Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
The speaker insists “finding out what is acceptable to the Lord” (dokimazo) means testing choices against Jesus’ teachings, the biblical pictures (light, vine, clay), and “clear, simple commands,” then junking what fails; what decisions do you typically *not* submit to that kind of testing, and what fears get exposed when you imagine doing it?
Another way to ask: What kinds of choices do you usually not test against Jesus’ teaching and clear Bible commands? What fears come up when you imagine actually testing them and letting go of what doesn’t fit?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript calls for submitting everyday choices—not just “religious” ones—to testing against Jesus’ commands and Scripture’s pictures, then rejecting what doesn’t fit. If you avoid that testing, it likely exposes fear of losing a desired habit, losing control, or having your life “made manifest” in the light.
- He explains “finding out” is better translated “proving,” from dokimazo: “to test, and then to approve… discern… examine.”
- He describes the method: compare choices to “what Jesus says,” and to pictures like “light… clay… fruit of God’s Spirit… getting our way of life from Jesus.”
- If it fails: “This is not acceptable to the Lord… and we junk it.” If it passes: “Yes, this passed the test.”
- He ties this to Romans 12:2: don’t be “conformed… but be transformed… so that you can prove” God’s will.
- He notes many choices aren’t “wrong,” but “it doesn’t fit… it doesn’t help me be a light.”