Post by Admin on Mar 9, 2017 7:34:20 GMT
Tonight, we started by sharing a few experiences in which one or another received an unexpected and undeserved act of kindness, followed by reading the passage from Titus. In assessing Paul’s apparent mindset when writing this letter, the group settled on the feeling that Paul only touched briefly on past failings and mostly was full of hope for eternal life. We outlined how Paul described in verses 4-7 the sequence of events that bring us to eternal life with our Father:
• God loves us
• Sends His son
• Has mercy on us
• Cleans us
• Sends the Holy Spirit
• Grants grace
• Makes us heirs
In the middle of that sequence Paul reminds us that we can’t earn grace. It is crucial that we recognize the purity of God’s gift of grace to us, without any possibility that we could “earn” it. That led to discussion about why Paul urges us to do good on one hand, while on the other hand makes clear that we do not win any special dose of grace through our good deeds. At least one person imagined the wonderful world we would experience if everyone was reflecting God’s love in our actions because we were so close to Him. Are good deeds like little love notes from us to God?
The theme of this session is Justification, a complex concept and not something we typically discuss. We did cover the difference between amnesty (a pardon from sin) and Christ’s sacrifice (taking the punishment so that the sin is gone) which makes it possible for us to approach God, with Christ as our advocate.
• God loves us
• Sends His son
• Has mercy on us
• Cleans us
• Sends the Holy Spirit
• Grants grace
• Makes us heirs
In the middle of that sequence Paul reminds us that we can’t earn grace. It is crucial that we recognize the purity of God’s gift of grace to us, without any possibility that we could “earn” it. That led to discussion about why Paul urges us to do good on one hand, while on the other hand makes clear that we do not win any special dose of grace through our good deeds. At least one person imagined the wonderful world we would experience if everyone was reflecting God’s love in our actions because we were so close to Him. Are good deeds like little love notes from us to God?
The theme of this session is Justification, a complex concept and not something we typically discuss. We did cover the difference between amnesty (a pardon from sin) and Christ’s sacrifice (taking the punishment so that the sin is gone) which makes it possible for us to approach God, with Christ as our advocate.