The Gospel Comes with a House Key
Judas in the Church (1|3)
The Borderland of Hospitality
• August 2014, Lord’s Day Afternoon, Butterfield House
Pages 119-127
TOGETHER read the book (END READING AT: Atheists do far less harm than hypocrites.) and discuss the content below.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out (try to keep it brief).
Genesis 4:7 (NIV) “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Romans 3:23 (NIV) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Matthew 26:41 (NIV) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Galatians 6:1 (NIV) Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Radically ordinary Christian hospitality does not happen in La La Land. It’s gritty and messy, and it forces us to deal with diversity and difference of opinion, with difficult people, with our own unrepented sin and hard hearts. It demands forgiveness before any of us is ready to cough it up.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
Sexual sin is ravaging the church universal. Sometimes when sexual sin plunders the church, we feel ill and outraged. Other times when sexual sin razes the church, we feel smugly entitles and secretly proud to be on the “right side of history.” Sexual sin divides and destroys people. Sexual sin divides and destroys families. Sexual sin divides and destroys churches.
What is your response to that statement?
Have you been connected to or know of a church near you that was broken with sexual sin? Was there a church split over it?
How would you respond if sexual sin allegations or accusations were discovered in your church?
The Bible teaches that what separates a believer from an unbeliever is repentance. Repentance is a gift from God, and only a believer can repent. The Bible also reveals that sin is not a matter of knowing better. If it were, we would not need grace through the atoning Savior.
What is your response to that statement?
What is the difference between an apology and repentance?
Knowing better should make you watchful over temptation. It should make you fear God. It should snap you out of any delusion you have about having control over sin. It should make you guard against any teaching that makes any sin seem tolerable, acceptable, and understandable.
What is your response to that statement?
Pause and Pray - Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the areas in your life where you may not have your spiritual guard up. Areas where you might be too relaxed or tolerant to sinful thoughts, or behavior. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment between vigilance and pharisaic legalism.
EXTRA READING:
“When it comes to faith, what a living, creative, active, powerful thing it is. It cannot do other than good at all times. It never waits to ask whether there is some good work to do, rather, before the question is raised, it has done the deed, and keeps on doing it.”
- Martin Luther (1483 - 1546)
Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and biblical scholar, wrote against the church’s use of indulgences and insisted that salvation is a free gift from God, not achieved through good works. Luther refused to recant his criticism of the church, saying, “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.” He was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, unwittingly becoming the leader of a movement that would later be named the Great Reformation.