Discussion Questions

Paul highlights Abraham’s faith in Genesis 15:6 as believing an apparently impossible promise (nearly 100 years old, Sarah barren, descendants like stars); what does this reveal about what God considers “righteousness,” and how does that confront the way Christians often evaluate spirituality (track record, competence, religious résumé)? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Abraham trusted God’s promise even when it seemed impossible. What does that show about what God calls “righteous,” and how does it challenge how Christians judge spirituality by performance, skills, or a religious résumé?

The lesson insists that eternal life is never “wages” God owes, because even our “tongue, hands, legs, and lives are all gifts from God” (Origen); how does that argument reshape the way you think about obedience, sacrifice, and “deserving” God’s favor—especially after baptism? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If eternal life is never something God “owes” us because everything we have is a gift, how should that change the way you think about obedience, sacrifice, and “earning” God’s favor after baptism?

David Bercot’s king-and-apples illustration argues that a conditioned gift is still a gift; where do you see modern Christianity reacting against “conditions” as if they automatically cancel grace, and what would it look like to hold conditions and gift together without turning either into legalism or license? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see Christians today treating any “conditions” as if they cancel grace? How can we hold both together—still a gift, yet with real conditions—without becoming legalistic or careless?

The transcript imagines Jewish believers objecting that Gentiles should first become like Cornelius (praying, fasting, giving to the poor) before baptism, but Paul points to people like the Philippian jailer and pagan Athenians coming “straight from idol worship”; what does this suggest about God’s willingness to justify “the ungodly,” and what kinds of people do churches today subtly require to “clean up first” before fully receiving them? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God can justify people coming straight from ungodly lives, what does that say about His mercy? Who do churches today quietly expect to “clean up first” before they are fully welcomed?

Paul uses Psalm 32 (“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not take into account”) as prophecy of a new “period of grace” open to everyone; how does that picture of God’s purpose in Christ challenge both despair (“I’m too far gone”) and pride (“I came in with better works than them”) inside the church? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Psalm 32’s promise of forgiven sin for everyone fight both “I’m too far gone” and “I’m better than them” attitudes inside the church?

The lesson says the Jews were not merely trying to be saved by works, but by “ritualistic works of the law” after those regulations had ceased—calling it “stubborn rejection of Christ”; what present-day religious behaviors (Christian or otherwise) function similarly as a way to avoid humble trust in Christ while still feeling secure? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What religious habits today can become a way to avoid humble trust in Christ while still feeling safe and “right with God”?

“Faith is greater than works… even of godly works,” because faith is the seed and works are the fruit (Hebrews 11; Origen’s root-and-branches imagery); how does that reverse common assumptions about what produces what, and how can you tell in a real life whether your “works” are fruit from faith or an attempt to manufacture standing with God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If faith is the root and works are the fruit, how does that flip the usual way people think about good behavior? How can you tell if your good works come from real faith or from trying to prove yourself to God?

Bercot argues Romans 4 is about initial salvation, but Romans 2 teaches final judgment “based on our works,” and he says early Christians had “no trouble balancing” this; what specific tensions do you feel when you try to hold those chapters together, and where do you see modern evangelical teaching resolving the tension in a way the early Christians would not have accepted? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Romans 4 stresses being saved by faith, but Romans 2 says we’ll be judged by works. What feels hard to hold together about those two, and how do you see modern evangelical teaching handling the tension in a way early Christians might not agree with?

The lesson rejects “once saved, always saved” and also rejects the claim that apostasy proves a person was never saved, using John 15 (branches cut off) and Romans 11 (grafted in, then broken off); how does that framework affect assurance, fear, perseverance, and the way you respond to serious sin in yourself or others? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If someone can truly be “in” and later be “cut off,” how does that shape your assurance, your fears, your need to keep going, and how you respond to serious sin in yourself or others?

On “imputed righteousness,” Bercot says Paul is not teaching a transfer of Christ’s righteousness in heavenly bookkeeping, but that God forgives past sins at baptism and gives a “clean slate,” expecting faithful fruit afterward (not perfection); how does Wesley’s critique of people who feel “complete in Him” while remaining proud/covetous/lustful expose dangers in popular preaching, and what concrete practices help a believer pursue “faithfulness” without sliding into either self-righteousness or denial? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If baptism means God forgives your past and gives you a clean slate, but expects faithful living afterward, what danger is Wesley pointing out in people who feel “complete in Him” while still living in obvious sin? What practical habits help you aim for faithfulness without becoming proud or pretending sin doesn’t matter?