Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
The teacher claims early Christians assumed peace with God can be lost by “going back to a life of sin” (not mere daily stumblings); what categories would an early Christian likely place in “returning to sin,” and what categories do modern Christians tend to excuse under “everybody sins every day”?
Another way to ask: What kinds of choices would early Christians call “going back to a life of sin,” and what kinds of sin do many Christians today brush off as “everybody sins every day”?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests “returning to sin” is a chosen return to a former worldly life or ongoing “evil doing,” while daily stumblings are real but handled through repentance; modern Christians often excuse patterns that should be confronted as serious disobedience.
- He clarifies the difference: not “stumbling… that everybody sins every day,” but deciding “I’m tired of the Christian life… I’m going to go back to where I was.”
- Origen’s category is ongoing practice: “no one in whom evil doing exists can have peace with God.”
- Chrysostom frames it as making war: “Let us not sin anymore, nor go back to our former state… To do so would be to make war with God.”
- The speaker lists daily stumblings he expects believers to repent of: “impatient… harbored unforgiveness… critical attitudes… sharp with my wife.”
- He critiques “pick and choose” obedience: “I’m going to pick and choose which of your commandments I’m going to obey… No, it’s not okay with Christ.”