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Lesson 4 He Has Given Us Work to Do

Worship Read responsively (1 John 4:7-12). Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have cleansed me of all my sin with your holy, precious blood. I am free from sin in your forgiveness. You have overcome death for me, and I am free of fear to hope for life eternal with you. You have freed me also to serve others in love. Open my eyes to see the needs of others. Open my heart to show compassion and kindness. Then free my hands to reach out in love to humbly help, knowing that through me, your disciple, you show your love to others. Hear me and help me for your sake, loving Lord. Amen.

Introduction In a marathon near London, Matt Rees, a Welsh runner, was within two hundred meters of the finish line when he approached a fellow runner who was struggling to finish. The struggling runner, David Wyeth, was so exhausted he had difficulty putting one foot in front of the other to move forward and finish the race. Matt stopped, put his arm around David to help steady his competitor, and then together they started to move forward. As other runners passed them, he continued to support David and helped him go the remaining two hundred meters.

Consider a time when someone has helped you. Has there been a time when you have helped someone in difficulty? Luther wrote, “Who then can comprehend the riches and the glory of the Christian life? It can do all things and has all things and lacks nothing. It is lord over sin, death, and hell, and yet at the same time it serves, ministers to, and benefits all men” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 368). Why do you think Luther would say that the life of Christian service is rich and glorious?

Luther recognized that many in the church lived in spiritual bondage, attempting to appease God through a life of good works. With the discovery that righteousness is not something we can give to God but that it is a gift God gives us because of Jesus, we are free to live a life of love toward others.

What is Christian freedom? 1. Read John 8:31-36. Jesus tells his disciples they will know the truth and it will set them free. How would you explain this freedom Christ gives to a person who is trying to earn God’s favor by doing good works?

2. Read Colossians 1:21,22. Christian freedom is different from political freedom. How is Christian freedom different from the way our world (perhaps especially the United States’ culture) defines freedom?

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3. Satan suggests a way we can be free of punishment from sin and become God’s children. He tells us, “Obey all God’s commandments and you can earn God’s love and become heirs of heaven.” Read Romans 4:13,14. Contrast Satan’s approach with God’s.

4. In what way is Satan’s suggestion actually slavery and not freedom at all?

5. Read Romans 6:23. How does this passage help you understand the difference between Satan’s way and God’s?

6. Read Galatians 5:1-4. It is not always easy to avoid the idea of earning our salvation by what we do. Paul calls this the “yoke of slavery,” and it often burdens us even after we come to faith in Jesus. How can we remain steadfast in our freedom?

7. What promises of God do you turn to for assurance of your ultimate victory over sin and death? List passages that are especially important to you.

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8. When we struggle with doubts and are weighed down with trouble and agony, we may not appear to be free at all. Read Matthew 11:28-30 and Romans 8:28. How might you use these passages to comfort a person who is facing trials?

We use our Christian freedom to serve. 9. Full and free forgiveness changes the way we look at good works—our life of service to God and others. List five good works we might perform in our lives. Explain how we might view them if we are looking through the lens of needing to appease God and how we now view them as we see through the lens of forgiveness in Christ.

10. Yet our sinful nature is capable of misusing all that is good. Read Galatians 5:13. Give specific examples of how can you misuse your freedom.

11. Read 1 Peter 2:16. Peter suggests another misuse of freedom. How can someone use the idea of freedom to cover up sin and evil?

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12. Why does Peter tell us to live as “God’s slaves”? Isn’t that exactly the opposite of freedom? Explain. Read Romans 6:15-18 to help you understand.

13. Read Revelation 1:4-6. Jesus has freed us to serve God. What are some of the reasons why you serve God?

14. Read 1 Corinthians 7:22. How does this passage help us understand Luther’s comment, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 344)?

15. Read 1 Corinthians 9:19. The apostle Paul suggests a principle to consider as we exercise our Christian freedom. Why does Paul become a “slave to everyone”? 

How does this apply to you?

16. Read 1 Corinthians 10:23. Paul gives us another principle. Using this principle, suggest things you can do that will be helpful and beneficial to others.

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17. Describe how Luther’s concept of freedom made it possible for him to have peace in his heart even as he and Katie ministered to their city during the plague. 18. The Ten Commandments provide a guide for us as we live as Christians. The commandments, of course, prohibit certain behaviors, but they also show us what we can do to love God and others. Review the commandments and create a list showing how the commandments guide our use of our Christian freedom.

Commandment

Positive Behavior

First Second Third

Fourth Fifth

Sixth Seventh

Eighth Ninth Tenth

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Supplemental Questions: 1. Read 1 John 4:16-21. What is the connection between God’s love and our love for him and others?

2. Read 1 Corinthians 13 and Romans 12:9-21. Using these passages, create a list of ways you can love others. (Consider your family, your work, your church, your recreation.) 3. Read Romans 7:14-25. The apostle Paul seems to be trapped in bondage. “I do not do the good I want to do.” Why is this true for Paul and for us?

4. Galatians 5:16-18 expresses the same challenge. Why do Christians still struggle with sin?

5. How can we overcome the slavery of sin in our own lives and please God freely instead? 6. True or false: Christians don’t need to do good works. Explain your answer.

7. How does forgiveness free us to move forward rather than hold on to the past? Can you give an example?

Additional Reading: Christian Freedom: Christ Sets Us Free, by William Fischer. A volume of the NPH People’s Bible Teaching series. Sanctification: Alive in Christ, by Lyle Lange. A volume of the NPH People’s Bible Teaching series. God So Loved the World, by Lyle Lange, pp. 359-428. Grace Abounds: The Splendor of Christian Doctrine, by Daniel Deutschlander, pp. 487-533. Simply Lutheran: A Practical Guide to Lutheran Teachings, by Arthur Eggert, pp. 274-276. Here We Stand

John 8:31-36 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 You will also know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered, “and we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be set free’?” 34 Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Everyone who keeps committing sin is a slave to sin. 35 But a slave does not remain in the family forever. A son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. Colossians 1:21-22 21 At one time, you were alienated from God and hostile in your thinking as expressed through your evil deeds. 22 But now Christ reconciled you in his body of flesh through death, in order to present you holy, blameless, and faultless before him. Romans 4:13-14 13 Indeed, the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not given to Abraham or his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness that is by faith. 14 To be sure, if people are heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Galatians 5:1-4 5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not allow anyone to put the yoke of slavery on you again. 2 Look, I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I testify again to every man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obligated to do the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law are completely separated from Christ. You have fallen from grace. Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose, Galatians 5:13 After all, brothers, you were called to freedom. Only do not use your freedom as a starting point for your sinful flesh. Rather, serve one another through love. Here We Stand

1 Peter 2:16 Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God. Romans 6:15-18 15 What then? Should we continue to sin, because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves to obey someone as slaves, you are slaves of the one you are obeying—whether slaves of sin, resulting in death, or slaves of obedience, resulting in righteousness? 17 Thanks be to God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to the pattern of the teaching into which you were placed. 18 After you were set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Revelation 1:4-6 4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is, who was, and who is coming, and from the seven spirits that are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood 6 and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father— to him be the glory and the power forever. Amen. 1 Corinthians 7:22 For the slave who was called to be in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person. Likewise, the free person who was called is Christ’s slave. 1 Corinthians 9:19 In fact, although I am free from all, I enslaved myself to all so that I might gain many more. 1 Corinthians 10:23 “Everything is permitted”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permitted”—but not everything builds up. 1 John 4:16-21 6 We also have come to know and trust the love that God has for us. God is love. Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 17 In this way his love has been brought to its goal among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are just like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love, but complete love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who continues to be afraid has not been brought to the goal in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For how can anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, love God, whom he has not seen? 21 This then is the command we have from him: The one who loves God should also love his brother. Here We Stand

1 Corinthians 13 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and know all the mysteries and have all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away everything I own, and if I give up my body that I may be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. It does not brag. It is not arrogant. 5 It does not behave indecently. It is not selfish. It is not irritable. It does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 It does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophetic gifts, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, 10 but when that which is complete has come, that which is partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see indirectly using a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I was fully known. 13 So now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. Romans 12:9-21 9 Do not just pretend to love others. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with brotherly love. Think of others as deserving more honor than yourselves. 11 Do not be lagging behind in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, as you continue to serve the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope. Endure trials patiently. Persist in prayer. 13 Share with the saints who are in need. Be quick to welcome strangers as guests. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping. 16 Have the same respect for one another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble. Do not think too highly of yourselves. 17 Do not pay anyone back evil for evil. Focus on those things that everyone considers noble. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, maintain peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 But: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For by doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 7:14-25 14 Certainly we know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not keep doing what I want. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 But now it is no longer I who am doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 Indeed, I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my sinful flesh. The desire to do good is present with me, but I am not able to carry it out. 19 So I fail to do the good I want to do. Instead, the evil I do not want to do, that is what I keep doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who am doing it, but it is sin living in me. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is Here We Stand

present with me. 22 I certainly delight in God’s law according to my inner self, 23 but I see a different law at work in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me captive to the law of sin, which is present in my members. 24 What a miserable wretch I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my sinful flesh I serve the law of sin. Galatians 5:16-18 16 What I am saying is this: Walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out what the sinful flesh desires. 17 For the sinful flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful flesh. In fact, these two continually oppose one another, so that you do not continue to do these things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the control of the law.

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