Review of Session 6: The Disciple’s Calling
· In a number of passages in the New Testament, such as 2 Peter 1, we see Paul and Peter giving lists of qualities that should be exhibited in the lives of believers. These can be looked at as ways to measure our individual progress in sanctification: becoming more like Christ Himself.
· All such lists cause us to face the antinomy of our election and our calling: God alone is responsible for our being new creatures in Christ, yet we bear responsibility for “putting on Christ” in our lives as his disciples.
· To aid us in making progress in fulfilling Christ’s call to discipleship, he has given us the church and the family wherein we can come alongside one another—in love—and provoke each other to good works and character development.
· Our vocations in life are part of our calling, but as time consuming as they often are, their role is less emphasized in the New Testament compared to the work of the Spirit in transforming us into the image of our Savior. Yet, our secular and our sacred work is always to be done “unto the Lord.”
A Thought Question
When you hear the word “discipline,” what emotion do you experience? Is it positive or negative? Why is this?
1 Cor. 9:1-27
1. This passage interweaves several themes we have been discussing in this class. What do we learn about the family, about the church, and about “calling” through Paul’s discussion here?
2. What motivated Paul to write this chapter of his letter? Do the issues that caused him to write in the 1st millennium concern us here in the 3rd millennium?
3. We will return to this passage when we discuss evangelism. Briefly, how far was Paul willing to go to heed the call to spread the Gospel?
4. What is Paul’s point in using the metaphor about running a race and winning a prize? What race is he referring to? What is the prize?
5. What does he mean when he says that he beats his body and makes it his slave? Why does he do this?
6. What does this say about the role of spiritual disciplines in our lives as disciples?
7. We studied spiritual disciplines in an earlier class. Please recall as many as you can.
A List of Spiritual Disciplines
Disciplines of Engagement
· Prayer
· Study (including memorization)
· Meditation
· Celebration
· Fellowship
· Service
· Submission
· Worship
Disciplines of Abstinence
· Fasting
· Silence/Solitude
· Frugality/Simplicity
· Sacrifice
8. In what way do these disciplines aid us in winning the prize Paul speaks of here? Please share which disciplines have become most valuable to your own spiritual development since we studied them together.
Revelation 3:14-22
Note on Laodicea: Its water supply had to be provided from a distant source through pipes. The resulting water was lukewarm and barely drinkable. By contrast, the neighboring town of Hierapolis had medicinal hot springs, and the neighboring Colosse was supplied by a cold mountain stream. (New Geneva Study Bible, p. 2013)
1. What was the fundamental problem with the church in Laodicea according to the Lord?
2. Do you really believe a lukewarm church is worse than a “cold” church? Why or why not?
3. What fundamentally wrong assumption did the Laodicean believers make about themselves?
4. What was the nature of this church’s poverty?
5. How would you compare this church to the evangelical church in the US in the 3rd millennium? How would you compare it to us?
6. How is the word “discipline” used in this passage? What do we learn about discipline here?
7. What is the most important thing the Laodiceans need to do to correct their shortfall? How does that apply to us?