Discussion Questions: "The Gospel and Holiness"

AUTHENTIC CHURCH | The Gospel and Holiness | 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

SERMON RECAP: We live in a sexually charged culture—sex is everywhere. We respond by either making too much of sex or too little of it. Sex is not just physical; it’s a deeply spiritual act; it’s the mingling of souls. God’s will for our sexuality is crystal clear in this passage: that every follower of Jesus would be sanctified (or set apart) in their sexual purity. Followers of Jesus are to abstain from sexual immorality and learn to control their bodies in holiness and honor. Sex is a good gift when enjoyed in the context of marriage between one man and one woman.

BIG IDEA: God changes our lust into love so we can please God and love others.

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12. Read the passage and consider the following questions. Use the text to back up your answers.

1. How does the gospel help us understand the purpose of sex?

2. Define sanctification, holiness, and sexual immorality.

3. How does sexual immorality harm you? How does it harm others?

4. What are some practical ways we abstain from sexual immorality?

• What are some practical steps we can take to get the Scriptures in our minds?
• What are some practical steps we can take to let the Scriptures affect our hearts (mind, will, emotions)?
• What are some practical steps we can take to safeguard ourselves when we’re tempted to sin sexually?

5. What’s the role of the Holy Spirit in learning to control our bodies in holiness and honor?

6. What’s the role of the believing community in learning to control our bodies in holiness and honor?

“The love of God and the love of the world, are two affections, not merely in a state of rivalship, but in a state of enmity—and that so irreconcilable, that they cannot dwell together in the same bosom. We have already affirmed how impossible it were for the heart, by any innate elasticity of its own, to cast the world away from it; and thus reduce itself to a wilderness. The heart is not so constituted; and the only way to dispossess it of an old affection, is by the expulsive power of a new one.” --The Expulsive Power of a New Affection, Thomas Chalmers

PRAY TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY GROUP.
PRAY OVER YOUR OIKOS DOCUMENT.

FURTHER READING

On gendered beings:

• VIDEO: Embodied from Creation Through Redemption: Placing Gender and Sexuality in Theological Context (Beth Felker Jones)
• ARTICLE: This Formerly Trans 14-Year-Old Has A Message For Questioning Kids (Walt Heyer, The Federalist)
• ARTICLE:  Man, Woman, and the Mystery of Christ (Russell Moore)
• ARTICLE: Are our bodies a revelation of our design?
• BOOK: Designed for Joy: How the Gospel Impacts Men and Women  (ed. Jonathan Parnell and Owen Strachan)
• BOOK: Beauty, Order, and Mystery: A Christian Vision of Human Sexuality (ed. Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson)
• BOOK:  All But Invisible: Exploring Identity Questions at the Intersection of Faith, Gender & Sexuality (Nate Collins)

On gender roles:

• VIDEO: The Beauty of Complementarity: (Jackie Hill Perry, Sam Allberry, and Rosaria Butterfield on a Widely Misunderstood Topic) 
• VIDEO: Why is the Gospel Coalition Complementarian (The Gospel Coalition)
• BOOK:  Jesus, Justice, and Gender Roles: A Case for Gender Roles in Ministry (Kathy Keller)
• BOOK: God’s Good Design (Claire Smith) Former feminist Claire Smith takes a verse-by-verse approach to seeing what the Bible has to say about men and women and their roles in the home and church.
• BOOK: Designed for Joy: How the Gospel Impacts Men and Women, Identity and Practice (ed. Jonathan Parnell and Owen Strachan)​

On marriage:

• BOOK: Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel (Ray Ortlund)
• BOOK:The Meaning of Marriage (Timothy & Kathy Keller)
• BOOK: Marriage Matters(Winston Smith)
• BOOK: What Did You Expect?(Paul David Tripp)
• BOOK: Tying the Knot (Rob Green)
• ARTICLE: Man, Woman, and the Mystery of Christ (Russell Moore)
• VIDEO: The Beauty of Complementarity: (Jackie Hill Perry, Sam Allberry, and Rosaria Butterfield on a Widely Misunderstood Topic)
• VIDEO: The Minister’s Marriage (Ray Ortlund) - Ortlund gives a beautiful biblical theology of marriage as a proclamation of the gospel itself. Though originally given to a group of pastors and wives, this is a pastoral, prophetic that will benefit the whole church.
• ARTICLE: Our Wedding Rings Give Us Amnesia (Jasmine Holmes)

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On singleness:

• ARTICLE: “Your Singleness is Not Punishment for Your Imperfection”(Jasmine Holmes)
• ARTICLE: “Single for a Reason: Eight Lies We Tell Unmarried Women”(Jasmine Holmes)
• ARTICLE: “It Isn’t Good to Be Alone” (Wendy Alsup)