Grace: Freedom from the Performance Treadmill 
Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation

God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that?  Read the following passage and consider these questions. 

READ

Romans 3:9-24 (ESV)

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 13 "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." 14 "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

QUESTIONS (40 minutes)

1. Do you actually believe that, as Pastor Scott said, "everyone at Trinity is a mess, just with different levels of messiness"? Why or why not?

2. Pastor Scott asked the church a test case: Think of a time when you really fell on your face spiritually. How long after that was it before you pursued genuine fellowship with God? Why?

3. Describe how the two types of bankruptcies mentioned -- Chapter 11 (reorganization) and Chapter 7 (permanent dissolution) -- are helpful or not helpful in describing the Christian life.

4. Pastor Scott described the "performance treadmill" as trusting in God by grace alone for salvation, but living the Christian life by works intended to earn God's favor. Describe how you have seen this performance treadmill in your life and how you have found remedies, if any.

5. Discuss how and why the following is true:
a) The performance treadmill kills, but grace gives life.
b) The performance treadmill is deceptive, but grace is honest and transparent.
c) The performance treadmill produces guilt, but grace produces love.

PRAYER (10 minutes) 

Take prayer requests, and then pray together that God's grace in the Christian life would move us off the performance treadmill toward a life of confidence and love before the Father.