“The plain things are the main things” in the Bible, but the plainest things present the church’s greatest challenges. Last week, we looked at “Christ as the Center,” which is the theme of the entire scripture. So why is it so hard to keep him there? Mainly because we keep putting ourselves at the center. The question of faith versus works, which has vexed the church from the beginning (we’ll be looking at Acts 15), is still an issue today. What does “justification by faith” mean? Why do Christians keep slipping off on one side of the other, toward legalism (attempting to earn heaven by good works) or antinomianism (living as we please while claiming to believe in Jesus)?
It would take more than one Bible lesson to do justice to that subject, but this week we’ll at least look at the root of the problem and the primary scriptural support.
For a download of this week’s challenge, with scripture references, key verse, discussion questions, and activities, click below:
Bible Reading Challenge Week 47: The Church – By Faith Alone
(This is a continuation of a series of posts about the “whole story” of the Bible. I plan to run one every week, on Tuesdays, with a printable PDF. The printable includes a brief 2-3 paragraph introduction, Bible passages to read, a key verse, 5-7 thought/discussion questions, and 2-3 activities for the kids. Here’s the Overview of the entire Bible series.)
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