THE
EFFECTS OF ONE’S CONCEPT OF GOD
Gen. 22:2, 3 What did God tell Abraham to do?
What was Abraham’s response to God’s command?
What was Abraham’s concept of God,
and how did that influence Abraham’s response to God’s command (Heb.
How does your concept of God influence you when God tells you to do
something as recorded in the Bible, such as in evangelizing the world (Matt. 28:19, 20; 2 Tim. 4:5), building
up other Christians spiritually (Rom.
14:19; 1 Thes. 5:11), living a holy life (1 Pet. 1:15; 2 Cor. 7:1), or not marrying a non-Christian (2 Cor. 6:14), and why?
Do you give excuses for not evangelizing or building up other
Christians spiritually (e.g., “I’m shy;”
“I’m not a good speaker;” “I don’t know the Bible that well;” “I’m not that
intelligent;” “I look ugly;” “I don’t have a great personality;” “I can’t read
that well;” “I don’t have a big vocabulary;” “I’m not the leader type.”)?
Do you give excuses for not living a holy life (e.g., “But if I don’t lie to this customer like my boss told me to,
I’ll lose my job!;” “But if I don’t cheat on this assignment/test, I’ll flunk
the course, or lose my scholarship, or not graduate;” “If I don’t speed and
break the speed limit, I’ll be late and in trouble with my parents, my
employer, my friend, etc.;” “If I don’t go to this “R” rated movie with my
friends/co-workers, etc., they’ll think I’m a religious fanatic and not invite
me to anything anymore.”)?
Do you give/make excuses for marrying a non-Christian (e.g., “If I don’t marry this non-Christian
now, I might never have another chance to get married since I’m getting pretty
old;” “After we get married, I’ll convert my mate to Christ;” “Even though my
fiancé(e) isn’t a Christian, he/she believes in God and is nicer than most
Christians I know.”)?
Gen.
50:15-21; 45:4-15 Because Joseph believed in God’s sovereign control of events, what
attitude and/or action did this foster in Joseph toward his brothers?
How do you react toward people who treat you wrongly or
to circumstances that appear adverse, and why?
Ex. 1:15-21 How did the
midwives react to the king’s command?
Why
did they disobey the king’s command?
How would
you respond to your civil authorities if they told you to do something contrary
to the Bible’s teaching (e.g., “What if
our government passed a law that said it was a hate crime to call homosexuality
a sin and was punishable by a big fine or time in jail?”
“What if our government passed a law that said you couldn’t evangelize people
of other religions or say that yours, Christianity, was the only right/true
one?”), and why?
Would
you respond as these did in Acts 4:1, 18-20;
Num.
How did Joshua and Caleb know this (13:2)?
Do you believe that God can help you
defeat the giants in your life (such as:
the lack of some physical necessity, premarital sex, pornography, illicit
drugs, alcohol, fear, hate, worry, lack of discipline, anger, jealousy, pride,
laziness, procrastination, inferior feelings, lusts, doubts about your
salvation, etc.)?
How do you
respond toward God’s promises (do you:
Ignore them? Believe and act upon
them? Forget them? Disbelieve
them?, etc.), and why?
What
are some giants in your life that are defeating you?
How
are you dealing with them, and why?
Would
claiming and practicing the promises or principles in these verses help, 2 Tim.
1:7; 2 Pet. 1:3; Gal. 5:16; Rom. 13:14; Gal. 5:22, 23; Phil. 4:6, 7, 13, 19; 1
Jn. 5:13? If so, how?
Deut. 7:16-19 What did
Moses tell the Israelites so that they would not fear the nations they were to
dispossess?
Do you ever remember things like this whenever you are afraid (2 Tim. 1:7)? If so, give an example.
Deut. 1:26-33 What did
the Israelites perceive to be God’s attitude toward them?
Even though Moses tried to correct their attitude, what
didn’t the Israelites do (vs. 32)?
Have you ever felt that God hated you and was out to
destroy you? If so, when, and
why?
Has
anyone ever tried to correct your improper concept of God (e.g., wrong concepts, like: a cosmic, bully police officer; a cosmic,
jolly Santa Claus; a cosmic, old-grandfather clock kind of guy; a sadistic
joker; a distant, indifferent, apathetic kind of god; a weak, uncaring
braggart, etc.)?
How
did you respond to his/her correction, and why?
Do you believe that God can simply
use just you to conquer enemy territory on your campus, on your job, or in your
neighborhood (through evangelism)? Or, do you think that you need a big group
to accomplish this, and why?
Are you willing for God to simply
use just you to reach out and conquer with the gospel the areas where you live
and work? Why?
If so, how is this happening?
Do you ever experience feelings of inadequacy when facing
seemingly insurmountable fortresses in your life?
Why?
How would 2 Cor. 3:4, 5 and Phil. 4:13
help?
1 Sam. 17:20-54 What was
David’s concept of God (vss. 26, 36, 37,
45-47)?
And what had God done for David in the past (vs. 36)?
As a result of David’s concept of God, what did he
volunteer to do, and how (by what means –
vss. 32, 40, 45)?
Because of
past successes in trusting God (like
David in verse 36), is that enabling you to trust God to do bigger things
in the present or future? If so, what?
How
do you handle the “giants” in your life (e.g.,
fear, worry, trials, financial problems, strained relations, etc.), and
why?
1 Sam. 26:6-16 What
could David have done, but didn’t do, and why?
What was David’s concept of God (vss. 9, 10)?
Does Rom.
Matt. 25:14-30 What
was the lazy slave’s concept of God (vs.
24)?
What did he do as a result?
What’s the least he should have done instead (vs. 27)?
Do you see God as a hard Master to please? Why?
What do you think He wants you to do that you’re not
presently doing, and will you do it, and why?
2 Chron.
20:1-26 What was Jehoshaphat’s response when he
heard that a great multitude was coming against him (vss. 3-6)?
What was Jehoshaphat’s concept of God (vss. 6, 7, 9, 12)?
What did Jehoshaphat say and do as a result of God’s
answer to his prayers (vss. 20-22)?
How does your concept of God influence you when you are
up against great odds?
Do Rom.
2 Chron.
32:1-8, 20-23 What concept of God did Hezekiah
share with his people that encouraged them against the oncoming Assyrian army (vss. 7, 8)?
How often do you share the
appropriate, biblical concept of God with your friends when they are in adverse
circumstances, and why?
Do you know enough of the biblical concept of God to be
able to do this for any set of circumstances?
If
not, what will you do about it?
Ezra 8:21-23 Why
was Ezra ashamed to ask the king for troops to protect the Jews on their
journey back to
Did Ezra’s intellectual concept of God seem to be
contradictory to his real desire to have protecting troops?
Is
your concept of God merely intellectual, or does it result
in the proper desires and actions which that concept of God would demonstrate? Give an example or two.
Neh. 4:14, 20 How did Nehemiah encourage the
fearful people?
Do you encourage other people with similar thoughts about
God? Why?
If so, give some examples.
Neh. 1:5-11 What was
Nehemiah’s concept of God (vs. 5)?
Do you agree with Nehemiah’s concept of God? Why?
How do you know that God is like this?
What was the action resulting from Nehemiah’s concept of
God (2:5)?
Would your concept of God have motivated you to do what
Nehemiah wanted to do? Why?
Is your present concept of God
motivating you to want to help hasten God’s kingdom here, realizing that this
is God’s will (Matt.
Esther 2:2, 12-17 What appeared to be the
reason that Esther was made queen?
What did Mordecai think was the likely reason Esther had
attained royalty (
When you are successful in achieving a project, position,
or goal, why do you think that this came about?
How would Psalm 75:6, 7; Jn. 15:5
affect your concept of God in this matter?
Job
What concept of God did Job have that caused him to not
comply with his wife’s suggestion to curse God (2:9, 10)?
When you encounter trials and/or tragedies, how do you
react, and why?
And does your concept of God affect your reaction? If so, how?
Dan. 3:8-18 Why didn’t
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego fear the king’s
threat to kill them by fire (vss. 17, 18)?
How would you have responded to the king’s threat, and
why?
Have you ever had any threats from parental, civil, or
religious authorities because you were doing God’s will?
If so, how did you respond to their threats, and why?
Jonah 4:2 What was Jonah’s concept of God?
How
did his concept of God affect his actions (1:2,
3)?
Does
your concept of God that of being merciful, forgiving, full of grace, and
compassionate cause you to ever get either mad or
jealous when God blesses someone who you don’t think should be blessed, and
why?