Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 6
When the speaker cites Romans 2 (“God will render to every man according to his works… eternal life to those who by perseverance in doing good…”), he says skipping chapter two is like a lawyer presenting only paragraph three of a will; where have you seen “chapter-skipping” happen in teaching, publishing, or personal Bible reading, and what would repentance look like for handling Scripture the way we’d handle contracts?
Another way to ask: Where have you seen people skip hard parts of Romans (like Romans 2) and only teach the parts they like? If we treated Scripture like a contract, what would “repentance” look like in how we read and teach it?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
He says “chapter-skipping” happens when teachers or materials rush past Romans 2 to reach Romans 3–4 proof texts, creating a distorted message. Repentance would mean reading and teaching the whole argument honestly—like presenting the entire will—rather than using selective excerpts to “get away with” a preferred conclusion.
- He observes many Romans resources “just skip chapter two… ‘Let’s get to three’… and chapter four… ‘works play no role.’”
- He gives the will analogy: quoting “the rest and residue… goes to Peter” while hiding paragraph two (“house and farm to John”) would be unacceptable in court.
- He says we do “stuff with the Bible that we wouldn’t do with a legal contract,” calling it “shenanigans.”
- He notes even an “Anabaptist publishing house” Sunday school booklet went “chapter one… skip two… go to three and four.”
- He warns it’s “silly” to think we can do this “on judgment day,” implying repentance includes fear of God and integrity.