Week 1: Introduction — The Call to Holiness

1.Bridges opens by observing that Christians often tolerate in themselves sins they would be appalled to see in others. Does that ring true in your own experience? What sins do you tend to minimize or excuse in yourself?

2.The book's central command — 'Be holy, because I am holy' — appears repeatedly in both Testaments. What strikes you about the fact that God grounds the command in his own character rather than in our benefit or moral obligation?

3.Bridges distinguishes between holiness as a positional reality (what God declares us to be in Christ) and holiness as a practical pursuit (how we actually live). How would you explain that distinction in your own words, and why does it matter?

4.Hebrews 12:14 says that without holiness 'no one will see the Lord.' Bridges takes this seriously rather than softening it. How does that verse land on you — as motivation, as warning, as both, or as something you're not sure what to do with?

5.Bridges suggests that we have accepted a 'culture of low expectations' when it comes to personal holiness in the church. Where do you see evidence of that in church culture today? Where do you see it in yourself?

6.The title uses the word 'pursuit,' implying movement, effort, and direction. As you begin this study, how would you honestly describe your current posture toward holiness — are you pursuing it, drifting, or somewhere in between?

7.How does the gospel — the good news that Christ has already secured our righteousness — make the pursuit of holiness more motivating rather than less? How might a misunderstanding of grace actually undermine holiness?