Introduction

• II Peter 1:5-11

Moral excellence (virtue)

• Philippians 2:19-23, 25-30 – Epaphroditus had been entrusted to carry money to Paul. Paul called him a “fellow worker.”
• We want our children to be workers for the Lord. Don’t make excuses for your children to get them out of work for the Lord!

Knowledge

• Colossians 1:3-10
• Do our children know how to serve God?

Self-control (temperance)

• I Corinthians 9:24-27 – Paul had to exercise self-control often in dealing with things that happened to him.
• Our children need experience with self-control and self-denial.

Perseverance (patience, steadfastness)

• Romans 5:3-4
• We have to allow our children to persevere. They need opportunities to grow and build character.
• I Corinthians 10:13
• There is value in the struggle. The struggle causes us to grow!
• If we jump in and help every time our children face a challenge, they will never develop perseverance.

Godliness

• I Timothy 4:7-8; 6:3, 5-6, 11
• Godliness is about dedication to God.
• The most important thing is serving God!

Brotherly kindness

• I John 4:5

Love

• Romans 13:10

Conclusion

• II Peter 1:8
• Are we raising our kids so they will be useful to God?

Eliphaz (Job 22:1-30)

• Eliphaz assumes God is punishing Job, which is a false assumption. He insists that Job needs to repent and get right with God. Be careful what you assume! Starting with a false premise leads to error.

Job (Job 23:1-24:25)

• Job 23:1-9 – Job longs to speak to God.
• Job 23:12-17 – Job still has his faith in God, but is dismayed and confused.
• Job 24:1-12 – Job complains that it seems God doesn’t care about punishing sin.
• Job 24:18-25 – Job acknowledges that the wicked finally meet their end.

Bildad (Job 25:1-6)

• God is so perfect and glorious that no human can stand before Him.

Job (Job 26:1-31:40)

• Job 26:1-4 – Job is not impressed with his friends!
• Job 27:7-23 – Job still sees justice in the world.
• Job 28:1-28 – Wisdom is not a physical item that can be mined from the earth.
  • Job 28:23-28 – God understands wisdom. Fearing God is wisdom!
• Job’s friends had less confidence in Job than God did. We should strive to have God’s confidence, not that of our friends. We should also show the kind of confidence in God that Job did!
• Job 29:1-2 – Job longs for the good ol’ days.
• Job 31:1-40 – Job declares his innocence in various ways.

What does the scripture say?

• I John 1

• “Grace means I don’t have to do anything!”

  • I John 1:5-6; 2:3-6

  • Hebrews 5:9

  • This is a wrong conclusion!

• “Grace means I know/do everything perfectly!”

  • I John 1:8, 10; Luke 18:9-14

  • This is also a wrong conclusion!

• “Grace means I walk in the light and have fellowship with Him.”

  • I John 1:7-9

  • Romans 6:4; Colossians 3:1; II Peter 1:8

  • Walking in light vs darkness

    • I John 2:1

    • Examples of walking in the light

      • Acts 2:41 – Jewish misunderstanding abounded, but they were saved that day! They still needed to grow.

      • Acts 16:32-34 – The jailer rejoiced in his salvation even though he had much growing to do.

      • I Corinthians 1:1-9 – The Corinthians still had plenty of problems to solve, but they were sanctified in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 15:1-2

      • Colossians 1:9; 2:20-22 – They still needed to learn and grow! They also had some false practices to clean up. Colossians 1:3-5

      • I Thessalonians 1:2-3, 9-10 – Judgment was a comforting thought to the Thessalonians. They had confidence in their salvation. They were recovering idolaters, but they had hope!

So have confidence!

• I John 2:28; 4:17 – If we are constantly fretting about the judgment, something is wrong!
• Romans 4:1-8 – Abraham’s belief saved him – not his good deeds.

Review of last lesson

• Attitudes toward money

  • Matthew 6:24

  • Luke 18:24

  • We should be actively seeking God - not riches.

Attitudes toward giving

• Five basic elements:

  • Need

    • Communicated to giver – Acts 11:22-30

    • Recognized – Luke 7:12-15; 10:33

    • Results – Exodus 36:2-6

  • Desire

    • To follow the example of Jesus

    • To be like God – Acts 14:15-17

    • To join into the fellowship of giving – II Corinthians 8:3-5

  • Prosperity

    • Our giving comes from this – I Corinthians 16:2

    • Recognize when you’ve prospered.

      • It is sufficiently.

      • It is not necessarily riches.

      • Part of sufficiency is “sufficient to give.”

    • Don’t make yourself needy by your giving – II Corinthians 8:12-13

    • As much attitude as amount

      • We should desire excellence.

      • II Corinthians 8:7

Everybody’s guilty of sin.

• Romans 1:18, 25, 29-32 – God gives us free will, but He is not happy about our sinful behavior.
• Stop pretending you’re perfect!

We try to squirm out of our guilt.

• Deny everything: “God doesn’t even exist!”
  • Romans 1:20
• Finger-pointing hypocrisy: “Yeah, those sinners sure are bad. Give it to ‘em, Paul!”
  • Romans 2:1-5 – God is an impartial judge.
• Religious hypocrisy: “Sure you don’t mean me? I’m a guiding light, a corrector, a teacher!”
  • Romans 2:17-24 – Sin is sin no matter who does it. When people are religious hypocrites, they cause others to blaspheme God.

What must we do?

• Acknowledge our guilt.

  • Romans 3:9, 23 – All have sinned!

  • Romans 3:10-18 – Paul quotes the Old Testament saying the same thing!

• Put our faith in Christ!

  • Romans 3:21-28