The Awe of God · Study Guide
Week Three
Irresistible Holiness
God calls us to holiness not so that we can earn His love, but because in Christ we already belong to Him. Holy fear teaches us to value His approval above human approval and to pursue a life that increasingly reflects His character.
Week Three explores what it means to pursue holiness as people who have already been received by God's grace.
The goal is to understand the difference between our standing in Christ and the way we are called to live, recognize how the fear of people can compete with obedience to God, and identify practical ways to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in becoming more like Christ.
Holiness is not a way to earn acceptance. It is the fruit of belonging to the One who is holy.
God makes us His own by grace, and then calls us to live like people who belong to Him. Holy fear helps us care more about God's approval than human approval, turn from what defiles us, and actively pursue holiness in thought, motive, character, and conduct.
Read Before You Begin
Which has more influence over your choices: the desire to please God or the desire to be approved by people?
Teaching Summary
The Fear of Man
One of the quietest competitors to the fear of the Lord is the fear of people.
We want acceptance. We want to fit in. We want to avoid criticism. We want to protect our reputation.
Those desires become spiritually dangerous when human approval carries more weight than God's approval.
We will eventually serve what we fear most.
God's Approval Must Carry the Greatest Weight
Holy fear does not make us indifferent toward people.
It simply puts every other voice in its proper place.
God's truth matters more than popularity.
God's commands matter more than cultural pressure.
God's character becomes the standard for our choices.
The fear of man asks, “What will people think?” Holy fear asks, “What will honor God?”
Holiness Begins with Grace
We do not pursue holiness so that God will finally accept us.
In Christ, believers are forgiven, received, and set apart as God's people.
— Ephesians 1:4
Our standing before God is rooted in Christ, not in our spiritual performance.
We pursue holiness from acceptance, not for acceptance.
Positional Holiness
Positional holiness describes what is true of us because we belong to Christ.
We are forgiven. We are set apart. We belong to God.
This is not achieved by discipline, self-improvement, or moral effort.
It is a gift of grace.
Behavioral Holiness
— 1 Peter 1:15
Behavioral holiness is the growing alignment between who God has declared us to be and the way we actually live.
Our thoughts change. Our desires change. Our speech changes. Our habits change. Our response to sin changes.
Holiness becomes visible.
Justification and Sanctification
Justification and sanctification are related, but they are not identical.
Justification is God's gracious declaration that we are righteous in Christ.
Sanctification is the ongoing work by which God increasingly shapes our lives into conformity with His character.
Confusing them can produce two opposite errors.
Legalism says: “I must become good enough for God to accept me.”
Passivity says: “Because grace is free, my conduct does not matter.”
Scripture rejects both.
Grace saves us freely, and grace trains us to live differently.
Cleanse Ourselves
— 2 Corinthians 7:1
Paul uses active language.
We confess.
We turn away from sin.
We remove what feeds temptation.
We practice obedience.
We renew our minds in truth.
Holiness is God's work in us, but we are called to respond.
God's Will Includes Holiness
— 1 Thessalonians 4:3
Holiness is not an optional specialty for unusually committed Christians.
It belongs to the ordinary calling of every follower of Christ.
Scripture connects holiness with real decisions: purity, self-control, honor, obedience, and the way we treat our bodies and other people.
Obedience Reveals Allegiance
Obedience does not create our relationship with God.
But relationship changes allegiance.
If Jesus is Lord, His words carry authority.
If God is good, His commands are not against our good.
If God is holy, His instructions are not suggestions.
Holy fear closes the gap between “I know what God says” and “I will do what God says.”
Pursue Holiness
— Hebrews 12:14
The word pursue is active.
Holiness is not merely something we admire.
We chase after a life increasingly worthy of the Lord.
This is not frantic striving to earn God's love.
It is the response of someone who has seen something of God's beauty and wants life to reflect Him.
Holiness Begins in the Heart
Behavioral holiness is not merely external.
God also cares about motives, thoughts, desires, loyalties, and intentions.
A person can appear morally upright while still nurturing pride, bitterness, envy, lust, greed, or approval-seeking.
Holy fear brings the hidden life under the lordship of Christ.
God is not only forming holy behavior. He is forming holy hearts.
Holiness Brings Us Nearer to God
Holiness is not the ultimate destination.
God Himself is.
We do not pursue purity so that we can admire our purity.
We pursue holiness because we desire unhindered fellowship with the One who is holy.
— Psalm 25:14
Holy fear does not create distance.
It prepares the heart for deeper intimacy.
Holiness Is Not Dull
Sin often presents itself as freedom.
Holiness can appear restrictive.
But over time we discover the opposite.
Sin enslaves.
Holiness frees us to become who God created us to be.
Loving. Truthful. Pure. Faithful. Courageous. Humble. Generous. Whole.
Biblical holiness is life increasingly aligned with the character of God.
Examine Your Heart
- Where am I most tempted to seek human approval instead of honoring God?
- Have I ever confused God's grace with permission to remain unchanged?
- Do I understand the difference between my standing in Christ and my daily conduct?
- Is there an area God has already shown me that needs to be cleansed from my life?
- What hidden thought, motive, or desire most needs to come under Christ's authority?
- When I think about holiness, do I primarily think about restriction or about becoming more like God?
- Where have I delayed obedience because I was more concerned about people than God?
- What would active pursuit of holiness look like in one ordinary part of my life this week?
Talk About It Together
- Why can the fear of people become such a strong obstacle to holiness?
- What is the difference between positional holiness and behavioral holiness?
- Why is it important to distinguish justification from sanctification?
- What can happen when grace is taught without a corresponding call to obedience?
- How do we actively pursue holiness without falling into legalism?
- What does 2 Corinthians 7:1 suggest about our responsibility in spiritual growth?
- Why does biblical holiness need to reach motives and desires, not merely outward behavior?
- How can holy fear deepen intimacy with God rather than push us away from Him?
2 Corinthians 7:1
Read 2 Corinthians 7:1 slowly and notice the movement from God's promises to our response.
The verse begins in the context of promises God has already given His people.
We are called to remove what defiles both outward conduct and inward life.
The goal is increasing maturity in a life set apart for God.
Reverence gives God's commands weight and moves us toward faithful obedience.
Grace → Cleansing → Holiness → Reverence
Father, thank You that my acceptance before You rests in Jesus Christ and not in my performance. Teach me to live like someone who belongs to You. Show me where the approval of people has become too important, where I have become casual about sin, or where I have confused grace with passivity. Give me courage to cleanse what needs to be removed, humility to receive correction, and strength through Your Spirit to pursue holiness with joy. Form in me a life that reflects Your character and draws me closer to You. In Jesus' name, amen.
Five Days in Scripture
What has God already done for you in Christ?
How does belonging to a holy God shape the way we live?
What does Paul connect with cleansing and holiness?
What practical areas of life does sanctification touch?
What does it mean to pursue holiness actively?
For each reading, ask:
What has God already done by grace?
What kind of life is He calling me to pursue?
What response of obedience is needed?
Pursue What Reflects God
Holiness is not how we earn God's love. It is how a life begins to look when God's love and holiness reshape us.
Receive grace.
Fear God above people.
Cleanse what defiles.
Obey what He says.
Pursue holiness.
Draw near to Him.
We do not become holy to belong to God. We pursue holiness because we already belong to Him.