Key Bible Passage(s):

Tier 1:

One of the first questions the Bible deals with after the fall about how the Living God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit will now relate to a world that is enmeshed in sin and death. The Lord goes to extraordinary lengths to teach us how the realities of judgment and grace shape His relationship to His creation, and how htey will lead to His renewal of all things. We get to eavesdrop on Abraham as he interrogates Him on this very issue.

Tier 2:

Fallen humanity rejects the grace of God and seeks to build a life without reference to or reverence for Him. The terrifying interaction of grace and judgment is again seen as the Lord both disrupts the building of the City of Humanity, scattering them throughout the earth to build nations; and then immediately lays the foundations for the City of God. And against the backdrop of the destruction of cities, the Lord enters into Covenant with the Patriarchs, ensuring the coming of the Seed through whom all nations will be blessed.

Tier 3:

While the Church lives in a way that is indisguishable from the nations of this age there seems little hope. But slowly, God’s grace takes effect, and the Church learns how to repent and how to take responsibility for sin, to confess it and be transformed to look more like Jesus. We begin to see foreshadowed hints of the Church’s blessing the nations; but we also confront the world’s rejection of and hatred for the Church. Yet into that bleakest of moments is born one who will understand and point to CHrist like few before or after him.

God is not just saving individuals and preparing them for heaven; rather, He is creating a people among whom He can live and who in their life together will reproduce God’s life and character.

Gordon Fee

Group DIscussion:

How do you feel about the fact that God is gracious... which means that sinner continue to sin & damage people and the rest of creation? Wouldn’t it be better if Christ returned in judgement sooner rather than later?

What would you say to someone who struggled with the ‘God of Judgment’ of the OT?

Why do we not see God act in judgment today as He did in the OT? ...or do we?

How do you feel about God’s judgment of a sinful creation? Should the idea of judgment feature more prominently in our evangelism (see e.g. Rom.2:16; Acts 10:42; Acts 17:31 etc.)?

And later in the session:

How can the Church say they are loved by God when He ordains this experience of extreme persecution (Gen.15:13)?

How does the Church go from being loved by Egypt to being so hated?

What are we being taught about the relationship between the Church and the world?

How does that map onto the Church’s experience of the world today? ...onto your own personal experience?

Why does God not act like this (enabling the Exodus) more often in human history.

Homework:

Over this half-term we have been working to memorise Matthew 5:43-48. You will have to keep refreshing the rest of the Sermon on the Mount whilst you do this (except for Matt.6:1-4, which we’ll memorise next half-term).

(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the 3 years of DTP)

To Be A Christian: Q&A 25-34

Read Exodus 3-20