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Intimacy with God  /  Chapter 25: The Apostle John and the Robber  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
John restores the young man through “continual fasting” and “hours of instruction” and “did not depart until he restored” him; what does that reveal about God’s patience and God’s means of restoration, and what would it cost churches today to practice repentance and discipleship this intensely?
Another way to ask: John helps restore the young man through fasting, long teaching, and staying with him until he is restored. What does this show about God’s patience and how God restores people, and what would it cost churches today to do this kind of deep repentance and discipleship?

Direct Answer The transcript shows restoration as patient, costly, and communal: God restores through sustained prayer, fasting, instruction, and persistent presence until the sinner is truly brought back. For churches today, practicing this would cost time, emotional energy, spiritual seriousness, and a willingness to walk closely with broken people instead of quickly writing them off.

Support from Transcript:

  • John’s restoration is not instant: “Then John prayed profusely…in continual fasting.”
  • It involves teaching and mental reform: “Through hours of instruction, he subdued the young man's mind.”
  • John stays until the work is complete: “John did not depart until he restored the young man to the Church.”
  • Restoration is ecclesial, not merely personal: “Then he led him back to the Church…presented the young man as a great example of true repentance.”
  • The end goal is new birth and hope: “a token of new birth…a trophy of the resurrection in which we hope.”
Discussion Follow-ups What structures (mentoring, accountability, serious catechesis) would be needed for this kind of long restoration? Who in a church should carry this load, and how can it be shared wisely?

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