Week 6 Discussion Questions and Bible Study
The Law and the Gospel
Study Passage Matthew 5:17-20
1. Wesley speaks of ceremonial law, ritual law and moral law. Discuss the differences and try and find examples of each. If you have time (but don’t spend too much time on this) page through Leviticus and place the laws you come across in one of the three categories.
2. Discuss the statement: “Every command in Scripture comes with a promise of grace and power to obey it.” Include in your discussion where this power comes from and then whether it is ever necessary to sin.
3. What does it mean when we say “Jesus fulfils the law”? How did the Pharisees keep the law? How is it possible to have a righteousness which exceeds that of the Pharisees?
In the rest of chapter five Jesus applies what He has just taught to various Old Testament laws. Depending on your time constraints, study some of the following texts. Identify the law which Jesus is talking about and discuss His interpretation of it.
4. Read Matthew 5:21-26: How are anger and murder related? In the talk on meekness we looked at righteous anger; what is the difference between righteous and unrighteous anger? Why is it important to settle matters quickly?
5. Read Matthew 5:27-30: Are private thoughts of lust harmless? How can we control our minds?
6. Read Matthew 5:31-32: Discuss this subject with great sensitivity. Using the above verses try and discover what Jesus is teaching about marriage.
7. Read Matthew 5:33-37: How important to you is honesty in speech?
8. Read Matthew 5:38-42: Discuss what these verses have to say about revenge. What is achieved by behaving the way Jesus commands? Discuss the commonly held belief that this command turns Christians into doormats.
9. Read Matthew 5:43-48: What is your immediate reaction to reading verse 48? Discuss the statement: “The context of these last six verses is love.” Bearing in mind that Jesus is talking about love, what is He asking us/commanding us to do when He says: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
10. Mission pillars
In the talk we heard that everything the Pharisees did was spoilt by their wrong intention, they did things for their own glory rather than for God’s glory. Discuss this temptation and how it might manifest in our mission endeavours in each of the four pillars:
Spirituality
Evangelism & Church growth
Justice & Service
Development & Economic Empowerment
© 2006 JohnWesleyProject.com
