The Kingdom of God, Student Workbook, SW02

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T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

How Would You Answer the Following Question?

“God began to inaugurate (i.e. start out, commence) his kingdom reign in my life when . . . .” Can you pinpoint the time that God began his kingdom work in your life? Did he begin it the day you repented and believed? The day that you became a member of your local church fellowship? On the day when you were physically born, or before that? If you had to suggest a date when God’s kingdom work began in your life, what would you say?

True or False?

“It is best to suggest that the Kingdom of God has never had any beginning or inauguration, since God has always been God, and as God, he has always been in charge.” What is right about this statement? Is there anything here that could be misleading? Does the reign of God in a person’s, a family’s, or a nation’s life have a beginning, or has God always been Lord of our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not?

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Free Will

Throughout the history of philosophy and theology, godly, sincere people have debated over the question of free will, that is, do we actually have any such thing as free will? Think about it for a moment. If you were asked, “Are we free?”, what would you say? What are we as human beings, free to do? Are we slaves to sin, to God, or do we have a choice in everything that we consider, do, and encounter? If we do not have free will, how can God hold us accountable for what we say and do?