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Q3. (2 Corinthians 2:9) How does obedience to servant leaders help the church of Jesus Christ? How does obedience to self-serving leaders hurt the church? Are you obedient to those whom God has placed over you in the Lord? Why or why not? What is the relationship between obedience and church unity? Obedience to servant leaders help the church of Jesus Christ enables godly leadership to operate effectively and to bring unity and God's blessing. Obedience to self-serving leaders takes the church out of God's will, and brings in dysfunction. I am obedient to the leadership, however if I see anything unscriptural I prayfully talk to them about it. We don't agree about everything, but we love and like each other. Obedience to servant leaders and to the Bible brings church unity.

Q2. (2 Corinthians 1:24) What does it mean to “lord it over” someone? What is the balance between (1) good, strong leadership, (2) micromanaging, and (3) a complete laissez-faire approach to leadership? What are the dangers of an authoritative leadership style? What are the dangers of a weak leadership style? "Lording it over" people is dominating and controlling them. Good strong leadership is firmly based in Biblical teaching, especially love. Micromanaging is domineering and controlling, whereas a complete laissez-faire approach is almost lacking any sort of true leadership, so the people would be like sheep without a Sheppard. With weak leadership the sheep are not protected or nourished to any great degree, so the congregation will suffer from deception, disunity and will be weak.

Q1. (2 Corinthians 1:21b-22) According to this verse, what does the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives signify? How does the Spirit unite us with God? What is the promise of future blessing inherent in the Spirit’s presence? The presence of the Holy Spirit signifies that we belong to God. The Spirit is in us and he unites us with the rest of the trinity. The Spirit in us is the first installment of everything he will give us.

Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? There is no place for independent freedom, we have to serve Christ or the devil! I think it's our old man that wants independent freedom - the old nature always wants its own way. We hesitate to firmly take sides as slaves to righteousness because the old nature is so stubborn and unwilling to die.

Q4. (Romans 6:17b) How does good doctrine affect the way we live? Why should we honor good doctrine? If we shouldn't look down on doctrine itself, what kind of teaching should we be avoiding? Good doctrine helps us to live a godly life because it is truth from the Bible. We should honer good scriptural doctrine because it is base on the truth of God's word. We should avoid any kind of teaching that is unscriptural. We need to know the Bible well so that we can identify faulty doctrine.

Q3. (2 Corinthians 1:10-11) Why does Paul ask people to pray for him? How do the prayers of others have an effect? What happened in your life that has helped you enter into a ministry of intercessory prayer? Paul was a church planter and apostle and so was very busy and had just gone through terrible suffering, so it was right and scriptural for the church to pray for him. The prayers of others release God's power and grace toward us. When I was a new believer, one of the pastors used to pray for me and I was amazed at the power of it and the wonderful love and peace and presence of God, that his prayers released. It got me interested in prayer and I joined the church prayer group, prayer has been a big part of my Christian life.

Q3. (Romans 6:15-18). What does obedience have to do with slavery? In what way does doing acts of righteousness demonstrate your slavery to God? In what ways does doing bad things demonstrate a slavery to sin? How is such a slavery or bondage broken? What part does obedience have in breaking this bondage? In what areas is God speaking to you about a fresh obedience in your life? A slave has no choice but to obey, we are to be love slaves of God. The flesh always wants to disobey God, but as we are slaves of God, we are to deny the flesh and be slaves instead to obeying God. Sin has a way of capturing those who give in to its lusts, making them slaves to it. Slavery to sin is broken by confessing to God and asking for his help, we have to renounce and repent of all sinful behavior, then willingly obey God. As we obey God and walk in righteousness, relying on Him for strength, we become overcomers. God wanting me to surrender past regrets and hurts, and not to think about those things from long ago.

Q2. (2 Corinthians 1:9-10) How does facing a harrowing crisis help us grow in the Lord? How has a crisis helped your spiritual life? What is the value of learning not to rely on ourselves? What does this do to our pride? How does this improve our effectiveness as God’s servants? When troubles and crisis overwhelm us we are forced to go to God and pray and trust like never before. It is in these times of trial that we can grow if we just decide to trust God, and he always comes through. Trials show us our weakness and how pathetic we are compared to the Lord our God, they take away our foolish pride and humble us. God allows these things in our lives to refine us, a humble, willing and obedient heart is what he wants to fashion in us.

Q1. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7) What kind of comfort do you receive from your faith in God? From your personal daily relationship with God? How might you share the blessing of this kind of comfort with a friend or relative who is currently suffering? What words of comfort can you bring to others? I have the comfort that God works all things together for my good, and God is with me and for me every day. Also it is comforting to be saved and on my way to Heaven. I can pray for others and share my testimony with others who are suffering and tell them the gospel.

Q2. (Romans 6:13) In what ways do you "offer the members of your body" to either sin or God multiple times in a day? Why is it that we can sin unconsciously? How can we begin to offer our members deliberately to God? What changes will it take in our daily life to do this? We make choices many times each day choosing to serve God or the flesh (and so the devil) We can sin unconsciously by being caught unawares, for example; we hit our thumb with a hammer or stub our toe or someone offends us and we react out of our old sin nature. When we do this we need to go to God for forgiveness and ask Him for help, as we surrender more and are transformed more in to Christ's image we will find that Christ will live through us more and more.

Q1. (Romans 6:12) What does obedience have to do with the "reign" of sin? We should no longer allow sin to reign in us by obeying our lusts and desires, but we should be obedient to our master and Lord and be servants of righteousness.

Q5. (Romans 6:11) What does it mean to "reckon, consider, count" in verse 11? Does this actually mean that we are convincing ourselves of something that isn't really true? What will be the effect in our lives if we actually do consider it to be true that we died with Christ's death with regard to sin? What does it mean to reckon yourself dead to sin? It means if God says we are and Jesus died to sin for us then I reckon it is so! We are convincing ourselves of something that IS true! If we actually do consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God, then we will grow up as true sons of God.

Q4. (Romans 6:6-7) In what way has our "body of sin," our "flesh," our old nature been made powerless because of our crucifixion with Christ? In what way have we been freed from slavery? What difference does this understanding make in our struggles against temptation? Because of our crucifixion with Christ and our union with him we have his victory over the old nature. This is by faith, and when we do mess up, we can go boldly to the throne of grace for forgiveness and cleansing. As we live more and more in victory over the "flesh" we live more in the freedom that our Lord has won for us. There is no temptation that Christ did not overcome, and as we keep trusting and keep looking to him, we grow stronger in him and experience his victory more and more in our struggles against temptation.

Q3. (Romans 6:1-7) Is Paul referring to a figurative "death" to sin, or to a kind of historical, actual death? Whose death is he talking about? How does this death become our own? To what degree is this just theological mumbo-jumbo or does it have some basis in reality? Paul is referring to the symbolic death through baptism and the identification with Christ's death in baptism. He is also referring to the death of Christ on the cross and the killing of the sinful nature there, and that through Christ's sacrificial death and our union with him, we have the means to put our own sinful nature to death.

Q2. (Romans 6:3-4) In Paul's reference to baptism in 6:3-4, what does "buried" (6:4a) correspond to in the act of baptism? What does "Christ was raised from the dead" (6:4b) correspond to in baptism? "Buried" corresponds to going under the water. "Christ was raised from the dead" corresponds to coming up out of the water.

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ? Baptism is a declaration of commitment to Christ, his death, his burial and his resurrection. We have to reckon the old sin nature as dead, identifying with Christ's death on the cross where he died carrying all the sins of the world. It is a powerful symbol because when we go under the water we identify with Christ's death and burial, and when we come up out of the water we identify with his resurrection.

Q3. (Romans 5:15-19) By what right does Adam represent all humankind? By what right does Christ become head of all who become his disciples? If Christ is not our "representative" or "head," how can his death for sins be effective for us? Adam is the father of us all and disobedience was passed down to us through him. He represents our fallen human nature and he is the author of it. Christ is our representative when we receive his redemptive obedience on our behalf because he is the sinless Son of God sent by God. His obedience in going to the cross as an atoning sacrifice is greater than Adams disobedience.

Q2. (Romans 5:13, 20) What is Paul saying in these verses? Can there be sin without law? In what sense does the "trespass increase" (5:20) when the law is present? Yes! Sin (and righteousness) were both at work before the law. The conscience (Romans 2:14,15) lets us know of right and wrong and convicts us of sin. The law highlights our sin and shows us how corrupt we are and sets the standard that God requires, which is impossible for us (the natural man) to keep and shows us our great need of the savior.

Q1. What kinds of circumstances in modern life can you think of where a single person acts for an entire group? In what ways are members of the group tied to this person? Wherever decisions are made on behalf of others: parents, teachers, bosses, politicians, government, lawmakers, judges. These people have power over us, and also a responsibility to us and accountability to us and God to lesser or greater degrees.

Q4. (Romans 5:9-11) What does "reconciliation" mean? Why is reconciliation with God necessary? We understand our having been saved by Jesus' death (5:10a, past tense). In what sense are we being saved (5:10b, present tense) by his life? What is Jesus doing for us in the present? Reconciliation means being brought into relationship, friendship and the family of God, it means we are no longer under God's wrath. We are being saved in the sense that Jesus lives in us and through us as we die to our selves and surrender to His lordship. The more we do this the more we are transformed in to his image.

Q3. (Romans 5:6, 8) Why is it so important to embrace the truth that "Christ died for the ungodly" (5:6), that "Christ died for sinners" (5:8)? According to 5:8, did Christ die for us at our best or at our worst? How does this give us assurance against the devil's lies about us being too bad to forgive? That Christ died for the ungodly demonstrates his love for all mankind, even the most evil and corrupt, no person is beyond forgiveness. When Christians mess up we can go boldly before the throne of grace. God's love and his willingness are beyond measure, love always forgives.

Q2. (Romans 5:2-5) According to this passage why should we rejoice in our sufferings and tribulations? One by one, what is the importance to our lives of: perseverance, tried character, and hope? 1) Perseverance is important to get us through trials with the right attitude, just keep going, keep trusting, God is faithful. He will work it to our good. 2) Tried character has been through the trials, suffering and squeezing (tribulations) and been purified, like the refiners fire that brings the dross to the surface so the master can remove the impurities, so making us in to a worthy vessel. 3) Hope helps us to look ahead to the finished work of sanctification and to our final heavenly home.

Q1. (Romans 5:1-2) According to verses 1-2, faith is a key to salvation. For Abraham (4:3), what was the relationship between faith and justification? For us (5:1-2), what is the relationship between faith and justification? In your own words, just what does it mean to be justified? Justification means being made righteous - right and acceptable to God, we obtain this by faith, believing and trusting in the work of Jesus at the cross. Abraham had such faith in God that he even prophetically offered his only son as a sacrifice on mount Mariah. Faith means trusting in, clinging to and cleaving ourselves to God, through this act we receive justification from our awesome God!