Discussion Jumpstarter

Study leader reference - not a definitive answer

Question 10

The Shepherd of Hermas is quoted saying the commandments feel “exceedingly hard,” but insists that if you decide they “can be kept,” you “will easily keep them,” and if you decide they can’t, “you will not keep them…you will not be saved, nor your children, nor your house”; what modern Christian instincts recoil at that warning, and what concrete practices (forgiving enemies, nonresistance, refusing retaliation, rejecting luxury, resisting “first seat” ambition) would actually change in your life this month if you stopped treating Jesus’ commands as impossible?

Another way to ask: Why do many Christians push back against the warning that deciding God’s commands can’t be kept leads to not being saved? What would you actually do differently this month if you stopped treating Jesus’ commands as impossible?

Discussion Jumpstarter

Direct Answer
The warning confronts the modern instinct (shown in the clips) to label Jesus’ commands “impossible” and therefore non-binding, replacing obedience with a message of “do nothing.” The transcript pushes toward concrete change: real forgiveness, nonretaliation, prayer for persecutors, and a simpler, humbler life that refuses the “first seat.”

Support from Transcript:

Hermas quote: if you decide the commandments “can be kept… you will easily keep them,” but if you decide they cannot, “then you will not keep them… you will not be saved, nor your children, nor your house.”
The speaker says multiple teachers insist the Sermon is “absolutely impossible… and that’s the whole point,” and he rejects that as discouraging and misleading.
He summarizes Hermas: put “the Lord in your heart” and the commandments become “easier and sweeter.”
He highlights specific obedience areas: “love your enemies,” “pray for those who persecute you,” and the hard demand of forgiveness (Matthew 6; unforgiving servant).
He admits personal conviction: he feels he “live[s] in luxury,” and Hermas contrasts true teachers as “meek… peaceable… humble,” not seeking “the first seat.”
He previews the next message as “non-resistance,” saying early Christians convicted him about “attitudes or feelings.”

Discussion Follow-ups What is one enemy/irritant you need to forgive “from the heart” this month? What would nonresistance look like in a real conflict at home, work, or online—and what comfort would you have to surrender to obey Jesus?

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