The Gospel in Twenty Questions (30 page)

Preface: Ask and you
shall receive

[1]
You may ask, “Will
there be a study guide or discussion guide to go with this book?”
The Gospel
in Twenty Questions
is eminently suited to small-group discussion, but as
for a study guide, there won’t be one. I’m not a fan of them. Instead, I
recommend a discussion strategy I learned from Wayne Jacobsen. Get everyone in
your group to read the same chapter, then, when you meet, ask two questions:
(1) What did you like about this chapter? (2) What ticked you off? Good
discussion is sure to follow.

Chapter
1. Who’s your Daddy?

[2]
See James 1:17, 1
John 3:1, and the opening verses of most of Paul’s letters.

[3]
See John 5:17–20,
8:28, 12:49–50. In the four gospels, Jesus mentions the kingdom 106 times and
God the Father about 175 times. However, it would be incorrect to think Jesus
treated his Father as merely one subject among many. His Father was the lens
through which Jesus made sense of everything. For instance, when discussing the
kingdom, he described it as “my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29).

[4]
A.W. Tozer,
The Knowledge of the Holy.
HarperCollins: New York, 1961, p.1.

[5]
See Isaiah 6:1–2,
Ezekiel 1:26–28, Daniel 7:9–10.

Chapter 2. What
really happened at the cross?

[6]
Pierre Morel
(director).
Taken.
2008. EuropaCorp: France.

[7]
Paul describes us as slaves in Romans 6:17, 20 and
Galatians 4:8. Throughout Romans, Paul describes sin as a personality with
desires and an agenda.
If you’re open to his metaphor, we might as well
go the whole way and say sin is another name for the devil. Consider the
evidence. Both sin and Satan seek to devour us (Genesis 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8) and
kill us (Romans 7:11, John 8:44). Neither could touch Jesus (Hebrews 4:15, John
14:30), and both have been defeated by him (Hebrews 9:26, John 12:31). At the
end of the story the devil is thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10)
and so is death, which is the fruit of sin (Revelation 20:14).

[8]
Andy Wachowski and
Laurence Wachowski (directors).
The Matrix.
1999. Warner Bros: USA.

[9]
See Ephesians 4:18,
Titus 3:3, and Hebrews 2:15.

[10]
In Biblical times
certain individuals were regarded as blameless and without sin. For instance,
the Bible records that Jesus’ Uncle Zechariah and Aunt Elizabeth observed “all
the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” (Luke 1:6). Since the law brings
knowledge of sin, we might conclude they were sinless. They were do-gooders of
the highest order. Yet God is not impressed by good behavior, but faith, and
they were faithless—at least Zechariah was. When the angel Gabriel brought him
news that his prayers had been answered and Elizabeth would soon have a son,
Zechariah responded with doubt and incredulity. “Do you expect me to believe
this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman” (Luke 1:18, MSG). The angel
had brought good news but was met with unbelief. He responded by silencing
Zechariah’s unbelieving mouth until the promise was fulfilled.

[11]
The condemnation of
a furious God is no small thing. The word
condemned
in Romans 8:3 is the
same word Peter uses to describe what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Peter
2:6). God’s condemnation should never scare you but give you confidence and
peace. Every child needs to know their daddy is dangerous towards those who
attack his family.

Chapter 3: What
about the resurrection?

[12]
Barbara Richmond,
Jewish
Insights into the New Testament,
For Your Glory: Merritt Island, FL, 1996, chapter
7.

[13]
C.S. Lewis,
Mere
Christianity,
Collins: London,
1952, pp.52-53.

[14]
See Matthew 28:17. I have a hunch that Saul the Pharisee was
such a person. I suspect the risen Lord tried to get his attention on several
occasions, most notably when Stephen died. But Saul was a doubter. His religion
blinded him to the grace of God. Jesus had to knock Saul on his seat before he
started paying attention.

[15]
Bob George (1989),
Classic
Christianity,
Harvest House: Eugene, OR, p.43.

Chapter 4: By which
gospel are you saved?

[16]
See Ephesians 1:13
and 6:15, 1 Timothy 1:11, and Revelation 14:6. Paul tells the Romans about “my
gospel” twice (Romans 2:16, 16:25) and reminds the Corinthians of the gospel “I
preached” in 1 Corinthians 15:1.

[17]
G3344 (
metastrepho
),
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, website:
concordances.org/greek/3344.htm

Chapter 5: Am I
under law?

[18]
Watchman Nee,
The
Normal Christian Life,
Tyndale House: Wheaton, IL, 1957/1977, p.157.

[19]
See Romans 6:6,
7:17, 20. The “body of sin” in Romans 6:6 is our physical body, the place where
sin is experienced. Similarly, the “body of death” in Romans 7:24 is the place
where death is experienced—in our bodies. Paul is not saying our bodies are
sinful for elsewhere he exhorts us to present our bodies as living and holy
sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1). Don’t look at your body as though it is the
devil’s tool. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

[20]
Some translations
of Galatians 3:24 say the law is our school master or tutor. This can convey
the erroneous impression that the law is our teacher. Paul is not saying this
at all. The word he uses is
paidago
̄
gos
,
which describes a
guardian or guide.
In
defining this word, Vines, in his
Expository Dictionary of New Testament
Words
, notes that,
“The
idea of instruction is absent” (
bit.ly/1eQfyxH
).
The law is not a teacher but a guide who leads us to the real Teacher, who is
Jesus.  Paul continues, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the
supervision of the
paidago
̄
gos
” (Galatians 3:25).
If you have put your trust in Jesus, you no longer need the guidance of the
law.

[21]
If you listen
(Exodus 23:22), if you seek (Deuteronomy 4:29), if you follow (Leviticus 26:3),
if you obey (Deuteronomy 28:1), if you bring (Leviticus 2:4), and if you make
(Deuteronomy 23:21).

Chapter 6: How can I
read the Bible without getting confused?

[22]
Here are the passages where James talks
about the
rich and powerful who infiltrate our meetings (James 2:2), exploit their
workers (James 5:4), murder the innocent (James 5:6), trust in money instead of
God (James 5:3), and slander the name of Jesus (James 2:7).

[23]
If this
is news to you, you may want to read
The Gospel in Ten Words.
In chapter
2 of that book, I show how the cross radically altered the way Jesus spoke
about forgiveness.

[24]
You may be wondering
why I quote extensively from the NIV, NKJV, and the Message Bible in this book.
The reason is that these are the translations preferred by Escape to Reality
readers. I know this because I polled them. If they read different
translations, I would quote different translations. You’ve got to know your
audience.

Chapter 8: Am I
lukewarm?

[25]
Why do I say we get everything besides? Because in Christ we
are joint-heirs with the One who is the heir of all things (Romans 8:17,
Hebrews 1:2).

Chapter 9: How do I
endure to the end?

[26]
It’s a rule with
exceptions. As I write this I am thinking of David Wilkerson who, when
confronted with the switchblades of Nicky Cruz and his gang, didn’t run but
stood and said, “You could cut me into a thousand pieces and lay them in the
street, and every piece will still love you.” As a result of Wilkerson’s brave
witness
, Cruz and many gang members abandoned their
violent ways and came to Jesus. How do we know when we should stay in spite of
opposition? We need
to hear from God. A specific word from the Lord
trumps any general principle on enduring and staying safe. As he records in his
1962 book
The Cross and the Switchblade,
Wilkerson felt specifically
called to the gangs of New York City. Similarly, Paul was called to remain in
Corinth, a city where he faced opposition from abusive Jews. Paul may have
thought about leaving—he’d done it before. But in a vision, the Lord told him,
“Don’t be afraid, keep speaking, no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed another
18 months and established a famous church (see Acts 18:1–11).

[27]
See Matthew 12:14–15,
Luke 4:28–30, John 10:31–39, 11:53–54.

[28]
Philip Yancey,
What’s
So Amazing About Grace?
OMF Literature: Manila, 1997, p.64.

Chapter 10: Who can
take communion?

[29]
Jesus took the bread and “gave thanks” or
eucharisteo
̄
(Luke 22:19).

[30]
G1381 (
dokimazo
̄
), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance,
website:
concordances.org/greek/1381.htm

Chapter 11: How does
God deal with us when we sin?

[31]
To their credit, the translators who prepared the 2011 version of
the NIV removed the word
guilt
from John 16:8. In the latest edition of
the NIV, this passage now reads, “When he comes, he will prove the world to be
in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” However, the word guilt
remains in the New International Readers’ Version.

[32]
The Greek word for
convict
is
elegcho
̄
(G1651) which can be
translated as
admonish
,
convince
,
reprove
. But in his
Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words
, Vines notes, “the real meaning here is
exposed” (
http://bit.ly/1awcOFC
).
This interpretation fits with scripture.
“Have nothing to do with
the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose (
elegcho
̄
) them … Everything
exposed (
elegcho
̄
) by the
light becomes visible” (Ephesians 5:11, 13). The Holy Spirit is in the business
of turning on the lights and revealing the truth. A classic example would be
Saul on the road to Damascus.

[33]
Epanortho
̄
sis
(1882), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, website:
concordances.org/greek/1882.htm

Chapter 13: Is it God’s
will for me to be sick?

[34]
G4982 (
sozo
),
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, website:
concordances.org/greek/4982.htm