August 22 Sin and Holiness

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. ._ August 4 LUIU'Sin and Holiness ILiving aSanctified Life

Central TruthWith Christ as Savior and Advocate, Christians can live vic-torious over sin.Key Verse: 1 John 1:7If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow-ship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Soncleanseth us from all sin (KJV ).If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow-ship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his So n, puri-fies us from all sin (NIV ).Introducing the Study

Study Text1 John 1:5 through 2:17

FocusTo discover dimensions of

' cation and live Christlike.

Outline1. Walking in the LightA. Fellowship with God: Key tSanctification

B. Confession: Key toContinued Sanctification2. Depending on the AdvocateA. Holy Living Only Possiblethrough Jesus

B. Walk as Jesus Walked3. Living in Love

A. Sanctification:A Life of LovcB. Sanctification: OvercomingSin

sanctii

Teaching Tip 1: Present the following statement and 1n lead students in discussing their responses: I reparingto TeachSanctified living is best understand in terms of 1 O Select questions, learningfollowing a prescribed list of dos and don'ts that I activities, and items from theclearly defines what it means to live for God- Adult ResourcePacket (pages52-55) that will help you fulfiI . -Living a sanctified life must be more than just following a list YOU' lesson obiectives.of dos and don'ts. It is learning to live as people who know a Fill out the Planning theChrist as Savior and Lord, who have a relationship with Him Session sheet (Adult Resourcethat influences how they act, talk, think, and feel. With His Packet, page 5).help, Christians can live victorious over sin. Prepare the transparencies"Sanctification 101 and "JesusLearning ObjectivesI

nd Holiness" (Adult ResourcePacket, pages 52,531.A t the end of this study, students will be able to: Q Copy the case study "Hol)1. Explain the link between sanctification and Christlike liv- Living and Loving Living" anding. the work sheet "For Furthc-2. Consider how they can live holy lives, victorious over sin. Study 12" (Adult Resource

3. Identify the relationship between being a loving believer Packet pages 54,551.and living a sanctified life.


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King Janies Version New International Version II John 15. lh is then is the message whichwe have heard of him, and declare unto you,that God is light, and in him is no darknessat all.6. If we say that we have fellowship with

him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do notthe truth:7. But if w e walk in the light, as he is in thelight, we have fellow ship one w ith another, andthe blood of Jesus C hrist his So n cleanseth usfrom all sin.9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful andjust to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse usfrom all unrighteousness.10. If we say that we have not sinned, wemake him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2:l. My little children, these things write Iunto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,we have an advocate with the Father, JesusChrist the righteous:2. And he is the propitiation for our sins:and not for ours only, but also for the sins ofthe whole world.3. And hereby we do know that we knowhim, if we keep his comman dmen ts.4. He that saith, I know him, and keepethnot his commandments, is a liar, and the truthis not in him.5 . But whoso keepeth his word, in him ver-ily is the love of God perfected: hereby knowwe that we are in him.

1 John 1:s.This is the message we haveheard from him and declare to you: God islight; in him there is no dark ness at all.6. If we claim to have fellowship with him

yet walk in the darkness, we lie and d o not liveby the truth.7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in thelight, we have fellowship w ith one another, andthe blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us fromall sin.9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful andjust and will forgive us our sins and purify usfrom all unrighteousness.10. If we claim we have not sinned, we

make him out to be a liar and his word has noplace in our lives.2:l.My dear children, I write this to you sothat you will not sin. But if anybody does sin,we have one who speaks to the Father in ourdefense-Jesus Ch rist, the Righteous One.2. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,and not only for ours but also for the sins ofthe whole world.3 . We know that we have come to know himif we obey his commands.4. The man who says, "I know him," butdoes not do what he commands is a liar, and( the truth is not in him.5 . But if anyone obeys his word, God's loveis truly m ade comp lete in him. This is how weknow we are in him:

6 . He that saith he abideth in him ought 6.Whoever claims to live in him must walkhimself also so to walk, even as he walked. as Jesus did.8. Again, a new commandment I write untoyou, which thing is true in him and in you:because the darkne ss is past, and the true lightnow shineth.10. He that loveth his brother abideth in thelight, and there is none occasion of stumblingin him.15. Love not the world, neither the thingsthat are in the world. If any man love the world,the love of the Father is not in him.16. For all that is in the world, the lust ofthe flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the prideof life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.17. And the world passeth away, and thelust thereof: but he that doeth the will of Godabideth for ever.

8. Yet I am writing you a new command;its truth is seen in him and you, because thedarkness is passing and the true light is alreadyshining.10. Whoever loves his brother lives in thelight, and there is nothing in him to m ake himstumble.15. Do not love the world o r anything in theworld. If anyone loves the world, the love ofthe Father is not in him.16. For every thing in the world-the crav-ings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and theboasting of what he has and does--comes notfrom the Father but from the wo rld.17.The world and its desires pass away, butthe man who does the will of God lives forever.

Adult TeacherGuide Scripture Setting


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A.FeIIow~hipwith Cod:Key to SancMcation1John 1:5-7

.- Ask: "What is meant by theerm sanctification?"lean g tip r: uisplathe &,,,parency "Sanctification 101 " Use this to prcvide students with a basicunderstanding of the term

66sanctification."- ,+ w,.-The word "sanctify" appearsabout seventy times in the KingJames Version of the Bible. It isused of ob jects as well as people.It pictures their being set apartfor God's use, of being pure andholy.Th e apostle John m ade it clearhow important it is to live a

sanctified life. Its importance isfound in the nature of God. Johndescribed God as "light" (1 John15 ) . Light describes God's holi-ness and purity. John em phasizedthis with the second part of theverse, "in him is no darkness atall." Not even a shadow of anysin is in God. He is absolutelypure and holy.Since God is holy and pure,it makes sense that those whoknow Him and have Him in theirlives should reflect His holiness.Som e people claim to know God,yet live in ways that are notpleasing in His sight. To claima relationship with God and notreflect His holy nature is a lie(verse 6).On the other hand, to live agodly life as a Christian makespossible our fellowship with God(verse 7). Since God is light,if we live a holy life and avoid

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wickedness, we are able to enjoyfellowship with Him daily.Daily fellowship with Godand obeying what He wants usto do is the key to sanctifiedliving. Without God's presencein our lives, sanctified living isimpossible.Ask: "How doesliving benefit believers?" Manytoday laugh at the idea of seekingholiness in one's life. They makeit appear that choosing to livea life of moral purity places uson the outside of the good timeseveryone else is enjoying. This isfa r from the truth. Godly believ-ers live not as outsiders, but asthe truest kind of insider.

B.Conkssion:Keyto ContinuedSanCcIcCIfication1John 1:8-10

Through the years, some peo-ple have misinterpreted sanctifi-cation as meaning "perfection."John wrote that a claim of sin-less perfection is self-deception(1 John 13). The fact believerssometimes sin seems to make anillusion of the hope of sanctifiedliving. Ask: "What hope do wehave of living a sanctified life?"The answer to this is in confess- Fing: if we confess our sins, Godwill forgive us and cleanse usfrom our sins (verse 9). If we dosin, God's forgiveness puts usback on the road of holy living.Never make the mistake ofthinking that sanctification meanswe never sin. If a person sayshe hasn't sinned, that person isdeceived (verse 10). The truth isthat we do sin at times by whatwe say, do, or think, bu t we can-and must-receive forgiveness.

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Daily confession, along withdaily fellowship with God, leadsto sanctified living.2. Depsnding on the~~A.Holy Living PossibleOnly throughJesus

1John 2:1,2In 1 John 1:8-10, John didnot write to discourage believersfrom desiring to live a holy life.In chapter 2, he made it clear hispurpose in writing this letter wasto help Christians not sin (verse1). God wants believers to liveholy lives. He calls us to live setapart from sin and se t apart toHim.Teaching Tip 3: Ask vol-unteers to read Ephesians1:4, 2 Timothy 1:9, and1 Peter 1:15 to the class.These verses make clearGod's design and desire forbelievers to live sanctifiedlives.We must realize that sanctifiedliving does not happen just byhuman effort. The best Christiancan determine to be and live

holy, yet disappoint himself inhis efforts to be godly. We stillstruggle with a sinful nature.Holy living depends on JesusChrist. Apart from our relation-ship with Him, holiness cannotdevelop. In a right relationshipwith Him, our desire to live holycan become a reality.Ask: "Why is a relationshipwith Jesus so necessary to liv-Ping a godly life?"

Teaching Tip 4: Display[ the transparency "Jesus and IAdult TeacherGuide

-oliness" as you go overthis material. Refer to it as

hUUd r e e d e d .Jesus Christ is our advocate

before the Father (1 John 2: l ) ."Advocate" pictures an attorneypleading his client's cause as hefaces charges in a court of law.When we sin, Christ does no tforsake us. He pleads our casebefore the Father.Jesus also shows mercy tobelievers who have sinned. Heis "the propitiation" (verse 2,KJV; "the atoning sacrifice, N I V )for our sins. The same mercyHe showed when He went to thecross for our sins is needed bybelievers who have sinned.

B.Walk as Jesus Walked1John 2:3-6

Ask: "Is it possible to beChristian, yet not live a holy[life? Explain." Holy livingdepends on our relationship withChrist. Our obedience to Him isproof that we know Him (1 John2:3). Knowing Him is the onlyway ho ly living can take place.It is possible to claim to be aChristian, yet not act as one whois sanctified-set apart from sin.People can make the mistakeof thinking of Christianity asjust a religion-something theydo at church on Sunday, butfail to live out Monday throughSaturday.Ask: "What is the dangin professing to be a Christi;but not living in obedience toChrist?" To profess one is aChristian and not live a holylife is a lie (verse 4). It is alsodangerous (see Revelation 2 1 8).To obey God's Word is essential

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to having a relationship withJesus (1 John 25). Obedienceto Him shows that we love Him.Only in this kind of relationshipwith Jesus can we achieve godlyliving.Holy living does not gainfavor with God. But it does pro-vide evidence of God's presencein one's life. Anyone who wantsto present Jesus to a lost worldmust seriouslyconsider where heor she stands in terms of sancti-fied living.The basic way to live a holylife is to "walk, even as hewalked" (verse 6, KJV). The word"walk" refers to our daily way ofliving. If we follow Jesus' patternof obeying the Father, we willourselves live a truly godly life.Ask: "In what ways doesBJesus provide us with the bestexample of living a sanctifiedlife?" Anyone who wonderswhat sanctified living is likeneed only look at the life Jesuslived on this earth. He prayedregularly-at His baptism (Luke3:21,22), early in the morning insolitary places (Matthew 14:23;Mark 1:35), and as a regularongoing practice (Luke 5:16).This shows us a key feature of asanctified lifestyle-prayer.Also, Jesus kept himself fromsin (Hebrews 4:15). This featureof holy living involves moralpurity, resisting temptation todo wrong. He desired only todo His Father's will (Matthew26:39; John 4:34). The sancti-fied believer finds doing God'swill the highest priority in his orher life. When people looked atJesus, they saw what His Fatheris like (John 14:9). The sancti-fied believer's life is also to be areflection of God.

We need a pattern to followin order to have a sanctified life.Jesus is our pattern. As we fol-low Him, we will find ourselvesliving the way God wants.3.LMng in Love

A.Sanctiiicotion: A Uk ofLove1John 2:7-1

We must do as Jesus did inorder to live a sanctified life.We must also love as He loved.Jesus showed love to everyone,whether saint or sinner. If we areliving for Jesus, we must alsoshow love to everyone.In 1 John 2:3-6, John calledon believers in Christ to obeyGod's commands. This is a chiefaspect of holy living-walkingin obedience to God's Word.But holiness also affects how werelate to each other. John madethis clear in verses 7 through 11.John became very specificabout one of our chief acts ofobedience-showing love tootherpeople. This was not a new com-mand on John's part (verse 7).Even in the Old Testament, Godcalled on His people to be a lov-ing people. In the Old TestamentLaw, with which John's Jewishreaders were especially familiar,God made being a loving personone of His commands (Leviticus19:18).Yet there was newness aboutJohn's command (1 John 2:s).First in Jesus, then in His follow-ers, love became more than justa duty. Loving others becomespart of the very nature of believ-ers' lives.Sanctified living is a lifemarked by love. The person whoconsiders it just a set of dos

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and don'ts does not understandholiness. It involves the wayChristians relate to each otherand to those ou tside the faith.Should we be tempted to takethis part of holy living lightly,we need to consider John's state-ment in verse 9. Claiming to beliving in the light-being obed i-ent to God's commands to liveholy-yet failing to love othersconflicts with the sanctificationwe claim.Loving other Christians show sthat we l ive in the light (verse10). It means that our sanctifi-cation is not just a claim; it isthe truth. It also keeps us fromdoing things that are not holy,such as holding a grudge, gettingrevenge, or becom ing bitter.Hatred toward or a failureto love others denies the claimof sanctification. It shows thatone's claim of holiness is nota way of living. Hatred revealsthe moral darkness from whichwe say we a re free; it shows thespiritual blindness that keeps usfrom living a true sanctified life(verse 11).

Teaching Tip 5: Handout th e case study "HolyLiving and Loving Living."Have students read anddiscuss the case study insmall groups of four or five.When they finish, briefljdiscuss responses as a classB.SanctrCtrfication:OvetromingSin

1John 2:12-17In 1 John 2:12-17, Johnaddressed various age groups:"little children" (verses 12,13),"fathers" (verse s 13,14 ), and

"young men" (verses 13'14).Some see these terms as refer-ences to th e various age groupsamong his original readers.Others see them as a referenceto the levels of spiritual maturityamong those to whom he wrote.Ask: "What makes it possi-ble for believers to live a s a n e 8tified life?" There is a commonthread in the things John wroteto these groups: Their sins havebeen forgiven (verse 12), theyhave overcome the devil (verse13)' and they knew God. Thisgave them the spiritual strengththey needed to "overcome thewicked one" (verse 14, KJV).Sanctified living is an over-coming lifestyle. Only as believ-ers resist Satan's temptationsand pressures that are so com-mon in this world can this beachieved.John also stated that believersare to overcome the influence ofthe world. Love of the world andits attractions can hinder holyliving, and it proves a lack oflove fo r God (verse 15). Thingsso common in our age-sexuallust, desire fo r material things,and pride in achievements andpossessions--do not show godli-ness. Instead of sanctification,they show worldliness (verse16). Those who love this pres-ent world need to realize thatit is temporary; th e sanctifiedlifestyle God calls believers tolive lasts forever (verse 17). Thisis why we are to make sanctifiedliving our daily aim.

Teaching Tip 6: If yourchurch has a hymnal thatcontains the old hymn"Take Time to Be Holy,"borrow enough hymnals for

Adult TeacherGuide Commentary8 pplication


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e person in your class , hw a y s they can live sancti-to have a copy. Sing the fied lives. Summarize theirhymn together. Then dis- responses on a blank trans-CUSS t s r ; fh ctudents practical parencxr r chalkboard.6FDiscipleship in Actiort 1W en people think about holiness, fa r too many equate it with a bunch of "thoushalt nots." And too often these rules are regarded as not being relevant to life,but standards set by a previous generation that have no practical value. These rulesseem to make living as a Christian an oppressive duty that drains people of the joyand vitality a life lived for God ought to have.Now consider th e central truth of this study: "With Christ as Savior and Advocate,Christians can live victorious over sin." Holy living is learning to live with Christ asour Savior and Advocate. It's about making choices about what pleases Him, not oursinful human nature. If we live so our actions and words are expressions of love fo rGod and others, we will live sanctified lives.There may be things that we allow into our lives that can hinder us in our effortsto live holy. With God's help, we can learn how to overcome them. We can pray andask God to help us make godly choices, eliminating ungodly influences and embrac-ing ones that can help us live the sanctified lives God desires for us.Teaching Tip 7:Ask students to keep "sanctification journals" for one week.Have them list choices they make that involve issues of holiness and hindrances toholy living they face. Lnstruct them to be prepared to share one of th e things theyrecord with tgeclass next w e e . ? r this activity into the theme of next week'sI,s"~Y.@&*-, &is 7 a,Monday Sanctification Commanded.

Exodus 19:14-25Tuesday Sanctification Is Preparation.Joshua 3:l-6Wednesday Sanctification PrecedesService.2 Chronicles 29:1 -5,10,11

Thursday Sanctification by God's Word.John 17:14-19Friday Sanctification throughObedience.

2 Corinthians 6:14 through7:1Saturday Sanctification Pleases God.2 Peter 3:9-14

Q If you plan on using the unit quiz aspart of next week's study, make sure toinclude time in class fo r students to doth e quiz and to review their answers.The unit quiz can be a good way toreinforce the truths from God's Wordtaught in this unit.

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August 22 Sin and Holiness