"I'm Forgiven So It Doesn't Matter How I Live" Discussion Guide

Recap

  1. How did you come to God for help over the past week? What happened?

Main Thought

The Bible is clear that Christians are saved by God’s love and grace when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, not by our good deeds or how we live. This is great news since none of us can live perfectly in order to earn our salvation. Christ earned it for us. However, this can lead to a common misconception that we can continue to sin since we are already forgiven. This is completely false. How we live matters for several reasons:

  1. We were all created to do “good works” of love to make a difference in the lives of others rather than to live selfishly. Life will never be fulfilling until we do the “good works” that we were created for.

  2. Sin has consequences in this life. It hurts us, others, and prevents us from fulfilling our purpose and experiencing true joy.

  3. Sin damages our most important relationship, which is our relationship with God. If we continue to willfully sin, we are rejecting God’s love and the gospel that saves us.

We should be grateful for God’s unconditional grace that we don’t deserve. In response, we should strive to continually grow in “good works,” loving Him and others with our lives. We should also strive to rid ourselves of sin with His help and to become more like Jesus in every area of our lives.

Main Passages

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
- Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV

“...each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
- James 1:14-15 NIV

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”
- Hebrews 10:26-27 NIV

Discussion Questions

  1. What can we learn about God based on the main passages above?

  2. What areas of sin in your life is God challenging you to be free from? What “good works” is God challenging you to grow in?

Apply

  1. Growth happens as we walk with God by practicing spiritual disciplines (like prayer, reading the Bible, reflection, etc.). It also happens as we walk other believers in honesty and transparency, as well as by encouraging and challenging one another to obey God. What practical step can you take to continue to grow in your faith right now?