Digging Deeper Into Faith: Cultivating Holiness

Divide learners into groups of three or four, and instruct each group to write a definition for “holiness.” Encourage groups to write their definitions on the dry erase board. Review their definitions, circling the following important ideas or adding them if necessary:

• holy, set apart, consecrated, chaste, pure
• sharing in God’s purity
• refusing to participate in sinful behaviors
• morally pure (as opposed to ritually pure)

Suggest that a modern expression helps to sum up holiness––“Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.” Then, on another area of the board, write the following column headings: “Relationship with God,” “Relationship with People,” and “Public Faith vs. Private Faith.”

Divide learners into three groups. Assign each group one of the phrases written on the board. Instruct each group to list actions that demonstrate holiness in that particular area of life. Encourage learners to think about how their actions in life or reactions to others demonstrate holiness. (Examples: In relationships with others, how do they react to an enemy? In public versus private faith, do they live according to the standards they expect other Christians to follow?) Instruct groups to write their answers on the board.

Then, lead learners to discuss:

• How long can a person “fake” holiness?
• What would be required for each of us to live up to the standards we’ve just written on the board? How can we develop holiness in our lives?
• How can we help others who are struggling in this area?

Emphasize the necessity of relying upon the Holy Spirit to guide our actions in all situations if we want to demonstrate holiness in our lives. Lead learners in prayer, that the Holy Spirit will release His power in learners’ lives and that learners will have the courage to follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit.