03.18.07
Small Group Plan - March 18, 2007
“Guilt And Grace”
Small Group Plan
March 18, 2007
Dear Group Leader…
John R.W. Stott uses Romans 1 to imagine the following dialogue:
Paul: I am not ashamed of the gospel (Vs. 16).
Q: Why not, Paul?
Paul: Because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Vs. 16)
Q: How so, Paul?
Paul: Because in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed (Vs. 17).
Q: But why is this necessary, Paul?
Paul: Because the wrath of God is being revealed against all … who suppress the truth (Vs. 18).
Q: But how have people suppressed the truth, Paul?
Paul: Because what may be known about God is plain to them … For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities … have been clearly seen (Vs. 19-20).
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· What do you think of when you picture “the wrath of God” ? Explain.
· How is God’s anger different from our own anger?
· Vs. 18 says, “the wrath of God is being revealed” - why?
· Vs. 20 says, the people are “without excuse” - why?
· What does creation tell us about God? How are His character and “invisible qualities” made “plain” by creation?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
The bad guys …
Romans 1:18-32
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
· How do people suppress the truth about God today?
· What happens to a person’s heart when they reject God?
· How does God respond to those who ignore and deny Him?
· What are some examples of how we worship created things rather than God?
· Three times Paul says, “God gave them over.” To What?
The good guys …
Romans 2:1-16
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism. 12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
· Why are we sometimes critical of everybody except ourselves?
· How do you feel when you judge someone, and then discover that you are guilty of the same thing?
· What is the difference between human judgment and God’s judgment?
· Why is God kind, tolerant, and patient?
· How does His patience and tolerance bring people to repentance?
· How much exposure have you had to God’s law, and how have you responded to it?
The religious guys …
Romans 2:17-29
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth — 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.
· What are some false assumptions that people make about gaining God’s favor?
· How can a person be very religious and still lack a real relationship with God?
· What is Paul trying to reveal with his questions in Vs. 21-23?
· What does it mean to have a circumcised heart?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Which category do you identify with the most: The Bad Guys, The Good Guys, or The Religious Guys? Explain.
· Is guilt a feeling or a condition? Explain.
· How do guilt and grace work together?
· Since Paul wrote Romans, has society changed for the better, the worse, or has it remained the same? Explain.
· How can our faith become more than a ritual?
· How can we glorify God and give thanks to Him this week?
Close by affirming to God your commitment to live by His character and His will.