a happiness and a clarity to my life that would have otherwise been missing.  Thanks God!  For others, it was to have an opportunity to live out their faith for those in their lives whether it be co-workers, friends, or family.

Is Holiness intimidating was one of the next questions asked.  It seems to be natural for humans to want to pursue sin over holiness.  **insert dumb voice here**  It’s just easier to not have to worry about being holy.  God can have more grace for me that way.  **end dumb voice here**  That’s really no excuse for us.  Dustin brought up a great point that holiness is absolutely necessary for our redemption.  In order to continue to grow and be sanctified, we need to keep seeking after God.  That sanctification is a process.  While it’d be nice to be able to go to the store and pick up a supply of Sanctification (by Mennen) off the shelf, in truth, Christ finishes sanctifying us upon our deaths.  

We spent a lot of time this week not just accepting everything that Kevin DeYoung said, but instead chose to use the book as a discussion point.  That led us to La Santa Biblia to backup or refute the words in the book.  Some verses to look at in conclusion that were discussed in study this week are as follows:

• ·         Colossians 1:22
• ·         Ephesians 2:8 – 9
• ·         Romans 5:28 – 6:2
• ·         James 1:22
• ·         Acts 17:10 – 11 

And now for your moment of reflection...

The Hole in our Holiness - Week 1

Our study group will be focusing on The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung over the next 10 weeks.  Each Tuesday (or Wednesday), I’ll post a short blog post going over the major talking points of the evening.  I feel like this is good both for me to review and think because I process through writing and also to allow absentee members to see what we discussed. 

The official definition of holiness is to be specially dedicated or devoted to serving God and having spiritually pure qualities.  From there, we can discuss at length what exactly holiness means to each of us.  Holiness can definitely be encouraging in the fact that we see that it can bring us closer to the Lord and also can allow us to live more like Christ did.  Unfortunately, it can be discouraging as well.  Knowing that we sin and ultimately fail to live that perfect life can lead to feelings of apathy.  “I failed so now God can just show me more grace.  It’s ok.”  Overcoming that mindset is a challenge indeed.  We can’t just decide that we’re not going to have that mindset.  We need to draw near to the Lord and ask Him to provide the strength, guidance, and wisdom to be holy.  

When we’re young, holiness is often a concept that is much too advanced for us to necessarily grasp with ease.  We understand that we need to be good and not disobey our parents but the idea of disobeying God can be intimidating or a foreign concept.  However, as we grow closer to God in our walk and begin to desire to be obedient to Him, we see our passion for holiness grow and develop.  We will begin to search the small areas of our life that sin resides in and look for ways to eradicate those sinful areas.  When thinking about God’s holiness, it’s not a far stretch to begin thinking about the holiness of Heaven.  We will normally think about how Heaven is a place of pure, spiritual bliss.  We are in the presence of our Savior.  As Kevin stated in his book, it’s important to realize that if we are not focusing on our holiness in the World, then holiness in Heaven will be awkward to be a part of.  

When we look at what exactly has resulted in the Hole in Our Holiness, many reasons can be at play.  People often see holiness as being unattainable due to the expectation that holiness equals 100% perfection.  This makes people fear the failure that can come with not attaining the perfection that they desire.  Also, even if we succeed and live a holy life, we don’t see that immediate extrinsic reward that we claim.  Our culture is one of instant gratification and we want that pat on the back, good job, I’m proud of you affirmation that we’re all looking.  Other issues that can lead to the hole are a lack of passion for our spiritual lives, pure laziness, or a lack of humility.  These are issues that can stand between us and growing closer to God that we all need to overcome.

In order to overcome the hole, there are simple things to keep in mind.  We must continue to grow our understanding of the Word.  It is the primary way in which God speaks to us and convenes with us in our daily life.  Also, be aware of the sin issues in our lives so as to not fall further into sin.  This is difficult because it forces us to admit our own faults and face them head on.  Focus on being obedient to the Lord.  If we’re living up to the standards laid out for us in the Bible, then we will grow closer to Holiness. Evaluate how you’re spending your time.  If you’re focused primarily on reaching for that brass ring, then that’s where your heart lies.  Be resolute in praying to the Lord to continue to bring about the change in us.