Reference John Piper’s sermons on these passages, they are a great resource.
Discussion question: Try and summarize what Paul is saying in verses 31-39. What is his purpose in this passage?
Discussion question: Is Paul asking questions rhetorically in this passage or are they meant to be answered, at times they don’t seem to be answered in the passage?
Discussion question: In verse 32, Paul says that God will freely give us all things. What are the “all things” he is talking about?
Discussion question: In verse 33, Paul asks who will bring a charge against God’s elect and answers it that God is the one who justifies. Is this an answer to his question?
Leader: for your review:
His answer here seems to be one step further than the known answer. The answer to who will be a charge against God’s elect is our sin. On the Day of Judgment a record of our deeds will be opened up and looked at but, Christ’s righteousness which has been imputed to us will override this record and God will justify us on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. Since nothing is more powerful than God, if God is the one who justifies us, nothing can possibly bring a charge against us that would condemn us. So Paul takes the logical answer and assumes his readers know it and then carries it one step further to focus on God’s power.
Discussion question: There is a similar question in verse 34 and a similar answer which doesn’t seem to answer the question, what is Paul saying here?
Discussion question: Paul says in verse 38 that he is convinced that nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. How do you think he came to be convinced of this, what led him to this?
