Discussion Questions

In the Grimm’s Hardware story, Sammy Slick obeys every rule he thinks he’d be fired for breaking but “stretches or breaks most of the rules he thinks he can get away with”; what does that reveal about what he actually values in the relationship with his employer, and where do you recognize the same calculation showing up in your own “obedience”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Sammy follows rules only when he fears getting fired, and breaks others when he thinks he can. What does that show he really cares about in his relationship with his boss, and where do you do the same kind of “I can get away with it” thinking with your own obedience?

The chapter says the owner “may eventually tire of the attitude that Sammy's actions reveal,” even if no single infraction triggers firing; how does this illustration shape the way you think about God’s patience, God’s expectations, and the possibility of testing relational boundaries with Him? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Even if one mistake doesn’t get Sammy fired, the boss may get tired of his attitude over time. How does that change how you think about God’s patience, what God expects, and whether it’s safe to push the limits with Him?

David Bercot describes “Type 1 Christians” as those who keep the “big commandments” (adultery, murder, blasphemy, robbery) but feel comfortable ignoring “smaller commandments”; what are some “smaller commandments” Jesus gives that modern Christians commonly treat as optional, and what reasons do we give ourselves for that? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What are some of Jesus’ “smaller” commands that many Christians today treat like optional, and what excuses do we use to justify ignoring them?

The chapter claims Type 1 Christians’ “primary motivation is fear of eternal punishment, not love of God and His commandments”; how can a person tell the difference in real life between obedience driven by fear and obedience driven by love, especially when the outward behavior might look similar? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can you tell if someone is obeying God mainly out of fear of punishment or out of love for God, especially when both people may look the same on the outside?

Jesus’ description of the good soil includes “a noble and good heart” that “keep[s] it and bear fruits with patience” (Luke 8:15); what would “keeping the word” with a good heart look like when it costs you convenience, time, money, or reputation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Luke 8:15 says good soil “keeps the word” and bears fruit with patience. What would it look like for you to hold on to God’s word when it costs you time, comfort, money, or your reputation?

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus calls “justice, mercy, and faith” the “weightier matters,” and the chapter emphasizes these as heart-qualities rather than simple rule-keeping; what would it mean to prioritize justice, mercy, and faith in a way that goes beyond avoiding “big sins”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus said justice, mercy, and faith are the “weightier matters.” What would it look like to focus on those in real life, not just on avoiding the obvious big sins?

The Luke 6 passage compares trees and fruit and ends with “Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?”; how does this challenge the common evangelical separation between professing Jesus as “Lord” and treating obedience as secondary—or even suspiciously “works-based”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus says, “Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say?” How does that challenge the idea that you can call Jesus “Lord” while treating obedience as less important or as “works-based”?

The chapter argues that “bearing good fruit has to come out of a cleansed heart closely in tune with God” and that avoiding big sins “will not produce good fruit”; what practices or patterns actually tune a heart to God, and what patterns quietly deaden the heart while still keeping a “respectable” moral profile? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What habits help your heart stay close and in step with God, and what habits slowly numb your heart even while you still look like a “good person”?

Jesus’ greatest commandments require loving God with “all” the heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30-31); in what specific ways does a self-preservation mindset (like Drusilla Dread’s strategy, as described) keep a person from loving God “with all,” even if they’re highly moral? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does a self-protection mindset keep someone from loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, even if they live a very moral life?

The chapter concludes, “Type 1 obedience is where we might begin… but it’s not a place we want to dwell” and “We will never be able to live the kingdom life with Type 1 obedience”; what would need to change in your motives, habits, and definition of “faithfulness” for you to move from calculating what you can “get away with” to living as someone who actually cherishes the King? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Type 1 obedience is doing the minimum and seeing what you can “get away with,” what would need to change in your motives, habits, and idea of faithfulness so you obey because you truly love and honor the King?