Fight the Good Fight of Faith, English Edition
• Fight the Good Fight of Faith: Playing Your Part in God’s Unfolding Drama
Teach me now in this study as I receive your Word and instruction. I ask for these things in the strong name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, amen.
1. “Why does the devil hate us – we didn’t do anything to him, did we?” In a small group Bible study for new believers, a group of new, baby Christians were going over the Story of the Bible with their instructor. During the course of the study, they found out that the devil deceived with lies and falsehoods the first human pair, Adam and Eve, causing them to sin. One of the students asked the instructor, “I don’t get it. Why was the devil so mean as to lie to Adam and Eve, get them into trouble, and mess everything up. What did they do to him – why does he hate people so much?” Based on what you know right now about the Bible and the Story, why do you think the Scriptures declare that the devil accuses, deceives, and persecutes human beings so much? Why has he done so from the very beginning? 2. “Sure, I believe, but I don’t think I’m ready to go all in – at least, not yet.” When Marsha shared the Good News of God’s offer of eternal life with her cousin Ralph, she ran into something she didn’t know what to do with. He told Marsha that God’s offer seemed cool, even attractive, except the part about turning to God from his sins. (Ralph was deeply involved in online gaming, some of which were into black arts and shared a kind of demonic struggle storyline.) In hearing Marsha’s testimony about the story, Ralph said, “I really see how much God loved us in sending Jesus – it is an amazing thing. But, honestly, right now, I don’t think I can commit to him, especially if it means I’ve got to change everything and give up some of the stuff I’m doing right now. That’s hard. Can’t I simply believe in Jesus and that be enough? Why do I have to, as you were saying, “repent from my sins?” I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of extreme commitment yet. Is there another way, a way to avoid all of that repentance stuff?” How should Marsha answer Ralph about this point – do you need to repent from sin in order to be saved? Explain. 3. “Now that you’re a disciple of Jesus, you’ve become a target.” While many people speak of Christian faith as only God’s love and grace, few seem to understand faith as enlistment to God’s side in a battle. The truth is, the very moment a person repents and believes in Jesus, they are involved in a war, what one Christian author called “the mother of all battles.” To say “Yes!” to Christ and his Kingdom is to simultaneously say “No!” to the temptations of the world, to the inner passions of our old sinful nature, and to the lies of the enemy. Many of these lies have shaped who we are – we’ve believed in them our whole lives long. To become a Christian is to become a soldier, and to become a target of
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