Following Christ Is a Way of Life

Session Summary

The word salvation sometimes has been misused by Christians and misunderstood by others. Yet, like many other words found in the Bible, it is best to keep using it and to do so with as much clarity as possible. When talking about the Wesleyan Way of salvation, one should keep in mind what Jesus said to many people whom he met. For many of them, salvation was about healing them of the brokenness in their lives. For some this meant physical healing. For others it was restoring broken relationships. For still others it meant life after death, in paradise. One way of explaining it is to say that salvation is from all the bad things in life, and salvation is for true happiness, joy, and meaning.

Salvation is more than membership in a church, although church membership is part of it. Salvation is more than a family affiliation, though one's family and upbringing may influence our path. People enter the Christian life in a variety of ways, but salvation is a lifelong journey. Once someone has entered into the Christian life, that person has been saved but is still being saved. Christians should understand that God has not finished with them just because they have entered into a saving relationship. All of us are sinners, and it takes a lifetime to become the kind of people God intends us to be.

Before Class

This session addresses deep questions about the basics of our faith, including questions that can carry some cultural baggage. Controversial issues may come up in your class discussion, so it is helpful to think beforehand about what you consider the essentials of your faith.

1. Why are you a Christian? What does being a Christian mean to you?

2. What is your feeling about the word saved and what it takes to "be saved"?

Welcome

Start class with a word of greeting and prayer. Consider singing the hymn that closes the week's chapter, "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing."

Icebreaker question: What is your reaction to roadside billboards that say things such as "If you died tonight, where would you spend eternity?" (Responses might include the ethics and efficacy of fear tactics, the concept of heaven and hell, and the question of who can be saved and how.)

Bible Study and Discussion

Read the following passages from the Torah and Jesus' adaptation of it in Matthew.

Leviticus 19:11-18

You must not steal nor deceive nor lie to each other. 12 You must not swear falsely by my name, desecrating your God's name in doing so; I am the Lord. 13 You must not oppress your neighbors or rob them. Do not withhold a hired laborer's pay overnight. 14 You must not insult a deaf person or put some obstacle in front of a blind person that would cause them to trip. Instead, fear your God; I am the Lord. 15 You must not act unjustly in a legal case. Do not show favoritism to the poor or deference to the great; you must judge your fellow Israelites fairly. 16 Do not go around slandering your people. Do not stand by while your neighbor's blood is shed; I am the Lord. 17 You must not hate your fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your fellow Israelite strongly, so you don't become responsible for his sin. 18 You must not take revenge nor hold a grudge against any of your people; instead, you must love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Now these are the commandments, the regulations, and the case laws that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you to follow in the land you are entering to possess, 2 so that you will fear the Lord your God by keeping all his regulations and his commandments that I am commanding you—both you and your sons and daughters—all the days of your life and so that you will lengthen your life. 3 Listen to them, Israel! Follow them carefully so that things will go well for you and so that you will continue to multiply exactly as the Lord, your ancestors' God, promised you, in a land full of milk and honey.

4 Israel, listen! Our God is the Lord! Only the Lord!

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. 6 These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. 7 Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol. 9 Write them on your house's doorframes and on your city's gates.

Matthew 22:34-40

34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had left the Sadducees speechless, they met together. 35 One of them, a legal expert, tested him. 36 "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands."

Questions

1. Describe the covenant between God and Israel as laid out in Deuteronomy 6:1-9.

2. The command to "love your neighbor as yourself" in Leviticus 19:18 is somewhat buried amid instructions about animal sacrifices and avoiding fortune-tellers. What do you notice about the immediate context of the command (Leviticus 19:11-18)?

3. Matthew 22:35 says the Pharisees were testing Jesus with a question. What do you think they expected him to say?

4. Deuteronomy 6:4, called the "Shema" (Hebrew for listen), is a central affirmation of the Jewish faith, so the Pharisees may well have agreed with Jesus that it is the greatest commandment. What point do you think Jesus was making by saying that the law from Leviticus 19:18 was a close second?

5. In the book chapter we're discussing this week, Scott Jones says, "The Wesleyan Way of salvation is an answer to questions about how to live well." Do you think Jesus' definition of the greatest and second-greatest commandments could be called a way of salvation?

My other thoughts and questions:

Video Study and Discussion

Today's video segment features Andy Nixon, pastor of The Loft, an innovative faith community launched out of The Woodlands Church in Texas. Andy talks about his own journey to faith after being raised in a nonreligious household, and how he has come to understand just how radical God's love for us is and the power of salvation in Christ.

Watch the video, then discuss the following questions:

1. Andy describes his journey of faith as one of finding answers. What questions do you think are essential to experiencing the saving grace of God?

2. Andy asks himself, "Do I really trust Christ? I mean, do I really? Do I really love my neighbor?" How do you know the answers to these questions? Can you know these things for sure?

3. What do you think the...