The ight House

Sunday School (Special Project - Spiritual Applications)

Spiritual Applications

Note: This practical exercise was originally created to be distributed and executed through e-mail correspondence which is reflected in the introduction and instructions. It was later brought into the classroom where it may be applied just as efficiently.

Introduction

In the educational system, students study material, they are lectured to, and may be exposed to any number of other techniques of teaching. Then the students are tested to determine how well they have interpreted the knowledge that has been presented to them. This helps both the students and the teacher in evaluating many things about the course material, the teachers performance, the areas where the student is having the most difficulty and may require additional help and study.

One type of test reveals more than any other. It is known as either an “Applications” test or a “Practical Exercise”. This type of test is so revealing because it tests the students ability to apply the knowledge they have gained. It is one thing to learn the principles of geometry, but if the person can not then use that knowledge to determine how many gallons of paint it will require to paint a house, or to determine how many yards of concrete are required to pour a driveway, then knowing all the principles is pretty much useless.

As Christians we attend church services where we hear the preaching and the teaching of God’s word. Some Sunday School classes and Discipleship classes teach to a degree on applying the lessons we learn from God’s word, but I think we could all use a little more instruction in applying biblical teachings to our everyday life. This is not to be critical or judgmental toward any church, but it is just to say that I believe we can not receive too much edifying in this area. After all if we can not apply God’s word to our daily lives then it makes little difference how well you know the bible or how many scriptures you can recite.

One way to learn more about applying God’s word in our lives is to communicate with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can ponder together, and learn together. With that thought, I have put together a “practical exercise” to challenge our understanding of God’s word in the context of applying it to real life situations. Your choice to participate is of course is entirely up to you and there is no criticism for those who choose not to participate. I understand that in this day, people are very busy and simply may not have the time for it. Also there may be some who simply are not interested or don’t want to participate for other reasons. That is fine. If however you choose to participate in this exercise, I believe you may find it to be edifying by the time you study, ponder, research, and read the comments of others who have done the same. I believe it will also be a lot of fun!

The questions in this exercise are intended to be difficult to find direct answers to, but may require a broad study of several passages and then combined and analyzed for context and balanced. These questions are intended to make us ponder. Of course a certain amount of interpretation, conviction, and revelation from the Holy Spirit may also be a part of forming your conclusions.

After a period of time, I will take everyone’s answers and share them with all who participate. That is where and how I hope we may learn from one another. If you would like to forward this to others for their participation, feel free to do so. I only ask that whomever you may send it to, that they be a born again Christian. Just work at your own pace and answer the questions and then send your answers back to me. I will not read your answers until I have answered the questions myself, because I do not want to be influenced by anyone else’s answers.

Finally let me just say that me creating this exercise is not intended to present myself as a teacher testing your knowledge. If fact I don’t know at this point how I will answer the questions I have in mind for this exercise. I expect to learn as much as anyone. I assume no superior knowledge than anyone on any of the topics covered in this exercise..

Instructions

Please select your answer to each question by changing the text color of that selection to RED. After making your selection, write your comments under the “Comments” sub heading following the answer options. Due to my poor eyesight, I ask that you write all comments in at least a 12 or 14 pt. text size and in BOLD. Please do not write in all upper case letters as this is difficult for even people with good eye sight to read. If you make scriptural references in your comments, please make them stand out some way, by underlining or changing the font color, or both. I do not mean to be overly picky in making these requests concerning format, but I believe all of the request are easy to do, and it does help me in reading your answers. It also keeps all the replies uniform in format, which you yourself will appreciate when you read other’s comments. Thank you for your cooperation. Now let’s have fun and learn!

The Questions

1. A man owes you $40. He has made no effort to pay you anything on this debt. You know that he has been able to pay the money back due to the unnecessary things you have seen him blowing money on. You have even reminded him that he owes you the money. He shows no conviction nor remorse what so ever concerning this unpaid debt. Then one day you are walking down the sidewalk and you see a billfold laying on the ground. You pick it up and look inside. You see from the driver’s license that it belongs to the man who owes you the $40. You also see that inside this billfold is exactly $40.

Do you…

1. Take the money, put it in your pocket and throw the billfold back down on the sidewalk and consider the debt paid.
   
   
2. Take the money, put it in your pocket, then return the billfold to the man and say nothing about the money.
   
   
3. Take the money, put it in your pocket, then return the billfold to the man and inform him that you kept the $40 that was inside because it was owed to you.
   
   
4. Return the billfold with the money still inside and remind him that he owes you $40 and this would be a good time to pay you since you know for a fact that he has the money.
   
   
5. Return the billfold with the money inside and say nothing about the money nor mention the debt.
   
   
6. Other

Comments

 

 

2. A family in your neighborhood decides to host a cookout as a “get to know our neighbors” type of event. You do not know them very well, but you have heard they are Christians, so you decide to attend. You are there only a short time enjoying the socializing and fellowship with others you meet who also profess to be Christians. You talk about church, sports, and current events. You are having a great time with some very friendly people. Then you notice some people are sitting and drinking beer. About the time you notice this, the host of the event approaches you with a smile and extends to you in an offering gesture an open bottle of beer.

Do you…

1. Politely decline the offer explaining that you don’t drink then quickly and quietly leave.
   
   
2. Jump up on the nearest picnic table and start screaming that they are all going to burn in hell for their sinful ways.
   
   
3. Drink the one beer so as not to hurt the host’s feelings and not have him think you are self-righteous.
   
   
4. Politely decline the offer and pull the host aside and explain to him your convictions on consuming alcohol and why you therefore can not stay and be in the presence of its consumption. You thank him for the invitation and then leave.
   
   
5. You politely decline the offer and simply say that you don’t drink due to your convictions, but you stay and enjoy the cookout, yet ready to witness and explain your convictions to others in friendly conversation should they bring it up.
   
   
6. Other
   

Comments

 

 

3. A child (perhaps your own) asks you the following question, “Does God love Satan?”

Do you answer…

1. Yes
   
   
2. No
   
   
3. I don't know

Comments

 

 

4. A couple invites you and your wife over for pizza and a movie. They are lost. You accept the invitation with hopes and prayers of being blessed with an opportunity to witness to them. As you begin to watch the movie it becomes apparent that they did not give much thought to you being a Christian when they chose the movie. The subject matter is not really appropriate for Christians to watch. Then you hear the Lord’s name taken in vain in the movie.

How do you react?

1. You don’t say anything as it happens the first time, but make up your mind that if the movie continues along these lines, you will have to inform your host that you can not sit and watch it any longer.
   
   
2. You sit uncomfortably through the whole movie enduring all it’s offenses because you do not want to leave early nor offend the host before you get the opportunity to witness. So you see this as a sacrifice on your part in order to maintain a friendly atmosphere and be able to witness to them later.
   
   
3. You announce respectively to you host that you can not watch this movie as soon as the first offensive word is spoken. You explain to them why you can not watch and why it offends you. You try in fact to use this situation as an opening for you to witness to them.
   
   
4. You sit and watch the whole movie, then invite them to come and watch a movie at your house next week. You select a good Christian movie such as “Left Behind”, “Tribulation” or “Time Changer”. After they sit through the movie you discuss it and allow it to lead to further witnessing.
   
   
5. Other

Comments

 

 

5. You are at a church service at your home church. The doors of the church are open for people to join and take fellowship. A man who has been attending services periodically comes forward to join. Although you have witnessed nothing with your own eyes, you have heard from reliable sources that this person is living a very ungodly life. You have heard that he frequents bars, uses and deals in drugs, and has a couple of females that frequently spend the night with him. This did not come to you in the form of gossip, but was relayed to you in a context of concern so that you could pray for him. Your source is one that you trust and is a brother in Christ. The pastor of the church comes to the point in the ceremony where he asks, “If anyone knows of any reason why these people should be accepted as members of our church, let them stand now and give reason why or forever hold their peace.

What do you do…

1. Stand and say that you would like to speak to the pastor and the potential member before the church accepts this individual.
   
   
2. Stand and tell exactly what you have heard concerning this person and suggest the church check it out before accepting this person as a member.
   
   
3. Remain seated and speak to the pastor about it privately after the service. Since you only have hear say regardless of how much you trust the source you remain silent and pray that God will do what needs to be done.
   
   
4. Other

Comments

 

 

6. A man that you knew well has died. You have ever reason to believe that he died a lost man because you knew his life. Though you tried to witness to him on several occasions, he was never willing to listen. Now you sincerely believe that he has passed on without ever knowing the Lord as his savior. His small daughter of about six years old comes to you with tears in her eyes ands asks if her Daddy is in Heaven.

How do you answer her?

1. You tell her “Yes, honey, your Daddy is in Heaven” thinking that it is better for her at this terrible time in her life to hear something comforting rather than to hear the hard truth.
   
   
2. You answer her honestly saying, “I don’t believe he is in Heaven Sweetheart because I don’t believe he ever accepted Jesus as his savior.
   
   
3. You answer her honestly, but leave out what you really believe by saying, “Only God knows the answer to that”.
   
   
4. Other

Comments

 

 

7. You are a single Christian. You have either never been married or are widowed. You meet someone of the opposite gender, begin to date and soon fall in love with them. This person is everything you could hope for in a mate. They too are a Christian. You would very much like to marry this person, however, somewhere along the way in this relationship, they confided in you that hey had been married before. They are divorced. The divorce was on grounds of mental cruelty. The marriage and divorce happened prior to this person being saved. Their X-spouse has since remarried and has no contact with this person. They had no children.
   

As a Christian, would it be all right for you to marry this person?

1. No, you may never marry this person. The bible says that only for the cause of fornication may a person divorce and then remarry. To remarry would be an act of adultery.
   
   
2. Yes. The marriage and divorce happened prior to that person being saved. That person died out to sin and has been reborn. Since ALL things become new, and their sins of the past have been cast into the sea of forgetfulness, it is as though it never happened in the eyes of God. Therefore the two of you are free to marry.
   
   
3. No, you are not free to marry this person as long as their spouse is living. The only person your love interest is allowed to marry, is their X-spouse should they divorce their current spouse. If however, their X-spouse dies, then the two of you are free to marry.
   
   
4. Yes, you are free to marry this person because since the X-spouse has already remarried, then he in effect has committed adultery which then entitles your love interest to remarry since it meets the “except for cause of fornication” criteria for divorcement and remarriage.
   
   
5. Other
   

Comments

 

 

8. A man comes to you in need. He needs money for food for his family and to buy some oil for his furnace. He asks for $75. Your bills are paid up and it happens that you have exactly $75 cash on you. The problem is that it is Saturday evening and this $75 is to pay your church tithes the next day.

Do you give the man your money?

1. Yes, the purpose justifies you missing a week of paying your tithes.
   
   
2. No. Giving the money to this man violates the “first fruits instruction.
   

Comments

 

 

9. You are on the jury of a high profile criminal trial. Some men catch you alone and inform you that the verdict had better either be “innocent” or a hung jury. They are holding you personally responsible that a guilty verdict not be reached regardless of overwhelming evidence. They threaten your and your family’s lives if you do not cooperate.

Do you cooperate with these criminals to insure the safety of yourself and your family?

1. Yes
   
   
2. No

Comments

 

 

10. The international company you work for has been transferring a lot of its employees from other countries to their American facilities for training purposes. You now find yourself working with many foreigners of many diverse religions. A holiday is soon coming and the company as usual will have a dinner for the employees. The Personnel Manager has put the word out among the home based employees that due to the diverse religious beliefs that whoever asks the blessing at this dinner is to pray a very generic prayer with no references to “Jesus” so as not to offend anyone. You are surprised when the moment comes and you are the one asked to ask the blessing. All of upper management are present.

Do you ask the blessing in the name of Jesus?

1. Yes
   
   
2. No
   

Comments

Note: If you would like to see some responses to these questions including my own, please send your request to me via e-mail using the following link:  E-mail Carl

Carl
I may not look like much, but I cost a bunch!

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