Discussion Questions

The chapter says the rich young man “did not understand that Jesus was speaking figuratively” about being both “poor and rich” and about “using the world and not using it”; what do you think David Bercot believes Jesus meant by that figurative language, and where do you feel tension in trying to live it without self-deception? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What do you think Bercot thinks Jesus meant by being “poor and rich” and “using the world but not using it”? Where do you feel the hardest tension trying to live that without fooling yourself?

The disciples asked, “Who can be saved?” not because they had money, but because they realized they had not fully renounced “materialistic desires”; what does this imply about how Jesus defines “the rich,” and how would an early Christian community have examined someone’s heart to detect that kind of hidden “richness”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it mean that the disciples felt “rich” because of their desires, not their money? How could an early church tell if someone had this hidden “richness” in their heart?

The chapter bluntly claims, “Both the person who possesses wealth and the one who is teeming with materialistic desires are the rich. And the rich will be expelled from the heavens”; what parts of that statement offend modern evangelical instincts the most, and what would need to change in our view of salvation for this to sound like “good news” rather than legalism? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which parts of “the rich will be expelled from heaven” feel most offensive to modern evangelicals? What would we need to change about how we think of salvation for this to sound like good news instead of legalism?

Jesus’ answer—“What is impossible with man is possible with God”—is explained as a “joint project” where “God conspires with willing souls,” but the Spirit is “restrained” if eagerness is abandoned; how does this description of grace challenge common ideas about assurance, perseverance, and “once saved always saved”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does this chapter’s picture of grace—God working with willing people, but the Spirit being “restrained” when we quit—challenge ideas like assurance, perseverance, and “once saved always saved”?

The chapter interprets “the violent take it by force” as “the only commendable kind of violence: to force God and to take life from God by force… God delights to be conquered”; what do you think that “violence” looks like in real spiritual practice (prayer, fasting, giving, confession, resisting temptation), and what would counterfeit versions of it look like? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What might “the violent take it by force” look like in real life (prayer, fasting, giving, confession, resisting temptation)? What would fake or harmful versions of that “violence” look like?

Peter’s “We have left everything” is read as leaving not just property but “old mental possessions and soul diseases”; what “mental possessions” or “soul diseases” do you suspect the chapter is targeting, and how would a group like ours recognize whether we’ve actually left them? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Peter says, “We have left everything,” what “mental possessions” or “soul diseases” does the chapter seem to mean? How could our group tell whether we’ve truly left them behind?

The chapter insists Jesus doesn’t literally mean hate your family, but does mean breaking “fleshly relationship” when relatives hinder salvation; how should Christians weigh loyalty to family against loyalty to Christ without using “faithfulness” as an excuse for coldness, pride, or relational cowardice? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jesus doesn’t mean to literally hate family, but does mean choosing Him over family when they block salvation, how do we do that without becoming cold, proud, or avoidant?

In the imagined courtroom scene, the believer must “cast your vote for your own salvation” even against father, brother, child, or wife; what kinds of real-life situations today parallel that scenario, and what would it look like to choose Christ as “the conqueror in you” without becoming self-righteous? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What real situations today feel like having to choose for your salvation even against close family? How can you choose Christ without becoming self-righteous?

Bercot says Jesus doesn’t envy possessions, but asks, “Are you overcome and conquered by your wealth? If so, leave it… hate it… renounce it,” comparing it to cutting off an offending eye/hand/foot; what practical tests could reveal whether wealth (or any comfort) is conquering you, and what radical step of “cutting off” would you most resist? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What practical signs could show that wealth or comfort is controlling you? What “cut it off” step would you most not want to take?

The chapter distinguishes external persecution (a trial) from internal persecution (lusts, pleasures, earthly hopes) that “produces death,” concluding that “no one is saved simply by trusting and believing that he will be saved” but by “investigation” that confirms hope; what would that investigation look like week-to-week, and how does this reframe the way you evaluate your spiritual health compared with typical modern Christian approaches? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would a weekly “investigation” of your life and hopes look like to see if your faith is real? How does that change how you judge your spiritual health compared with common modern Christian thinking?