Key Study: Holy, Holy, Holy

(15–20 minutes, easy set-up)
Download the Student Worksheet. Print a copy for each student. Also provide dry erase board, dry erase marker, and pens.

Learning Goal: Students will understand that God has called them to live up to His own standard of holiness.

Using the Modern Day Mediterranean World map, point out the area of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). Explain that Peter wrote his letter to be shared in the churches throughout Asia Minor. Using the New Testament Timeline, point out that Peter wrote his first letter to churches in Asia Minor around A.D. 67. Explain further that his audience was made up of Jewish background believers and Gentile believers; many had come out of pagan religions and were still learning what was involved in being a Christian. Share that a reason for why Peter wrote his letter was to encourage these believers to become holy as God is holy.

Call for a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:13–16. Explain that the phrase “prepare your minds for action” in verse 13 is best translated as “gird up the loins of your mind.” Ask: What picture does that phrase give us about how our minds are to be set on Christ? Encourage students to respond. Then point out that Peter wanted his readers to focus their minds on the hope that a relationship with Christ brings. Say: With their minds focused on this hope, Peter’s readers were then ready to live out holiness through their relationship with Jesus. Point out that Peter reminded his audience that the process of becoming holy is only made possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. On the dry erase board, write the words holy, devout, and Godly. Lead students to call out words that are the opposite of holy. (If needed, share the following words: blasphemous, irreverent, sacrilegious, evil, wicked, Godless.) Emphasize that if we try to be holy without that relationship, we become self-righteous or even “religious.” Say: As a result, we might display some “good” behavior, but in reality we are living like the words you just called out. Ask: So when we sin, does that mean that we aren’t really trying to follow Christ in holiness? Explain that a relationship with Christ begins the process of becoming holy, but Peter reminds us that being holy is not something that Christians instantly become when they accept Christ because it is a process that takes place throughout their lives and will only be completed by Him in eternity.

Next, divide students into groups of three or four. Distribute pens and copies of the Student Worksheet at this time. Instruct students to work together to complete the “Jesus was Holy” activity on the worksheet. After four minutes, call students back together and guide them through sharing their responses to this section. Point out that Jesus was sinless, gave Himself for us, and did everything that God asked of Him. Ask: What does it suggest to know that Jesus focused on holy actions? (Answer: If this was a priority to Jesus as the Son of God, it should also be our priority.)
Call on a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:14–15 again. Then ask: What does it mean to “conform”? (to try to be like everyone else) How do teenagers as a group conform to what others do? (Possible responses: the way that they dress or wear their hair; the way that they talk and the words that they use) When is conforming to others a bad thing? (when it causes us to do things that we know we shouldn’t do) What does it mean to conform to the things of God? (to work at becoming like Christ in our thoughts and our actions) Point out that Peter emphasized that once we know Christ, we are no longer ignorant about knowing what we are supposed to become—rather, we cannot use ignorance as an excuse for our actions. Instruct students to work together to complete “Developing Holiness” on the worksheet. After two minutes, review responses. Then ask: What does it suggest that several of these actions develop more than one characteristic of holiness? (that our actions are not isolated from many areas of our character)

Call on a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:16 again. Using the Eight Essential Truths poster, point out the Essential Truth that God Is. (If your church has not purchased the Eight Essential Truths bookmarks or posters, you can print the Eight Essential Truths from www.studentlife.com/biblestudy/what-we-believe.) Point out that God is completely holy. Then say: This means that God is set apart from all other beings because He has no sin or evil thoughts. He is perfect in all ways and completely unique—neither nothing nor no one is like Him. Ask: Is it possible for us to be sinless in our lives? (No—we’re still human and still wrestle with our sinful nature.) Emphasize that our responsibility is to become more like Christ every day of our lives by letting the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts and actions. Say: The question for you to continue to think about after you leave this class is whether you are more like Jesus today than you were yesterday, last month, or last year. If that isn’t the case, then pray that God will help you as you take the first step in becoming more like Christ.