Bereans of Trinity

Paul closes off his discussion about differing opinions in the church by returning to the idea of acceptance that he introduced at the beginning of chapter 14. Does Paul mean we are to merely tolerate others with differing opinions, or does he mean something much more profound? What often actually lies at the heart of what we think are doctrinal differences between ourselves and others? What does communion or the Lord's Supper have to do with this passage? What is the particular sin that Paul is concerned could hinder the Corinthians' taking of the Lord's Supper? What two groups did Christ intend to benefit when He became a servant of the circumcision? What is significant about the particular passages from the Old Testament which Paul chooses to prove his point? What is significant about the order in which he quotes them? Why is Christ referred to as the "Root of Jesse?" What is the hope of the Gentiles? (62 min)

Paul continues in this passage his ongoing discussion of how believers of differing opinions are to get along in the church. Why does he spend so much time on this subject? What is the obligation which those with a strong conscience have towards those whose conscience is weak? What is the burden of the weak? How can a believer with a strong conscience bear the burden of one with a weak conscience? How is it that Paul, who insists in other places that it is wrong to be a pleaser of men, can now in this context insist that it is the believer's obligation to please his or her neighbor? What is the difference between these two kinds of pleasing others? What is the foundational example of pleasing of others. Why does Paul refer to the Old Testament for this instruction? What does Paul mean by having the same mind? What is the end result when Christians learn to all have the same mind? (60 min)

Given that the Kingdom of God is not about eating, but about righteousness, peace, and joy, this calls the believer to act accordingly. What is it that the strong in conscience should pursue? Paul insists that all things are objectively clean, but there are two cases in which they are subjectively evil. What are those two cases? What is the "work of God." How can we destroy the work of God? If our freedom is a right, what is it not? How can someone who is weak in faith grow to understand their freedom if the strong don't push them in that direction? How can the strong help the weak to be built up in their walk with God? What does Paul mean by saying the strong are to have their own conviction before God? How will they be blessed (happy)? To avoid sinning, what must the weak be careful to never do? (48 min)

After restating his admonition to all believers not to judge others in areas of non-essentials, he now focuses his admonitions toward those who are strong in conscience. What are the two things about which Paul is fully convinced? How does Paul know that nothing is unclean in itself? What is the connection between Jesus' words in Mark about all foods being clean and Peter's vision in Acts 10? What are the three reasons the strong should not put an obstacle in the way of a weak brother or sister? What does Paul mean by hurting or destroying a brother? Why is a person's conscience so important to God? What are the two ways in which one's conscience can be in error? Is Paul essentially prohibiting the strong from every enjoying their liberty? How do we know? (63 min)

Paul now introduces to us another area in which Christians hold to different convictions. This area regards the keeping or not keeping of special days. What is the assumption Paul holds to in the points he makes in these verses? What does Paul mean by being "fully convinced?" Why is this important? How can I know if I am sufficiently convinced about something in which I engage? Is God pleased with someone who holds to scruples which are not really an issue to Him? How do we know if what we are doing we are doing for the Lord? What do Paul's remarks about Jesus being Lord of the living and the dead have to do with this question of the weak and the strong? What are the three things we learn about how believers are to relate to others who hold and practice different convictions? (68 min)

In this passage Paul directs our attention to the subject of how Christians relate to one another within the church. Particularly, he is concerned about what we do when we hold differing opinions. It is important to realize that Paul is addressing what we call the nonessentials. What is the difference between essentials and nonessentials? What are the specific nonessentials Paul confronts in this passage? What are some of the nonessentials over which Christians disagree today? What is the context of the conflict in the church in Rome that makes Paul's instruction necessary? Who are the "weak in faith?" Who are the "strong?" What are the strong instructed to do when a weak one seeks fellowship amongst the strong? What are two important things to recognize about a person who is "weak" in this way? How does a person who is strong in faith tend to view those who are weak? How does the person who is weak tend to view the one who is strong? What is wrong when someone who abstains in a nonessential matter judges someone who does not abstain? (58 min)

These verses serve to bookend chapters 12 and 13, corresponding to the first two verses of chapter 12. This passage was central in the one of the greatest conversions in all of church history, that of Augustine of Hippo, in 386 A. D. What is his story? What do night and day represent in this passage? What do sleep and being awake represent? Of what does Paul assume the Christians in Rome are knowledgeable? How do we often misunderstand the significance of the apparent delay in Christ's return? How should we view this long passage of time? What two ways does Jesus teach us to think about the kingdom of God? How can it be night and day at the same time? What is improper for believers to do? What are the deeds of the night? How do we preclude making any provision for the lusts of the flesh? (55 min)

Considering the subject of our obligations to others within the civil sphere, Paul transitions into the subject of loving others. What does Paul mean by instructing us against owing anything to anyone? Is this a blanket prohibition against borrowing money? What do other scriptures have to say on the subject? What is the ongoing debt we all have? Why does Paul speak of our "fulfilling the law" through love in this passage, when earlier in Romans he has said that we have "died" to the law and are "free" from the law? How does love fulfill the law? What is the foundational principle behind all the commandments? What is wrong with the view of this passage that says we need to learn to love ourselves before we can love our neighbor? What is the given assumption in the statement that we are to love our neighbor as ourself? When is low self esteem warranted? When is it unwarranted? How is unwarranted low self esteem a form of pride? Is someone with low self esteem excused from the obligation to love others as themselves? What is the minimum measurement for how we are to love others? Is love for others merely a matter of prohibitions (do not commit adultery, do not steal, etc.)? (53 min.)

In this lesson we continue to consider the Christian view of civil authority. In these verses Paul sets forth the second reason for the biblical mandate that the believer is to be in submission to the governing authorities. What can the Christian do to avoid fear of the civil authority? What is the tutorial dimension of civil law, and why do we as Christians need this tutorial aspect? What is the two-fold ministry of civil authorities? What does the sword in this passage represent? Where did the practice of capital punishment originate? What is the reason for capital punishment? What is wrong with the argument that capital punishment diminishes the value of human life? What about the argument that sometimes capital punishment is sometimes wrongly applied? What is to be the Christian's attitude towards paying taxes? The obligation to authority extends beyond merely obedience/submission and the paying of taxes. How else is it to be expressed? Why is it important that as Christians we not be known as ones who are generally opposed to civil authority and who treat rulers with disrespect? What is it about a free democratic society that calls for special care in our attitudes towards government? (56 min)

In these verses Paul begins dealing with the subject or our relationship to authority and rulers. Due to the dramatic shift in subject matter, the passage raises questions with some as to the authenticity of the passage. How does this subject actually flow clearly from the things Paul has talked about in chapter 12? What is a problem we often face in understanding this passage? Who does Paul believe is to be subject to authorities? How do we know that he is talking about human civil authorities and not evil spiritual authorities? What is significant about Paul's use of the the word submission rather than obedience? How should we approach this passage in view of Paul's exclusively positive remarks about civil authority? Does Paul never envision a circumstance in which some might legitimately resist authority? What does the fact that all authority is established by God imply about our acts of submission and, conversely, our acts of resistance? (61 min)