-
The
Law, Love and Freedom
1 Kings 21:1-16 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard
belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the
palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth,
“Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to
my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I
will pay you whatever it is worth.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord
forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite
had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his
bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen?
Why won’t you eat?”
6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell
me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its
place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel?
Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and
sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In
those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting
and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But
seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed
both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel
directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They
proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then
two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth
before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they
took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then
they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she
said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When
Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of
Naboth’s vineyard.
Where
was Naboth’s vineyard (verse 1)?
What
did Ahab want the vineyard for (verse 2)?
How
did Naboth respond to Ahab (verse 3)?
What
did Ahab do (verse 4)?
Who
ask “why are you so sullen” (verse
5)?
In
your opinion, what does Jezebel’s question “Is
this how you act as king over Israel?” reveal about her (verse 7)?
Who
did Jezebel send the letters she wrote in Ahab’s name to (verse 8)?
Where does she tell them to seat Naboth (verse 9)?
Why were two scoundrels to be seated opposite of Naboth (verse 10)?
Who did as “Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them” (verse 11)?
Where did they seat Naboth (verse 12)?
What happened to Naboth (verse 13)?
Who did they send the word “Naboth has been stoned to death” to (verse 14)?
Why could Ahab go and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth (verse 15)?
What did Ahab do (verse 16)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and
watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich
people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came
and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this
poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They
all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all
she had to live on.”
Where
did Jesus sit (verse 41)?
What did He watch (verse 41)?
Who “threw in large amounts” (verse 41)?
What did the poor widow put in (verse 42)?
In your opinion, what did Jesus want the disciples to learn when He told them “this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others” (verse 43)?
What did the rich people give out of (verse 44)?
What did the widow give (verse 44)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what can we learn about what Jezebel values in 1 Kings 21:1-16 and what the poor widow values in Mark 12:41-44?
Romans 8:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)
1 Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free
from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless
to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in
the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according
to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according
to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live
in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The
mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is
life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is
hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those
who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in
the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit
of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do
not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then
even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life
because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of
him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his
Spirit who lives in you.
Who is there “now no condemnation for” (verse 1)?
What has the “law of the Spirit who gives life” set Christians free from (verse 2)?
How did God do “what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh”
(verse 3)?
In your opinion, how is “the righteous requirement of the law” met
in those who live “according to the
Spirit” (verse 4)?
What do “those who live according to the flesh” have their minds set on (verse
5)?
What do “those who live in accordance with the Spirit” have their minds set
on (verse 5)?
What is “the mind governed by the Spirit” (verse 6)?
In your opinion, why can the mind
governed by the flesh “not submit to
God’s law” (verse 7)?
Who “cannot please God” (verse 8)?
Who is “in the realm of the Spirit” (verse 9)?
What does the Spirit do for you, if Christ
is in you “even though your body is
subject to death because of sin” (verse 10)?
Who will give life to our mortal
bodies if “the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead is living in” us (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does Paul’s discussion of living in the flesh or the Spirit in Romans 8:1-11 help us understand about the actions of the poor widow Jesus praises in Mark 12:41-44?
James 2:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)
1
My
brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show
favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a
gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.
3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes
and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand
there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not
discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who
are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the
kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have
dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not
the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not
the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your
neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you
show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For
whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of
breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not
commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit
adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that
gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be
shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Who
“must not show favoritism” (verse 1)?
In your opinion, why was it discrimination to tell the man wearing fine clothes “here’s a good seat for you” but to tell the poor man to “sit on the floor by my feet” (verses 2 through 4)?
Who has God chosen to “be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him” (verse 5)?
When do Christians do right (verse 8)?
When do Christians sin (verse 9)?
Who is “guilty of breaking all of” the law (verse 10)?
What happens if you “do not commit adultery but do commit murder” (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom” (verse 12)?
What triumphs over judgment (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is possible that our favoring the rich over the poor as described in James 2:1-13 will leave us just as guilty of breaking the law as Jezebel who arranged for murder in 1 Kings 21:1-16?
In your opinion, how is the poor widow that Jesus observes in Mark 12:41-44 an example of following the instruction in James 2:1-13 in how to “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom”?
In your opinion, what does Romans 8:1-11 reveal to us about the law that James 2:1-13 calls the “law that gives freedom”?
In your opinion, how do these passages from 1 Kings, Mark, Romans and James challenge us to keep “the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’”?
In your opinion, how can we more fully “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom”?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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