Last updated on July 14th, 2019 at 05:48 pm
Here are study questions from Shaun:
If you could reset and live the perfect Christian lifestyle, what would that look like? Would you be a monk or a nun? Would you be a pastor or missionary? Would you be married or single? Would you watch TV? Would you exercise more? Would you read the Bible every day?
Verse 1: What are behaviors or beliefs that you have about what a Christian should or shouldn’t do that are a matter of conscience but not necessarily based on a Biblical standpoint? (Blue laws, what you wear on a Sunday, no rock bands in church). Why do we have these things? How do we make a distinction between setting up healthy guardrails and becoming uninviting to non-believers?
Verse 2-5: What do you think about verse 2? Are we just slaves to our desires?
How would people’s sex lives change if we treated we’d like it was for the benefit of your partner, versus being set up for our own pleasure?
Verse 6-7: Why would Paul want us to be single? Didn’t God create the monogamous relationship between a man and a woman? What does Paul want for us?
Verse 8-9: What is the benefit of singlehood? Do you think singleness can be a blessing? And why would he tell widows to be single if in those days it would affect their economic well being?
Verse 10-13: What do you do if your spouse leaves you because you’re a Christian? Should you remarry? What is God’s view of marriage?
Read Matthew 19:7-10. What was the disciples’ attitude toward marriage/divorce? Jesus said that anyone who divorces his wife commits adultery, and the disciples replied that they would rather not be married than be in a marriage where they couldn’t divorce their wife. Is that surprising?
“They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning, it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.””
Matthew 19:7-10 ESV
Verse 14: What does this passage mean? Certainly, your children aren’t saved just because you’re saved.
Verse 15-16: Why isn’t Paul calling the saved person to reconcile the marriage with the unbelieving spouse?
Verse 17-20: Circumcision is a huge deal to the Jews, and Paul is basically throwing out a few thousand years of Jewish tradition. Why would he say something so offensive to the church? Isn’t tradition important to create ties to the way things were? What is the role of tradition in the church today? What traditions are important to keep and what should be left behind?
Verse 21-24: Do you use your vocation as a platform to serve God? Do you feel you have to leave your job in order to serve God better? What does this scripture say? What would happen if we all took our vocations as our calling?
Verse 25-31: Have you ever set aside your calling to serve because of the “season of life” you’re in? What’s the principle Paul is trying to communicate? Read Luke 14:25-27
“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:25-27 ESV
Verse 32-35: Is an unmarried man really more focused on God? What has been your experience with respect to marriage and being a fully devoted disciple? What is the advice you would give someone based on this passage?
Verse 36-38: How do we discipline ourselves to serve God above all else? What things should we be removing from our lives and adding to it in order to keep our primary focus on God?