Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 9 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Will the Theologians Please Sit Down  /  Chapter 25: To which religion do you belong  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 9
The chapter defines abiding as obedience: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” What commandments of Jesus are most often “filtered” or softened by “reinterpretations,” and what would it look like to obey those commands plainly without relying on “mental gymnastics”?
Another way to ask: The chapter says abiding means obeying Jesus’s commands. Which of Jesus’s commands do people most often explain away, and what would it look like to obey them simply and directly?

Direct Answer The transcript most clearly highlights Jesus’ commandments about producing fruit through concrete mercy (Matthew 25) and keeping his commands as the definition of abiding (John 15:10); it suggests these are often softened by theological “reinterpretations,” and plain obedience would mean actually doing those works of love as a normal Christian life.

Support from Transcript:

  • He links abiding directly to obedience: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.”
  • He states: “To abide in Jesus, we must truly love him. And if we truly love him, we will keep his commandments.”
  • The most explicit “command-shaped” examples he gives are Matthew 25 behaviors: feeding the hungry, giving drink, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and prisoners.
  • He complains theologians filter Jesus’ teachings through “denials, mental gymnastics, and reinterpretations.”
  • He says theologians “nullify most of Christ’s commandments,” implying commands are being explained away rather than practiced.
  • He calls believers to “let Jesus speak through the pages of the Gospels without filtering,” meaning straightforward reading leading to straightforward obedience.
Discussion Follow-ups Which of Matthew 25’s actions are easiest for you to ignore because they’re inconvenient? What would it look like for your group to plan obedience (visiting, giving, welcoming) rather than only discussing interpretations?

Jumpstarter 9 of 10
Back Questions Next