Introduction: Whether someone has shared a secret with you, or you
have some unique knowledge or skill, you feel special when you know
things others do not. Some secrets are not to be shared, but sharing
knowledge or skills is one of the greatest blessings in life. You are
able to improve the lives of others by teaching them important things
they do not know. The gospel is like that. God entrusts His message
to you. What a blessing it is to share eternal life! Some of the
message is understood without your help, but other parts rely on your
explanation. Let’s wade into our study of the Bible and learn more
about sharing the law and gospel!
- Teaching Natural and Moral Laws
- Read Romans 1:16-17. Why would it cross Paul’s mind to be
ashamed of the gospel? Why does he feel the need to
protest that it is not shameful? (Our God came to earth
and lived as a human. He died like a criminal at the hands
of the government. Our God gave up Himself that we might
live. For a god, this takes some explanation to help
others understand.) - What else is unusual about our faith? (Our
righteousness comes from faith, not works. I cannot
speak regarding all cultures, but my culture believes
that work is essential for success. My father taught
me to work harder and better than those around me.
Thus, work is part of my basic attitude in life.) - What should we conclude from the two points we just
discussed? (We have unusual religious beliefs. Our
God is self-sacrificing. Our righteousness does not
turn on how hard we work. These are counter-intuitive.) - Read Romans 1:18-20. What does this say about the logic,
the intuitiveness of our God? (This says that God’s power
and nature can be clearly seen from those things which
surround humans. Humans have no excuse for ignoring God.) - Let’s consider these two concepts a minute. Paul says
God’s power and nature are clear and understandable to
all. On the other hand, other aspects of the way our God
operates are not so clear and understandable. What does
this say about the relationship between natural law and
moral law? (A great deal of natural law can be understood.
We see it operating every day. But, the intersection with
the entire moral law might not be so clear.) - Let’s re-read Romans 1:16. What does the reference to
“Jew” first and “Gentile” second suggest? (The context is
believing the message of our salvation. The Jews were the
first to be given this message and now Gentiles have been
given this message.) - Re-read Romans 1:18. Who else do we have? (Truth
suppressors.) - What does this suggest about your life? (You might be
a truth suppressor instead of a truth teacher.) - Read Deuteronomy 30:15-18. What are the choices in life?
(Life and prosperity or death and destruction.) - Read Matthew 7:24-27. What difference does obedience make
to the way your life turns out? (Again, this is a promise
and a warning. Following God’s moral law brings a better
life.) - Are we (Gentiles) now the source of God’s message about
His gospel to the world? Are you charged with being a
truth teacher as opposed to a truth suppressor? - If you say, “Yes, I will be a truth teacher,” how
would you start? (I would start with the obvious –
the power and nature of God. Then I would move to the
less obvious, the self-sacrificing God that we serve
who saves us by His grace.) - Let’s discuss some very practical questions. I recall
church meetings in which the question was “How should our
church share truth with our neighbors?” Some said, “Let’s
share a tract about the Sabbath.” Others wanted to pass
out a big book about the history of the conflict between
good and evil. Still others wanted to pass out a book
about the love of God. Look again at Matthew 7:24-27 and
Deuteronomy 30:15. What do these suggest about our
approach? (God’s approaches us by saying He has the secret
to a better life. He has the secret to building a life
that will endure the storms. I think we should take the
same approach.) - John’s Example
- Read John 1:1-5. How does John start his instructions
about Jesus? (He starts with the natural. See the
creation? Jesus did that.) - Read John 1:10-11. What is not so obvious about Jesus?
(The world did not recognize Jesus as the Creator! “His
own,” meaning the Jewish people, did not receive Him. They
did not accept His message.) - Read John 1:12-13. Who did Jesus go to next? (“All who
receive Him.”) - What is the special secret about accepting Jesus as
Creator and Savior? (We become the children of God!) - Think about your own children. Do you have your
child’s best interests in mind? (Yes! If you are a
normal parent, you want to be a great blessing to
your children. That is our God’s attitude towards us!
Praise Him!) - Read John 1:14. What is the key belief here? (God became
human and lived with us.) - What does it mean that Jesus was “full of grace and
truth?” (Grace, of course, refers to the gospel –
that Jesus lived, died and rose again to save us from
sin and give us the promise of eternal life.) - What is the “truth” part of Jesus? (Jesus revealed
the true nature of God.) - Can you see that John is following the same pattern
we discussed before? When you want to share the
message, start with things which are known to all,
those things which reflect nature and the natural
law. Then move to the teachings which are less
obvious, God took on human nature and died to give us
eternal life.) - Read John 1:16-17. Why does it say that the law was given
“through” Moses? (God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 24:12. This was not Moses’ idea.) - Let’s go back to the concepts from Deuteronomy 30 and
Matthew 7. These are the texts about how obedience
makes your life better. Is this part of the “natural”
aspect of the gospel message? Should this be obvious
to all? (Yes. It should be obvious that if you avoid
killing and stealing your life will be better.) - If God is the Author of the Ten Commandments, and
they are part of the “obvious” it follows that
leading with them would be consistent with this plan.
How, for example, would you lead with the Sabbath
(the fourth commandment)? (I would not start out with
“this is what God says,” but rather “Would your life
be better if you took off work and spent one day a
week with your family?” “What if this was God’s will
for you so that you never felt guilty about not
working on Sabbath?”) - Paul’s Example
- Read Ephesians 2:1-3. How does Paul start his argument?
(He does the same thing. He starts with the natural.
Instead of holding out the promise of blessings, Paul
says, “Your life used to be pretty lousy, right? You used
to find yourself colliding with natural law and it was not
pleasant.”) - Read Ephesians 2:4-7. What is Paul’s next argument? (He
goes next to how Jesus loved us, saved us, and gives us
the promise of heaven. This is the part that is not
obvious. This is the secret we get to share with others.) - Let’s revisit John 1:17. Grace and truth came “through”
Jesus. The law was given through Moses and grace and truth
through Jesus. Why does John set up the two “through”
statements in this way? (This is a summary of our gospel
message. God gave us the law – and it makes sense to both
the wise and to those who have already banged their head
on the natural law. And, God gave us the less obvious, the
tremendous gift of Jesus which shows us the grace and love
of God. We cannot keep the law. We cannot earn salvation.
But, we can have faith in Jesus’ grace, and we can show
intelligence by living a life in accord with God’s law.) - Friend, will you show wisdom in sharing the gospel with
others? Why not start with the obvious, and then share
the secret of our great God’s love and salvation? - Next week: Christ, the Law and the Covenants.
