Shane Raynor - Converge Bible Studies: Being Holy

CONVERGE

Bible Studies

BEING HOLY

SHANE RAYNOR

BEING HOLY
CONVERGE BIBLE STUDIES

By Shane Raynor

Copyright 2014 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4267-9552-7

Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com .

Series Editor: Shane Raynor

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Converge is a series of topical Bible studies based on the Common English Bible translation. Each title in the Converge series consists of four studies based around a common topic or theme. Converge brings together a unique group of writers from different backgrounds, traditions, and age groups.

Converge Bible studies can be used by small groups, classes, or individuals. Each study uses a simple format. For the convenience of the reader, the primary Scripture passages are included. In Insight and Ideas, the author of the study explores each Scripture passage, going deeper into the text and helping readers understand how the Scripture connects with the theme of the study. Questions are designed to encourage both personal reflection and group conversation. Some questions may not have simple answers. Thats part of what makes studying the Bible so exciting.

Although Bible passages are included with each session, study participants may find it useful to have personal Bibles on hand for referencing other Scriptures. Converge studies are designed for use with the Common English Bible; but they work well with any modern, reliable translation.

Converge studies are available in both print and digital formats. Each title in the series has additional components that are available online, including related blog posts and podcasts.

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What do you picture when you hear the word holiness? Some Christians think of behavior-based religion. How is a Christian supposed to act? What would Jesus do? What are the dos and donts of the Christian faith? Where are the boundaries?

The big problem, however, with focusing on behavior is that it misses the point of living faith. In Western culture, where were heavily influenced by the business world, we tend to focus on performance; and performance has to measurable. A strangely warmed heart isnt measurableneither is the infilling of the Holy Spiritbut the number of sins we commit and the amount of time we spend in prayer and Bible study are.

So we gravitate toward focusing on the things we can mentally track on our spiritual scorecards. Unfortunately, we can do everything right (although odds are we wont) and not make an ounce of progress in our walk with Christ. When I was a church youth worker, I struggled to find that magical middle ground between cheap grace and legalism. And I discovered that if I focused too much on behavior and not enough on Jesus, students would follow my lead and do the same. Unfortunately, rather than making disciples who had freedom in Christ and lived to please God, I sometimes felt like I was giving them rules for not disappointing me and for fitting into the Christian world better.

If a desire for holiness starts with performance and behavior and doesnt come from a place of grace and relationship, then living a holy life isnt about becoming more like Christ; its an existence that lives at the extremes of never being good enough or looking for loopholes in the Law. Our behavior has then become the basis for our faith (or lack of it) rather than the fruit of it. Thats a depressing (and theologically dangerous) place to be.

Jesus had some strong words to those who focused on the external first instead of the internal:

How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of violence and pleasure seeking. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup so that the outside of the cup will be clean too.

How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead bones and all kinds of filth. In the same way you look righteous to people. But inside you are full of pretense and rebellion. (Matthew 23:25-28)

Im a bit weird when it comes to washing dishes. I rinse everything before placing it in the dishwasher, but I insist on the dishes being visibly spotless before I put them through the wash cycle. I suppose I figure that if I take care of all the stuff I can see, the dishwasher will take care of the stuff I cant see.

But what if we had no other criteria for a clean dish than visible cleanliness? Suppose we were to rinse dishes with cold water only until we didnt see any more food on them. No hot water, no detergent, no scrubbing. Would they be clean? Well, we might not experience any problems most of the time; but when it comes to eating and drinking, the things you cant see (for example, bacteria) are more dangerous than many of the things you can see.

Would you eat in a restaurant that you knew wasnt sanitizing its plates and silverware? What about going to a dentist who didnt sterilize dental instruments?

Consider the common cold. Its perhaps the most widely experienced sickness known to humanity, and still theres no real cure for it. We just have to let it run its course. Any medicines you get at your local pharmacy, at best, cover up the symptoms of a cold; they dont cure it. You can focus on the externals all you want; but until you take out the virus itself, the cold is still calling the shots.

Many times Im afraid we try to treat our spiritual condition the same way we treat a cold. We want to be holy, but we try to make that happen by covering up all of the symptoms instead of dealing with the root of the problem.

In this study, Ill examine what it means to be holy. The Bible doesnt make holiness complicated; but as is the case throughout much of Scripture, there is some tension concerning Gods initiative and how it connects with our response. But its worth navigating the tension to get a better understanding of what holiness is.

When youre done with these four sessions, its my prayer that youll feel both challenged and set free by what youve discovered.