WILLIAM WILBERFORCE – REAL CHRISTIANITY, WEEK 5
Adult Class, Abbe Church, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, 11:30 A.M.
I. Opening Prayer
II. True Standards of Christian Behavior (Ch 4, pp. 63-130)
A. Section One: How Belief Influences Behavior
1. “Those who hold to the biblical doctrines of the work of Christ as
the basis of acceptance tend also to take the Bible’s instructions
concerning righteous living more seriously. Those who have created a
system of their own tend to water down what is required in the
practice of their faith. They also tend to create standards of behavior
that fit their own lifestyles; standards that they know they can meet
without the need of super natural assistance. The outcome is a way of
life that is characterized by ignorance and conceit.” What do you
think? Would you agree with WW?
2. “It is my conviction that the problem (Christian morality differs
little from non-Christian) lies with a faulty understanding of what
God requires of us in terms of practical Christian living.” “Christian
character is to be a reflection of living in relationship with a holy
God.” “…God has called us to be the sworn enemies of sin. We are to
wage war against it and strive to give it no opportunity in our lives.”
Do you agree with WW? What to you see as the “faulty
understanding”?
B. Section Two: The Behavior of Cultural Christians
1. “True faith is something that so pervades our lives that is affects
everything we do. It is a matter of the heart, where its reality becomes
our supreme influence. It seeks to root out anything that is contrary to
its truth and attempts to bring all the heart’s desires and affections
under its control.” How do you define “true faith”?
2. “I fear this this is more the rule than the exception among us. The
general state of Christianity is much more cultural than authentic. The
advancement of the kingdom of God and His glory are scarcely
embraced as the objects of our greatest passions. The pursuit of these
treasures is no longer what we strive for. Christ is not Lord over all
our lives.” “…To live our lives and miss that great purpose we were
designed to accomplish is truly a sin.” Is this a legitimate fear? Is our
Christianity more cultural than authentic? What evidence supports
these statements in America during the 21st century? Do you agree
with WW last statement?
3. Behaviors where faulty beliefs may show up:
* recreation *sensual pleasures *health/exercise
* attitudes toward possessions, prestige, power, position
*money/ambition *work/business *religion/spirituality
*sin becomes character flaws *sin becomes whitewashed
*Sunday observance
4. “The true state of the heart is of ultimate importance to God. If the
heart is good, the external behavior will reflect this.” “…Cultural
Christianity is primarily concerned with externals.”
5. “It would seem that to the cultural Christian, faith and pleasure are
contradictory. This is not the picture we get in the Bible. On the
contrary, it speaks of the way of Christ as the path of peace and joy.”
C. Section Three: The Concern About What People Think About Us
Compared to the Attitude of Authentic Christianity
1. “There is only one way this principle legitimately operates. This is
when our desire to please is not directed at other men and women, but
at God. To please God is a wonderful motivator toward that which is
good and lovely. The desire to please man [and woman] is full of
dangers. The Bible has much to say about the subject.” Do you agree?
Is pleasing God a wonderful motivator? What does the Bible have to
say?
2. “If the outcome of obedience to God leads us to a lower estimation
in the eyes of our peers, we often choose reputation over obedience.”
“…We seek to serve God in ways that enable us to keep earthly gain
and avoid worldly disapproval. Or we simply quit attempting to serve
God fully.” “…The essence of the practice rests on the belief that a
person’s reputation is to be guarded at any cost and that a person’s
disgrace is to be avoided with the same fervor.” “…The most
effective way to keep all this in balance is to make the pleasure of
God our overriding desire.” Invitation to share examples from one’s
personal life.
D. Section Four: Faulty Thinking About “Good” Lives and “Good”
Deeds as Substitutes for Authentic Faith
1. “Hannah More has written, ‘Christianity is a religion of motives
and principles.’ God is concerned about the heart as well as the
outward action. Only an action motivated by love of God is truly a
Christian action. Even earthly fathers look for a proper attitude to
accompany their children’s actions. Proper action performed with
poor attitude does not please us as parents. Neither does it please
God.” In your mind, what is the relationship between one’s heart and
one’s behavior?
2. “The acts of true faith flow from a heart devoted to God that
continually is governed by the desire to know and do His will so that,
ultimately, He will be glorified.” As you reflect on your life, does this
seem impossible? (Read last paragraph at the bottom of page 101 on
to page 102.)
E. Section Five: Other Problems with Cultural Christianity
1. * Inadequate understanding of true guilt/the evil of sin
*Two classes of sin: little/big *One is not born a Christian
*Lack of love for God *No delight in service/worship of God
*Crude/off-color entertainment is acceptable *Philanthropy
motivated by greed, not love of God
2. “It seems we have forgotten that our work as Christians is to
attempt to live according to the pattern Christ gave us and under the
influence and enabling of the Holy Spirit.” Are we guilty of having
forgotten?
F. Section Six: The Big Problem with Faulty Thinking About
Christian Theology
1. “…[A]ll of the defects of the practitioners of nominal faith in our
day can be traced back to the radical misunderstanding or lack of
understanding they possess of the distinctive doctrines of the faith
they profess: the true state of human nature—the truth of what Christ
accomplished on the cross—and the transforming influence of the
Holy Spirit. Right here is the watershed between the faith of nominal
Christians and those who practice the faith that Christ came to make
possible.” Do you agree with WW? Do you notice the parallel to
Calvinist doctrine and Reformed worship?
2. “If we are going to walk worthy of Christ, we have to practice one
central discipline. As the writer of Hebrews exhorts, we are to fix our
eyes on Jesus. We are to run our race LOOKING UNTO JESUS as
our motivation. This is the key. If we do this one thing, we will be
unable to treat our faith in the superficial way most cultural Christians
do in our time. They want to live their spiritual lives on their own
terms. It doesn’t work.” What do you think? Is there anything you
would add or subtract?
III. Next Sunday, Chapter 5-6, Arguments for True Christianity, and
Practical Hints About Authentic Faith
IV. Closing Prayer