On Sunday, I tried to make the case that “holiness is an expression of Love for God.” Do we typically think of holiness and love that way?
How is love typically characterized in our culture today?
Colossians 3:12–15 (ESV)
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Is God’s holiness and love at odds with one another? Why or why not?
Have you ever feared the holiness of God? If so, explain.
How does God make us holy?
Isaiah 52:11 (NLT)
Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean.
Get out of there and purify yourselves, you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord.
2 Peter 3:11–12 (NLT)
Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.
Psalm 111:1–9 (ESV)
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
What are the characteristics of holiness?
How would you define purity and godliness?
What words from Psalm 111:1-9 are related to holiness and love?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (NLT)
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
In what ways does this description of love contrast itself with the world’s definition of love?
Why is it important that we understand love as a verb and not simply a noun?
What motivates you to carry out actions of love?
What is one thing you can do to develop the fruits of holy love in your life?