| Start of Matt buffer: Tuesday 08:22:53
Dave: Good morning!
Matt: Hey
Dave: Today's the big finale!
Matt: Ya
Dave: Just think . . . from now on you can sleep in on Tuesdays! What did you think of the study on obedience?
Matt: It was good
Dave: Did anything stand out for you?
Matt: Um, not really
Dave: If you had to put the whole study into one sentence, what would it be?
Matt: U can’t be obedient without love and u can’t love without obedience and obedience is what God requires
Dave: Sounds difficult
Matt: Ya
Dave: Do you think it is possible?
Matt: Yep
Dave: What would a person look like that “fits the bill?”
Matt: I have no idea
Dave: What would they be like? Would they be sinning?
Matt: They would be doing their best to follow God's guidelines
Dave: If God requires obedience, what happens if they fail?
Matt: They need to admit they did the wrong thing
Dave: Good thinking. Have a look at Luke 15:11-24. Jesus tells a story about someone who knew the right way to live, but threw it away. When he "came to his senses" what did he decide to do?
Matt: He went back to his father
Dave: What reaction did the son expect the father to have? What was he willing to give up, just to be at home again?
Matt: His freedom
Dave: Was he right? Did his father require him to meet a list of requirements when he came home?
Matt: No
Dave: What was the father's reaction? What did he give the son?
Matt: A feast, a ring and the fattened calf
Dave: Do you know what the purpose of the ring was?
Matt: To signify freedom?
Dave: The ring was a symbol of authority - with it the son could "stamp" the family symbol on letters, bills etc. The father was giving the son his "place" as son back—fully.
Matt: Oh, cool
Dave: What about the robe? What kind of robe did the father ask to be put on the boy?
Matt: The best
Dave: Why? What would that say to the servants, guests, neighbours etc?
Matt: That he accepted his son back
Dave: Do you think the son waited for his next opportunity and ran away from home to get away from his father's rules and regulations?
Matt: Nope
Dave: Why not? He did it before
Matt: Because his father had shown him compassion
Dave: Have a look at Romans 3. Start at vs 23 What does 23 say to you?
Matt: That everyone falls short of the glory of God and everyone has sinned
Dave: And how does the sentence conclude (vs 24)?
Matt: We are redeemed by grace through Jesus
Dave: Now read 25-26. What does God require?
Matt: God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
Dave: Yup. Two things - atonement & justice. We know that the "wages of sin is death"
Matt: Oh
Dave: The penalty had to be paid so that at-one-ment with God could be possible for sinners. So, Jesus’ blood was offered in our place!
Matt: What is atonement?
Dave: Making all things right
Matt: Oooh
Dave: Sin digs a chasm between God and man. Atonement repairs the gulf. But, if we died to repair the gulf we would be dead forever! So Jesus died for us. What do we need to recognise in order to come "boldly before the throne of God?"
Matt: That Jesus died for us
Dave: Yup! Faith in Jesus’ sacrifice makes us right with God. In accepting Jesus’ death in our place at-one-ment is accomplished for you and me! But obedience is required of us by God. But Jesus died to set us free from the penalty fon sin. We are free to do as we like. What shall we do?
Matt: Obey
Dave: Spot on!
Dave: Obedience comes naturally to someone who has been unconditionally forgiven and accepted without condition. So, what if we fail?
Matt: We need to ask God’s forgiveness and sincerely try again
Dave: Will we fail?
Matt: Not with God’s help
Dave: Any last thoughts before we pray?
Matt: No, not really. I need food!
Dave: Me too! All right, let’s pray. Dear Father in heaven, thank you for accepting us because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We want to live to glorify You with our every thought and action. Amen!
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Dave Edgren has joined our editorial team and is now looking after Signs of the Times magazine.