Study Questions for January 30, 2011

I hope everyone had fun this week in re-engaging our obedience from obligation to seeing opportunities God has put before us as we studied Romans 4:1-5 and Genesis 15 last Sunday.

Below are a few questions for this week that I hope will engage you in the Scripture - many that we will review this week in class:

Please read the entire chapter 4 first.

1)  In light of the crediting of righteousness to us has nothing to do with us as Paul has already told us in the preceding chapters - speculate why he includes verses 7 and 8 here?  How should we see the crediting of righteousness from God?

2) If God is the clear creditor and nothing from us credits us then verse 9 is pretty easy to understand.  Why was it so difficult for the Jews and Gentiles to be ok with this?  What held them back and divided them when clearly they were all under God?  Does it apply to us today?

3) We discussed obedience as an opportunity under Trust last week.  How does verse confirm that Abraham obeyed God after he was credited?  What things do you need to obey God with as a 'reasonable response' to God?  

4) How is circumcision like baptism in verse 11?  Why would it be so very crazy to the Jews that God would credit him righteousness before he obeyed in circumcision?  What were they thinking needed to be done before you could be clean?  Note who was in control then...

5) Review verses 12 and 13 - Paul reframes and gives clarity to the promise given by God centuries earlier - what are the main themes of these verses?

This Sunday we will be discussing whose CONTROL we are under.  Our headings will be:

CREDIT, CIRCUMSTANCE, CONNECTION


ROMANS 4

¹ What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

 ⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

 ⁷ “Blessed are those
   whose transgressions are forgiven,
   whose sins are covered.
⁸ Blessed is the one
   whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

 ⁹ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰ Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

 ¹³ It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.