Discussion Questions

The chapter argues that Jesus’ words “if you wish to” reveal something about human free will and God’s way of saving; how does the claim “God does not compel anyone to come to Him—compulsion is repugnant to Him” reshape the way you think about God’s character and how He draws people? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God doesn’t force anyone to come to Him, how does that change the way you see God’s character and how He invites people to follow Him?

The speaker says God “gives to those who are both willing and exceptionally earnest,” so “their salvation becomes their own”; how does that sit with common evangelical ways of talking about assurance, and what do you think early Christians assumed about the relationship between God’s gift and human willingness? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does the idea that God saves those who are willing and very serious fit with common evangelical talk about being “sure” you’re saved, and what do you think early Christians believed about God’s gift and our willingness?

The rich young man is described as wanting “the reputation of seeking the good” while being “powerless when it came to the work of life”; where do you see that same pattern in modern Christian busyness—doing many religious things while avoiding “the one thing” Jesus particularly requires? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see people today doing lots of Christian activities to look good, but avoiding the one main thing Jesus is asking of them?

The comparison between Martha and Mary is used to interpret the rich young ruler: “busy with many activities” versus choosing “the good part”; what do you think the chapter is implying about the kinds of ministry/service that can actually distract from intimacy with Jesus? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What kinds of church work or serving others might actually pull someone away from being close to Jesus, like Martha being busy instead of Mary listening?

The chapter insists Jesus was not mainly commanding the young man to become literally destitute, but to “banish from his soul all his views about wealth,” including excitement and worries; what would it look like in concrete terms to “sell your possessions” internally while still owning property externally? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would it look like to let go of your love, excitement, or worry about money on the inside, even if you still own a house or other things on the outside?

The argument claims that literal destitution cannot be the point because beggars who “know neither God nor His righteousness” would automatically have eternal life; what does this reveal about how the chapter defines eternal life, and how does that definition challenge common moralistic or socioeconomic assumptions? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If being poor by itself doesn’t guarantee eternal life, what does the chapter seem to mean by “eternal life,” and how does that challenge the way people link goodness with being poor or rich?

The speaker says even radical renunciation can be driven by “empty fame and the praise of men,” producing arrogance and contempt; what are modern Christian equivalents of “renouncing external things” that can secretly intensify pride, and how can a group discern that in itself without sliding into self-justification? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What are some “big sacrifices” Christians make today that can still feed pride, and how can a group spot that problem in itself without making excuses?

The chapter lists Jesus’ teachings about using money—“make friends with the riches of unrighteousness,” storing treasure in heaven, and the Matthew 25 requirements to feed/clothe/welcome—then argues a strictly literal reading would make Jesus “irrational”; how persuasive is that reasoning, and where do you think early Christians would draw the line between literal obedience and interpreting Jesus by His other teachings? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Do you agree that reading Jesus’ money teachings in a strictly literal way can make Him seem unreasonable, and how do you think early Christians decided when to take Him literally versus reading one teaching through His other teachings?

Wealth is described as morally neutral—an “instrument”—and the blame falls on “the mind and judgment of man”; how does this claim confront both prosperity-minded Christianity and anti-wealth rhetoric, and what practices would actually train the “mind and judgment” to keep wealth serving rather than ruling? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If wealth is morally neutral and the real issue is how we think and choose, how does that challenge both “God wants you rich” teaching and “wealth is evil” talk, and what habits can train us to use money as a tool instead of letting it control us?

The chapter ends by calling materialistic desire “the sickness…of the soul” and says Jesus does not tell us to put away “means of livelihood” but to put away that sickness; what specific desires, anxieties, or fantasies around money function like “thorns” choking life in you, and what would genuine renunciation of those inner thorns require this week? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What money-related wants, worries, or daydreams are choking your spiritual life right now, and what would it look like to seriously let go of them this week?