February 16, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Choose Life

Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹⁴ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

What “is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach” (verse 11)?

Why is it not in heaven (verse 12)?

Where is it not beyond (verse 13)?

What is very near to you (verse 14)?

What is “set before you today” (verse 15)?

When will you “live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess” (verse 16)?

When will you “certainly be destroyed” (verses 17 and 18)?

What are “the heavens and the earth” witnesses of (verse 19)?

Who “is your life” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the law’s role in salvation?

Matthew 5:17-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

What did Jesus come “to fulfill” (verse 17)?

What must be accomplished before the smallest letter or least stroke of a pen “will by any means disappear from the Law” (verse 18)?

Who will “be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 19)?

Who will be “great in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 19)?

What has to surpass “that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law” before someone can enter the kingdom of heaven (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the law’s role in salvation?

In your opinion, how does Moses’s instruction to “now choose life” in his discussion that includes obeying the laws in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 help us understand what Jesus means when He says He has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets “but to fulfill them”?

Romans 3:21-31 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

What righteousness has “been made known” apart from the law (verse 21)?

How is this righteousness given (verse 22)?

Who is this righteousness given to (verse 22)?

Who has “sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (verse 23)?

Who is “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (verses 23 and 24)?

How is Christ’s sacrifice “through the shedding of his blood” to be received (verse 25)?

“Where, then, is boasting?” (verse 27)?

What does Paul maintain (verse 28)?

“Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith” (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the law’s role in salvation?

In your opinion, how does Moses beginning his instructions about obedience with the command to “love the Lord your God” in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 help prepare us for Paul’s discussion of a righteousness that is “given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” in Romans 3:21-31?

In your opinion, how does Romans 3:21-31 help us understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:17-20 when He said, “that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”?

Galatians 3:19-27 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. ²⁰ A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

²¹ Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 

What was added “because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (verse 19)?

“Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God?” (verse 21)?

What “has locked up everything under the control of sin” (verse 22)?

Who is given “what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ” (verse 22)?

When were we held “in custody under the law” (verse 23)?

What “was our guardian until Christ came” (verse 24)?

Why are we “no longer under a guardian” (verse 25)?

What have all the children of God through faith who have been “baptized into Christ” clothed with (verses 26 and 27)

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the law’s role in salvation?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:19-27 that “the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith” help us understand what Moses meant in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 when he said “For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess”?

In your opinion, how does Galatians 3:19-27 help us understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:17-20 when He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”?

In your opinion, how do Romans 3:21-31 and Galatians 3:19-27 show us how the law and faith work together to bring about salvation?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Deuteronomy, Matthew, Romans, and Galatians teach us about how Jesus fulfills the law?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “choose life” today?

August 6, 2023 – John’s Writings – Responding to God’s Love

Responding to God’s Love

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹⁴ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

What is “not too difficult for you or beyond your reach” (verse 11)?

Why do we not have to ask “who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it” (verse 12)?

Why do we not have to ask “who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it” (verse 13)?

Where is the word “so that you may obey it” (verse 14)?

What has Moses set before the Hebrew people (verse 15)?

What three things do the Israelites need to do: (verse 16)?

            1)

            2)

            3)

When will the Israelite people “certainly be destroyed” (verses 17 and 18)?

What does Moses instruct the people to choose (verse 19)?

What is the Lord (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the most important choice that we make?

John 21:15-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

When did Jesus ask Simon Peter “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these” (verse 15)?

How did Peter answer (verse 15)?

What instruction did Jesus give Peter (verse 15)?

How did the question that Jesus ask Peter change (verse 16)?

How did Peter answer (verse 16)?

What instruction did Jesus give Peter (verse 16)?

In your opinion, how did the question that Jesus ask Peter change, even though in English all say “Simon son of John, do you love me” (agapaō and philō in verses 15, 16 and 17)?

How did Peter, who was hurt by the question, respond (verse 17)?

How will Peter’s life change when he is old (verse 18)?

What did Jesus say to Peter (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the most important choice that we make?

In your opinion, how does God’s commandment through Moses in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 that the Israelites “love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws” add depth to Jesus’s repeated question to Peter in John 21:15-19?

2 John 3-9 – New International Version (NIV)

³ Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

⁴ It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 

How will “grace, mercy and peace from God and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son” be with us (verse 3)?

What has given John “great joy” (verse 4)?

What is John “not writing” (verse 5)?

When did we get the command “that we love one another” (verse 5)?

What is love (verse 6)?

How does John describe the “deceivers” (verse 7)?

Where had the “many deceivers” gone (verse 7)?

How can the readers “be rewarded fully” (verse 8)?

Who does not have God (verse 9)?

Who has “both the Father and the Son” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the most important choice that we make?

In your opinion, how is the request in 2 John 3-9 that “we love one another” different from the command in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 that we love the Lord?  Do you think that difference makes it easier or harder to obey?

In your opinion, how would the deceivers that 2 John 3-9 warns of be unable to comprehend the full impact of the question Jesus repeated to Peter in John 21:15-19?

Revelation 22:8-15 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ⁹ But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Who is John (verse 8)?

When did John fall “down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me” (verse 8)?

What did the angel tell John (verse 9)?

How did the angel describe himself (verse 9)?

What instruction did the angel give John (verse 9)?

Why was John told “do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll” (verse 10)?

What is the person who does wrong to “continue to do” (verse 11)?

What will be given to each person (verse 12)?

Who is blessed (verse 14)?

What will the blessed “have the right to” (verse 14)?

Who is outside (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the most important choice that we make?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 22:8-15 help us understand what it means to follow Moses’s instruction from Deuteronomy 30:11-20 to “choose life”?

In your opinion, how does the three times that Jesus ask Peter “do you love me” in John 21:15-19 help us understand the difference between those that Revelation 22:8-15 describes as “blessed” and those described as “dogs”?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 22:8-15 help us understand the reward for those that 2 John 3-9 describes as continuing “in the teaching”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, John, 2 John and Revelation teach us about the consequence of not choosing God?

In your opinion, how would you answer if Jesus ask you “do you love me”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 22, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Hard Hearts and New Attitudes

Hard Hearts and New Attitudes


Deuteronomy 30:11-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹⁴ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

¹⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰ and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

What is not too difficult (verse 11)?

Why won’t they need to ask “who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it” (verse 12)?

Where is the word (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does Moses mean when he says “I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction” (verse 15)?

Who are the the Israelites to love and walk in obedience to (verse 16)?

What will happen if the Israelites are drawn to “bow down to other gods and worship them” (verses 17 and 18)?

Who did Moses call as witnesses (verse 19)?

In your opinion, how do the Israelites “choose life” (verse 19)?

Who is their life (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 3:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Who was in the synagogue (verse 1)?

Why were some of the people in the synagogue watching Jesus closely (verse 2)?

What did Jesus ask the man to do (verse 3)?

In your opinion, “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill” (verse 4)?

How did the people respond to Jesus question (verse 4)?

What distressed Jesus (verse 5)?

When was the man’s hand restored (verse 5)?

In your opinion, was there anything unusual about the Pharisees plotting with the Herodians (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how would a refusal by the Israelite people to love the Lord as commanded by Moses in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 be similar to the refusal of the people Jesus ask the question about the Sabbath to answer it in Mark 3:1-6?

Acts 2:36-41 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

What has God “made this Jesus, who you crucified” (verse 36)?

In your opinion, why were the people “cut to the heart” (verse 37)?

How did Peter answer the question “brothers, what shall we do” (verses 37 and 38)?

What gift will the people who follow Peter’s instruction receive (verse 38)?

Who is the promise for (verse 39)?

What did Peter plead for the people to do (verse 40)?

Who was baptized (verse 41)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the command of Moses in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 to “love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess” similar to the plea of Peter to “save yourselves from this corrupt generation” in Acts 2:36-41?

In your opinion, how is the man who stretched out his hand and was healed by Jesus in Mark 3:1-6 similar to the 3,000 people who accepted the message of Peter and where baptized in Acts 2:36-41?

Ephesians 4:17-32 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

²⁰ That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Who does Paul tell the Ephesian Christians they must no longer live like (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Gentiles are “darkened in their understanding” (verse 18)?

Why have the Gentiles “given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity” (verse 19)?

When did the Ephesian Christians learn about a different way of life (verses 20 and 21)?

How is the old self being corrupted (verse 22)?

Where were the Ephesian Christians to be “made new” (verse 23)?

What was the new self created to be like (verse 24)?

Why were the Ephesian Christians to “speak truthfully to your neighbor” (verse 25)?

What should they not give the devil (verse 27)?

Why must those who have been stealing work (verse 28)?

What is to come from the Ephesian Christians mouths (verse 29)?

Why were they sealed with the Holy Spirit (verse 30)?

How are they to forgive (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how would the result of the change that Paul is asking the Ephesian Christians to make in Ephesians 4:17-32 similar to the result of obedience to the command that Moses gave the Israelite people in Deuteronomy 30:11-20?

In your opinion, who, in Mark 3:1-6, is most like the Gentiles that Paul warns us to no longer live like in Ephesians 4:17-32?  What is the best demonstration of replacing the old self with the new?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Paul describes the Gentiles in Ephesians 4:17-32 as being ignorant because of “hardening of the hearts” and Luke describes the people listening to Peter in Acts 2:36-41 as being “cut to the heart”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Mark, Acts and Ephesians teach us about why it is difficult to be sensitive to the Word of God even though He is very near to us?

In your opinion, what can we do today to follow Paul’s instruction to “be made new in the attitude of your minds”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)