February 23, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – A Continuing Debt

A Continuing Debt

Exodus 20:13-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

Who “shall not murder” (verse 13)?

Who “shall not commit adultery” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

Matthew 5:21-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

When was it said “you shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment” (verse 21)?

Who else does Jesus say “will be subject to judgment” (verse 22)?

What should the one offering their “gift on the altar” do when they remember a brother or sister has something against them (verses 23 and 24)?

How should you settle with the adversary taking you to court (verse 25)?

What has been said (verse 27)?

Who does Jesus say has committed adultery (verse 28)?

What is better “than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (verses 29 and 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in Matthew 5:21-30 modify two of the ten commandments found in Exodus 20:13-20?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

How were the readers of Ephesians, and us, “dead” (verse 1)?

Who is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” at work in (verse 2)?

What were “all of us” by nature deserving of (verse 3)?

Why has God “made us alive” (verses 4 and 5)?

How have Christians been saved (verse 5)?

Where are Christians seated (verse 6)?

When is God going to express the incomparable riches of His grace (verse 7)?

Where does faith come from (verse 8)?

Who can boast (verse 9)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

In your opinion, what does Ephesians 2:1-10 help us understand about our ability to successfully obey the two commandments in Exodus 20:13-14 as well as the other eight?

In your opinion, how is the command to remove the body part that leads to sinning in Matthew 5:21-30 addressed by Paul’s message in Ephesians 2:1-10?

Romans 13:8-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

What debt should remain outstanding (verse 8)?

How are the commandments ““You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be” summed up (verse 9)?

What “is the fulfillment of the law” (verse 10)?

Why has the hour already come “for you to wake up from your slumber” (verse 11)?

What should we put aside (verse 12)?

What should we put on (verse 12)?

How should we behave (verse 13)?

How should we clothe ourselves (verse 14)

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what we “shall” do?

In your opinion, how does Romans 13:8-14 help us understand how to fulfill the law established in Exodus 20:13-14?

In your opinion, how is removing the body part that causes sin in Matthew 5:21-30 complemented by Romans 13:8-14 statement that “love is the fulfillment of the law”?

In your opinion, how does God’s love for us described in Ephesians 2:1-10 make it possible for us to love our neighbor as instructed in Romans 13:8-14?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Exodus, Matthew, Ephesians, and Romans teach us about how the God of love and mercy transforms the “you shall not” of the commandments to “a continuing debt to love”?

In your opinion, how do we repay the “continuing debt to love”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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?

February 9, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – This Little Light of Mine

This Little Light of Mine

Isaiah 30:18-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ²² Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”

²³ He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. ²⁴ The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. ²⁵ In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. ²⁶ The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

Why will the Lord “rise up to show you compassion” (verse 18)?

Who is blessed (verse 18)?

When will the Lord be gracious (verse 19)?

What “will be hidden no more” (verse 20)?

What will the voice from behind say (verse 21)?

What will they say when “idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold” are desecrated (verse 22)?

What will be “rich and plentiful” (verse 23)?

How will the fodder and mash that the oxen and donkeys eat be spread out (verse 24)?

Where will the streams of water flow (verse 25)?

How bright with the sunlight shine (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

Matthew 5:13-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

What are “you” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, “if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again” (verse 13)?

What is salt that loses saltiness good for (verse 13)?

What are “you” (verse 14)?

What cannot be hidden (verse 14)?

Where do people not put a lamp that is lit (verse 15)?

What will the lamp do when it is “put on its stand” (verse 15)?

Where should our light shine (verse 16)?

When do others glorify our “Father in heaven” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

In your opinion, how does God’s graciousness, that includes bringing bright light, in Isaiah 30:18-26 relate to the light that Matthew 5:13-16 says we are to let “shine before others”?

Philippians 2:12-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

What does Paul want the Philippian Christians to “continue to work out” (verse 12)?

Who “works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (verse 13)?

What should Christians do “without grumbling or arguing” (verse 14)?

How does Paul describe the generation in which he wants Christians to be “children of God without fault” (verse 15)?

Where will Christians shine as they “hold firmly to the word of life” (verses 15 and 16)?

What will Paul be able to boast “on the day of Christ” (verse 16)?

What is Paul able to do with Christians even if he “is being poured out like a drink offering” (verse 17)?

How should Christians react with Paul (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

In your opinion, what does Philippians 2:12-18 reveal about how people should respond to God’s graciousness when they cry for help as described in Isaiah 30:18-26?

In your opinion, how does Philippians 2:12-18 help us understand how Christians can let our “light shine before others” as commanded in Matthew 5:13-16?

Revelation 21:22-27 – New International Version (NIV)

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Why did John “not see a temple in the city” (verse 22)?

What is the light of the city (verse 23)?

What is the city’s lamp (verse 23)?

Who will walk by the city’s light (verse 24)?

Why will the gates never be shut (verse 25)?

What will be brought to the city (verse 26)?

Who will enter the city (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about living in light?

In your opinion, how does the light and healing in Isaiah 30:18-26 anticipate the magnificent light of the city in Revelation 21:22-27?

In your opinion, how do those whose “names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” in Revelation 21:22-27 letting their “light shine before others” as commanded in Matthew 5:13-16 glorify the One whose glory lights the city of Revelation 21:22-27?

In your opinion, how can the city described in Revelation 21:22-27 be a source of inspiration for those who are struggling to work out their “salvation with fear and trembling” in the “warped and crooked generation” in Philippians 2:12-18?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Matthew, Philippians and Revelation teach us about the source of light?

In your opinion, how do we let our lights shine today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)