Jeremiah 23:13-22 – New International Version (NIV)
13 “Among the prophets of
Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel
astray.
14 And among the prophets of
Jerusalem
I have seen something
horrible:
They commit adultery and live
a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that not one of them turns
from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
the people of Jerusalem are
like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore this is what
the Lord Almighty says
concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread
throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false
hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of
the Lord.
17 They keep saying to
those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm will
come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood
in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard
his word?
19 See, the storm of
the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it
clearly.
21 I did not send these
prophets,
yet they have run with their
message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have
proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
What “repulsive thing” did Jeremiah see in the prophets of
Samaria (verse 13)?
Who committed adultery and lived a lie while strengthening “the
hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness” (verse
14)?
What is the source of the ungodliness that “spread throughout
the land” (verse 15)?
Where do the visions that the prophets speak come from (verse 16)?
What do the prophets
say to “all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts” (verse 17)?
What will “burst
out in wrath” (verse 19)?
When will “the
anger of the Lord” turn back (verse 20)?
What have the
prophets that the Lord did not send “run with” (verse 21)?
What would the prophets
have proclaimed if “they had stood in my council” (verse 22)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what challenge to
following God is exhibited in this passage?
Matthew 7:13-23 - New International
Version (NIV)
13 “Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.
15 “Watch
out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly
they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will
recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from
thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear
bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus,
by their fruit you will recognize them.
21 “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in
your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them
plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
What is the gate that “many
enter through” like (verse 13)?
How many
find the gate and road that “leads to life” (verse 14)?
What are false prophets on the outside (verse 15)?
How can we recognize false prophets (verse 16)?
What kind of fruit will a bad tree bear (verse 17)?
What kind of fruit can’t a bad tree bear (verse 18)?
What happens to trees that do not bear good fruit (verse 19)?
Who will enter the “kingdom of heaven” (verse 21)?
What will Jesus tell many of the people who say “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your
name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” (verses 22 and 23)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this
passage?
In your opinion, how do the prophets in Jeremiah 23:13-22 validate Jesus’s
instructions about recognizing false prophets in Matthew 7:13-23?
1 John 4:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets
have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can
recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit
that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the
antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the
world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome
them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore
speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We
are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God
does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of
truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Why should Christians “test the spirits” (verse 1)?
How can we “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?
Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?
How have Christians overcome the false prophets (verse 4)?
Who does the world listen to (verse 5)?
Who listens to John (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what
challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?
In your opinion, what
test does 1 John 4:1-6 reveal to help determine false prophets that the people
who heard the false prophets of Jeremiah 23:13-22 did not have?
In
your opinion, what is the difference between those in Matthew 7:13-23 who say “Lord,
Lord” and those in 1 John 4:1-6 who declare “that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh”?
James 1:19-27 - New International Version (NIV)
19 My dear brothers and
sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does
not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid
of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the
word planted in you, which can save you.
22 Do not merely listen to the
word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the
word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a
mirror 24 and, after looking at
himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently
into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not
forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they
do.
26 Those who consider themselves
religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive
themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father
accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the
world.
Who “should
be quick to listen” (verse 19)?
What does
human anger not produce (verse 20)?
How should we “accept the word
planted” in us (verse 21)?
In your opinion, how
can merely listening “to the word” deceive us (verse 22)?
What is someone who “listens
to the word but does not do what it says” like (verses 23 & 24)?
Who is “blessed
in what they do” (verse 25)?
Whose “religion
is worthless” (verse 26)?
What religion does
God accept “as pure and faultless” (verse 27)?
In your opinion,
what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what
challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?
In your opinion, how
do the actions of the prophets in Jeremiah 23:13-22 compare to the people who
only listen to “the word” in James 1:19-27?
In your opinion, how does James 1:19-27 help us better understand
the small gate and narrow road of Matthew 7:13-23?
In your opinion, how
does 1 John 4:1-6 help us understand that James 1:19-27’s instruction to look “intently into the perfect law
that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have
heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” is more than works based
salvation?
In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Jeremiah, Matthew,
1 John, and James teach us about how to identify and overcome the external and
internal challenges of being a Christian?
In your
opinion, how can we each be a “good tree” today?
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