Sunday School Lessons on Responsibility Topic Discussion

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Sunday School Lessons on Responsibility Topic Discussion

1.How does the knowledge that God ownsyour very being affect how you live? Whatchanges do you need to make?

The fact of creation makes God the owner.Scripture also reminds us that we have beenbought hack from sin by the blood of Christ;therefore we glorify God in body and spirit(1 Corinthians 6:20). All this means that we arenot to be the servants of others in a sense of al-lowing them to have ultimate authority over as(1 Corinthians 7:23). We seek God's will aboveall else.

Our minds belong to God; therefore we are tolet only holy thoughts enter. Our eyes belong toGod; therefore we are to keep them from linger-ing over those things that bring unholy thoughtsinto our minds. Our time also belongs to God;therefore we are to be sure that we use our hoursin ways that honor Him.

2.In what ways have you been guilty of cir-cumventing or disavowing your personal sin?How have you made positive changes in thisregard?

The Scottish singing group The Proclaimers hasa song entitled "Everybody's a Victim." That titlepretty much says it all, doesn't it? A common cul-tural response to an accusation of wrongdoing isfor a person to claim that he or she is a victim andthus not responsible. The song bemoans the factthat the singer's country (presumably Scotland) isbecoming like America in that regard.

The comedian Flip Wilson was famous for histagtine, "The devil made me do it." Scripturespeaks against this view, saying that sin is thefault of the sinner (James 1:14, 15). Another waywe try to alleviate personal responsibility for sinis by rationalizing. The idea is that if we are "notas bad" as someone else, then we must be rela-tively OK. We attempt to justify greed and bitter-ness by telling ourselves that at least we did notsteal or kill. But Jesus said that if we ponder cer-tain things in our hearts, then we are as guilty asif we had actually committed the sin (Matthew 5:21, 22).

3. Though sin guilt is not passed from parentto child, the consequences may be. What are some ways that the consequences of one's sinsmay be visited upon another? Conversely, whatare some ways that the consequences of one'sholy actions may be a benefit to another?

A mother who has been a drug addict maygive birth to a baby who suffers birth defectscaused by the addiction. A father who spends allhis money on drinking binges is not able to pro-vide properly for the needs of his family. If achild overhears a parent complaining aboutthings in the church, the children may develop acynical attitude toward Christianity. Acts ofmercy and compassion, on the other hand, serveas a witness (1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7).

4.God neither keeps a record of a Christian'ssins nor remembers them. How do you use thisfact to develop a godly nature?

Reminders of our past sin come from threesources: Satan, other people, and self. Learningto let go of the past and not hold on to guilt canbe difficult when these three sources keep bom-barding us with reminders! Recognizing thesource of the discouragement is important. Onething is certain: the source is not God.

Another challenge we have is to hold no sinsof others against them. When someone has re-pented and is trying to put his or her life back to-gether, we as brothers and sisters in Christ are todo all we can to affirm and assist in the restora-tion process. God expects us to be part of the so-lution, not part of the problem.

5.Repentance leads to a restored relationshipwith God. What other benefits of repentancehave you noticed in your life?

Salvation is, of course, the ultimate good thatcomes from repentance. But there are other bene-fits for us while still living out our faith on earth.Turning from sexual sins can lead to the avoid-ance of disease. Turning from sins of abusive-ness restores relationships; if there was physicalabuse, then there is now safety for those whowere being abused.

Repentance or turning from a sin today makesit easier to resist another temptation tomorrow. Ithas been said that in repentance we do not be-come sinless, but we do sin less and less.

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