Discussion Questions

Paul’s “husband and wife” analogy is used to argue that the Mosaic Law no longer has dominion—how does this picture reshape what “belonging to Christ” means, and what does it imply about God’s purpose in ending the Law’s authority? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the Law no longer “rules” like a husband in Paul’s picture, what does it mean to “belong to Christ” instead? What does that suggest was God’s reason for ending the Law’s authority?

The lesson highlights Origen’s view that “the law has dominion over a man as long as it lives,” and then argues the Law “died” with the coming of Jesus and the gospel age—what do you think it says about God’s wisdom that He would establish a covenant that would later become obsolete, and what would have to be true about God’s character for that to be good rather than arbitrary? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it say about God’s wisdom if He made a covenant that He knew would later be replaced? What would God have to be like for that choice to be good and not random?

Origen points to the post–AD 70 reality (no priesthood, sacrifices, Levites, temple feasts, stoning, etc.) as “proof of the death of the law”—how should this historical argument affect the way Christians talk about “keeping biblical law” today, especially when some commands are literally impossible to obey? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If many Old Testament commands became impossible after AD 70 (no temple, sacrifices, etc.), how should Christians talk today about “keeping biblical law”? What does that change about how we apply those commands?

Paul bases his marriage illustration on Jesus’ stricter teaching rather than Moses’ divorce permissions; Theodoret says Moses allowed it “because of hardness of heart”—what does this reveal about how early Christians believed Jesus relates to Moses, and how might that challenge modern instincts to treat “Bible verses” as if they all carry the same covenantal authority? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it show about how early Christians saw Jesus compared to Moses when Jesus gives a stricter teaching than Moses did? How might that challenge the idea that all Bible verses carry the same kind of authority for Christians?

The lesson says Paul “blends two different analogies”: (a) the Law dies, and (b) believers die to the Law in conversion and baptism—what difference does each analogy make in how you understand baptism, conversion, and the Christian’s relationship to commandments? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What changes in your thinking if you say “the Law died” versus saying “we died to the Law” in baptism and conversion? How does each picture shape your view of commandments as a Christian?

Verse 4 says the purpose of being “dead to the law” is “so that we should bring forth fruit to God”—how does that purpose confront any view of grace that mainly aims at assurance, comfort, or “not being condemned,” rather than transformation and fruit? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God’s goal in making us “dead to the law” is that we bear fruit for Him, how does that challenge a view of grace that is mostly about comfort and “not being condemned”? What would grace look like if it is meant to change you?

The speaker stresses Paul’s wording: passions of sin were not “from” the law but “through” the law, because the law exposes and sin “uses for evil the very thing intended for good”—where have you seen religious knowledge or moral rules function as a “bitter accuser” that amplifies sin rather than heals it, and what does that expose in the human heart? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where have you seen religious knowledge or moral rules make sin worse instead of better, like an accuser that stirs things up? What does that reveal about what is going on inside the human heart?

Ambrosiaster is cited to argue that bodily “members” aren’t the root problem; the heart is, and the tongue/hand/ears become instruments—what practices of self-examination and repentance would actually address the “inclination of the soul” rather than merely managing outward behaviors? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the real problem is the heart and not just the body, what kind of self-checking and repentance would actually deal with your inner desires? How can you go beyond just controlling your outward actions?

Most early Christians in the lesson interpret “newness of the Spirit” as the Spirit/meaning of the Law (not merely external ceremonies), emphasizing justice, mercy, faith, and love—how would your daily discipleship change if you treated the “spiritual meaning” as the true target of obedience, and what modern church habits tend to keep people focused on “jot and tittle” externals instead? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How would your daily walk change if you focused on the “Spirit” or deeper meaning of God’s commands—like love, mercy, and faith—more than outward rule-keeping? What church habits today keep people stuck on small externals instead?

Chrysostom’s take is that Christ “requires more of us now because we have been given the wings of the Spirit” (anger, lustful look, even true swearing), and he links this to “unless your righteousness exceeds…”—how does this collide with common evangelical assumptions about the ease of the Christian life under grace, and what would it look like to depend on the Spirit’s help without lowering Christ’s demands? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jesus calls for even more because we have the Spirit’s help, how does that challenge the idea that grace makes the Christian life easy? What would it look like to depend on the Spirit without lowering Jesus’ standards?