Discussion Questions

The speaker says he hears “very little” discussion of virtue today but finds early Christians talk about it “a lot”; what does that difference suggest early Christians assumed Christianity was meant to produce in a person, and what do our sermon emphases today imply we think Christianity is mainly for? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If early Christians talked a lot about virtue, what did they think Christianity should change in a person? What do today’s sermons make it seem like we think Christianity is mainly for?

In connecting “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16) and “the mysteries of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8) to virtue, what is the speaker trying to reframe about how the kingdom is accessed or understood, and where might modern Christians resist that reframing? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When the speaker links “keys” and “mysteries” of the kingdom to virtue, how is he changing the way we think you enter or understand God’s kingdom? Why might Christians today push back on that idea?

The speaker quotes the idea that virtue “cannot be passed around” like knowledge because it is “the property of each individual”; how does that challenge the way Christians today sometimes rely on teachers, podcasts, and information, and what would it look like to measure discipleship by personal “property” rather than shared content? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If virtue can’t be shared like information because it belongs to each person, how does that challenge our dependence on teachers, podcasts, and content? What would it look like to judge discipleship by personal character instead of what you know or share?

He defines virtue simply as “doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong,” then says obedience is important but “virtue is the result” of obedience; how does that relationship between obedience and virtue compare to common evangelical instincts about grace, freedom, and “not being moralistic”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If obedience matters but virtue is what obedience produces, how does that fit with how evangelicals talk about grace, freedom, and avoiding “moralism”? Where do you feel tension between these ideas?

2 Peter says God “hath called us to glory and virtue”; what does it reveal about God’s intentions that “virtue” is part of the calling, and how would a church change if it treated virtue as a central aim rather than an optional byproduct? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God calls us to “glory and virtue,” what does that say about what God wants for us? How would church life change if virtue was a main goal and not just a nice extra?

The speaker repeatedly highlights that “virtue went out of” Jesus and healed people, and says, “I don’t think you have the power to heal if you’re not virtuous”; what does this imply about the connection between moral life and spiritual power, and how does that critique modern approaches that separate “gifts” from character? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the speaker thinks you can’t have healing power without virtue, what does that say about the link between moral character and spiritual power? How does this challenge views that separate spiritual gifts from a person’s character?

He presents a list of 30 virtues (faith, love, hope, humility, integrity, obedience, temperance, gratitude, etc.) and asks the group to imagine each virtue as “a key to a gate into the kingdom”; which virtue-as-key concept is most compelling or most troubling to you, and why would one specific virtue “open” something in the kingdom that you currently experience as closed? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If each virtue is like a key that opens a gate into the kingdom, which “key” stands out to you most (in a good way or a troubling way), and why? What might that one virtue unlock that feels closed in your life right now?

Using his health conversation (“You mean you got to do that the rest of your life?”), he argues that the attitude of reluctance is why people “won’t finish well”; what daily Christian practices or commands trigger that same internal protest in you, and what would have to change in your love for God for your reaction to become “I want to do it the rest of my life”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What daily Christian commands or habits make you think, “Do I have to do this forever?” What would need to change in your love for God so you could honestly say, “I want to do this for the rest of my life”?

Origen is quoted: “Every sin, every false doctrine is a gate of the Hades. It keeps men locked up”; how does that claim confront modern tolerance of “small sins” or “secondary doctrines,” and what “locked up” patterns (restricted freedom, recurring commotions of the soul) might reveal you are living behind a gate you’ve normalized? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If every sin and false teaching is like a gate that locks people in, how does that challenge being okay with “small sins” or “minor” beliefs? What stuck patterns in your life might show you’re living behind a gate you’ve gotten used to?

The speaker says we must “approach God with virtue,” that virtue and wisdom act as “conductors and priests for approaching God,” and he proposes a 2024 plan: focus on one virtue each month; what would a serious, concrete plan to pursue one named virtue for 30 days actually require in habits, speech, relationships, and media intake—and what would it expose about whether you believe virtue is truly necessary to approach God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If you focused on one virtue for 30 days, what would you have to change in your habits, words, relationships, and media? What would that reveal about whether you truly think virtue is needed to come close to God?