WEEK 3 - SIN & JUDGMENT

 Sin is the glory of God not honored,
the holiness of God not reverenced,
the greatness of God not admired,
the power of God not praised,
the truth of God not sought,
the wisdom of God not esteemed,
the beauty of God not treasured,
the goodness of God not savoured,
the faithfulness of God not trusted,
the promises of God not believed,
the commandments of God not obeyed,
the justice of God not respected,
the wrath of God not feared,
the grace of God not cherished,
the presence of God not prized,
the person of God not loved.
-John Piper.

PRIMARY TEXT:

ROMANS 1: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

SECONDARY TEXTS

2 THESSALONIANS 1:9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

LUKE 12:5 Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

MATTHEW 18:8; 25:41, 46 Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, “Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons...” And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.

REVELATION 20:12-15 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Discussion Questions.

OPENING QUESTION:

What are some of the most common answers people in your life would give to the question “What’s wrong with the world?”

Optional: Watch ‘Sin’ video above.

Read Romans 1:18-25

1. What things stood out to you from the passage? Was there anything unclear, confusing?

2. How does this passage describe sin as being more than just doing ‘bad things’?

3. What is the relationship between God’s Glory and the seriousness of sin?

Read the secondary passages on God’s judgement above.

4. How do you feel about God being a God who judges sin?

5. If God didn’t punish sin. What would be the implications for:

a) Justice.
b) Upholding his glory.
c) Respecting our free will.

6. How should knowing of God’s wrath towards sin help you appreciate the gospel more deeply.

Read the following by Wayne Grudem.

The reason it is hard for us to think of the doctrine of hell is because God has put in our hearts a portion of his own love for people created in his image, even his love for sinners who rebel against him. As long as we are in this life, and as long as we see and think about others who need to hear the gospel and trust in Christ for salvation, it should cause us great distress and agony of spirit to think about eternal punishment. Yet we must also realise that whatever God in his wisdom has ordained and taught in Scriptures is right. Therefore we must be careful that we do not hate this doctrine or rebel against it, but rather we should seek, insofar as we are able, to come to the point where we acknowledge that eternal punishment is good and right, because in God there is no unrighteousness at all.

7. How do you go at holding the tension between having love and compassion towards sinners as well as trusting in God’s goodness and justice?

Weekly Challenge:

Read Psalm 51 and then write out a prayer of confession and thankfulness. Between you and God reflect on the nature of your sin and be glad in his removal of it.

Additional Resources:

ARTICLE: On verse 19 “How are god’s attributes clearly perceived by everyone?”

SERMON: Is ‘Sin’ Plausible in the modern world.

LECTURE SERIES: Tim Mackie on Heaven & Hell
Well worth your time if you are wanting to dig deep into what the bible actually says about judgement and hell.
Episode 4 focuses on hell,
This STUDY GUIDE accompanies the lecture series.

If struggling with the doctrine of Hell there are helpful chapters in “The Reason for God” by Timothy Keller & “Confronting Christianity” by Rebecca Mclaughlan (currently $5 on kindle!!)