Romans 5:6-10
Warm UP
What is the nicest thing anybody’s ever done for you?
Getting Started
How would you define love?
A LITTLE DEEPER
Jesus said -- John 15:13 -- that "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." Can you think of any greater expression of love?
Who would you be willing to literally die for?
DISCUSSION
In Romans 5:8, the Apostle Paul say, "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." How does this "prove" God’s love for you?
Does it make a difference that it’s not just your mom being willing to die for you, but God-the-creator-of-heaven-and-earth who literally died for you?
In verse 6 it says "at the right time Christ died." What was the right time?
What difference does our weakness and our ungodliness and sin make in the cross occuring "at the right time."
In Romans 3:24-25, the Apostle Paul says, "we are justified by God’s grace." In Romans 5:9, Paul says "justified by [Jesus’] blood." Justification is a legal term; we are declared just. But if God justifies us, why do we spend so much time trying to justify themselves?
What is the antidote to the insecurities in our lives?
Good or Evil?
Is magic real?
There may be sleights of hand that fool the eye. But no! People can’t fly on
broom sticks or open doors with a wand.
Nevertheless, are witches real?
Yes, there are people who call themselves witches.
What do they believe?
Officially they worship trees and nature. They worship the "created";
rather than the Creator. see Romans 1:25
Unofficially?
Modern day witchcraft is pagan and occult and a continuation of the Baal worship
in the Old Testament. Ultimately, it seeks spiritual power from a source that is not from God. And often the deeper people go, the darker it can get.What does the Bible say about witchcraft?
"Do not let your people ... practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord." Deuteronomy 18:10-12
So if God is against the occult, why are we using the witches and wizards at Hogwarts as a focus of our studies?
For three reasons ...
One?
We’ve been exposed to it already.
It is part of youth culture.
Two?
We know it’s fiction. Pretend.
Three?
It is, nevertheless a powerful
"morality play" of good verses evil
– in which love triumphs over darkness.
Why is this important?
Because the rest of culture teaches us that there is no right, there is no wrong, there are just lots of shades of gray ... therefore, "do not judge." Which sounds nice, but it’s really teaching us to tolerate almost anything.
Does God want us to tolerate evil?
No. He has "called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9
He says, "once you were darkness ...
but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light." Ephesians 5:8
What does the Apostle Paul have to say about this?
He says, "Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12
"Therefore ...
... put on the full armor of God, so that ... you may be able to stand
your ground." Ephesians 6:13
So why do we use Harry Potter?
It is not because it’s real ... and it is not because we are dabbling in witchcraft
... it is simply because it is a parable that tells one big truth: "There is good.
There is evil. Stand boldly on the side of God and good."
Note: C. S. Lewis’s Tales of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy are classic tales – embraced by Christians for generations – that focus on wizards and magic and good versus evil. They use a metaphor and an adventure to get at deeper truths.
