07 Jun Discussion Guide: All Kinds of Non-Gods
Prayer
Take the first 10 minutes of your time together to listen to what God is doing in one another’s lives and pray for any specific needs people in your group may have.
This week we continue our series titled Love Has Called My Name. We will be taking a look at how God invades our lives when we least expect it, and by His grace calls us to a love that we’ve always longed for but never knew where to find it.
Discussion Questions
”People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” – Blaise Pascal
What kinds of things tend to be ”attractive” to our culture, and what beliefs does that attractiveness tend to lead to?
What things do you find your heart being drawn towards, and how does that create struggles, or obstacles, in your pursuit of Christ?
Galatians 4:8
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods…
What do you suppose Paul means that we are ”enslaved to those that by nature are not gods”?
Paul is saying two main things here. First he is saying that when we look to created things to bring about our justification, satisfaction, fulfillment, or salvation we turn them into “gods.” Meaning we give those things power over our lives. We commit ourselves to them and sacrifice things for them because we are actually worshipping them (Romans 11:36-12:1). Second, Paul is saying when we do that we become enslaved to those created things because they will never, and in deed can never, bring about he ultimate justification or salvation they promise to give. Therefore, we continue to press on in pursuit of those things believing that more of them is what we actually need. Like an addict who believes just one more hit or one more drink will solve the problem, we become drunk on our idolatry and because our idols do not love nor even care about us we become enslaved to our own deceptions and to the empty promises those idols have dangled in front of our faces.
What do you think is the motivation behind the pursuit of these “gods”?
Essentially the motivation is the desire to be loved, to be known, to feel significant.
Do these “gods” ever fully deliver what we think they will? Why or why not?
“The Christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated. The burden of men was so heavy for God Himself that He had to endure the Cross. God verily bore the burden of men in the body of Jesus Christ. But He bore them as a mother carries her child, as a shepherd enfolds the lost lamb that has been found. God took men upon Himself and they weighted Him to the ground, but God remained with them and they with God. In bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them. It was the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the Cross. And Christians must share in this law.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community
How does the “Law of Christ” differ from the Law of Moses?
The Law of Moses established a standard by which we could earn God’s pleasure, we could know where we stood with God based on our behaviors. In other words, I’m loved because I do. The Law of Christ says that my relationship with God is based solely on Jesus’ perfect obedience and that I am loved and accepted despite my own failures. In other words, I do because I am loved.
How would you say a mother loves her child? How is that love displayed in that child’s success? How is it displayed when the child goes astray?
How ought the love we have for one another as Christians reflect this motherly love?
Galatians 4:9
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? ?
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.” ― Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage
What does it mean to be fully known by God?
How does it make you feel to know that God knows you fully?
How does it make you feel to know that even though God knows you fully, He also loves you completely? Explain.
Closing Thought
Ephesians 2:12
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
How can we, who have been brought near, be a vessel through those who are still far off can be brought near as well?