Discussion Questions

Terry Clifton emphasized Paul’s claim that “faith comes through hearing, not through seeing,” noting that many Jews saw Jesus’ miracles yet did not believe while Gentiles believed without seeing; what does this suggest about what God considers “enough” evidence, and how does it challenge the way you evaluate your own reasons for believing? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If people saw Jesus’ miracles and still didn’t believe, while others believed without seeing, what does that say about what God counts as “enough” proof? How does that challenge how you judge your own reasons for believing?

The lesson quoted Chrysostom saying the Jews were “forever seeking a sign” and “wanting to see the resurrection with their own eyes,” while Paul insists God “promised no such thing” but promised hearing; where do you see “sign-seeking” instincts in modern Christianity (including your own), and what forms of “majestic hearing through the Word of God” would correct it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see “always wanting a sign” in Christianity today, including in yourself? What would it look like to trust God more through hearing his Word instead of chasing signs?

Terry said the apostles were “not proclaiming their own message” but what they “learned from God,” calling this “a higher thing than even miracles”; how does that reorder the value you place on preaching/Scripture versus dramatic experiences, and what would it practically change about how you pursue spiritual growth? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the apostles preached God’s message, not their own, how should that change how you value preaching/Scripture compared to big spiritual experiences? What would you do differently to grow spiritually?

The transcript stressed that the early Christians read the opponent in Romans 10:18 as an assertion (“they have not heard”), not a question, and Paul treats it as “blatantly false”; how does that early-Christian reading affect the tone of Paul’s argument, and what does it imply about the seriousness of claiming ignorance before God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Romans 10:18 is read as a statement (“they have not heard”) and Paul calls it plainly wrong, how does that change the feel of his argument? What does it say about how serious it is to claim “I didn’t know” before God?

Paul’s response—“their sound went throughout all the earth”—was supported with the point that evangelists lived “for such a long time right among” the Jews and were “from your very land”; what does this teach about God’s fairness and persistence in giving opportunity, and how does it confront modern assumptions that unbelief is mainly caused by lack of access? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the message was spread widely and the messengers lived among the Jews and came from their own land, what does that show about God being fair and giving chances? How does it challenge the idea that unbelief is mainly because people lacked access?

Terry highlighted that “for several years, the gospel went exclusively to the Jews…,” and even Paul “would normally first preach…in the local synagogues,” including Acts 13:46 (“spoken to you first… you judge yourselves unworthy…”); what do these details reveal about God’s priorities in salvation history, and how should they shape Christian attitudes toward Israel and toward “first offerings” of the gospel in our own contexts? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the gospel was offered to the Jews first and Paul usually went to synagogues first, what does that show about God’s plan in history? How should that shape how Christians think about Israel and about offering the gospel “first” to certain people today?

The lesson presented the opponent’s escalating excuses: “What if they heard but did not understand… What if they did not realize that these were the heralds… Are they not to be forgiven for their ignorance?”; which of these excuses sounds most persuasive to you today, and how does Paul’s refusal to grant them expose uncomfortable truths about human responsibility? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which excuse sounds most believable to you: they heard but didn’t understand, they didn’t know the messengers were from God, or they should be forgiven for ignorance? How does Paul’s refusal to accept these excuses challenge how we think about human responsibility?

Origen’s explanation of “not a nation” described Christians as “a nation composed of all nations,” and “foolish” both because Gentiles once worshiped idols and because the world calls the gospel foolish; how would early Christians’ identity as a transnational people reshape modern political, ethnic, and cultural loyalties inside the church? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Christians are “a nation made of all nations,” how should that change political, ethnic, and cultural loyalties inside the church today? What loyalties might need to shrink so our shared identity in Christ is stronger?

Ambrosiaster and others were quoted saying Jews became angry when Gentiles claimed “as their own God” the God of the Jews and received gifts promised to Jews, and that Jews “always become angry when they hear that the law and the prophets belong to us who believe in Christ”; where do you see similar jealousy/resentment dynamics today when God honors “outsiders,” and what would repentance look like at the level of heart motives rather than theology slogans? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see jealousy or resentment when God blesses “outsiders” or gives them honor in the church? What would real repentance look like in our heart motives, not just in the right religious words?

Romans 10:21 was taught in two layers: God’s tender, welcoming hands “all day long” during the law, and the greater Messianic fulfillment of Christ “hanging on the cross,” with “all day long” meaning “without ceasing… every day” until Christ returns; how does this picture of God’s relentless, open-armed mercy deepen or disturb your view of God’s character, and what concrete response does it demand from you toward disobedience in your own life and toward contentious people you’re tempted to give up on? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God keeps holding out welcoming hands “all day long,” even shown in Christ on the cross, how does that affect how you see God? What specific changes should it lead to in how you face your own disobedience and how you treat difficult people you want to give up on?