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What Do I Believe?

It’s easy to get confused when it comes to my Christian faith

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? GALATIANS 3:1 ESV

I can be ignorant

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 1THESSOLONIANS 4:13 NLT

I can get distracted

But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” LUKE 10:40 NLT

Someone can confuse me

I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. GALATIANS 5:10 NLT

I can be deceived

You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. HEBREWS 3:13 NLT

As a Christian I believe…

Only Jesus can make me right with God

10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” GALATIANS 3:10-13 NLT
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. ROMANS 6:23 NLT

Through Jesus, we are a part of God’s family

26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. GALATIANS 3:26-29 NLT

As a member of God’s family, I live for Jesus

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. GALATIANS 2:20-21 NLT

Community Group Discussion Guide

  1. When in your life has someone (e.g. a teacher, a peer, a parent) done or said something that confused you? What did that experience feel like for you?
  2. What has confused you the most about your faith?
  3. Read Galatians 3:10-13. Paul compares trying to live out the law perfectly with living a cursed life. How have you “cursed yourself” by depending on your own strengths instead of Jesus?
  4. Read Galatians 3:26-29. What stands out to you with these verses? Is anything surprising? Confusing?
  5. How would our lives look different if we truly understood the significance of these verses? How would it change the way we interact with people at church?
  6. What is something we can do to help each other to clarify confusion and gain understanding about our faith?

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a place to sit quietly with God to reflect on this message. The Bible tells us that God is not the author of confusion–so if he isn’t the source of our confusion who or what is? Ask yourself a few questions: What do I spend most of my time doing? Do the things I spend my time on help grow my faith or do those things add to my confusion? Do I allow the opinions of others to confuse me? Do I know the Bible well enough to combat opinions that make me question aspects of my faith?
The answers to our confusion can ultimately be found by pressing in close to Jesus and allowing his presence and his written word to answer that confusion. Take a few moments to picture yourself sitting with Jesus. Share with him the things that are confusing and ask him for his help. As you make time to sit down and read the Bible this week, repeat this prayer and ask for help in understanding what you read. Ask God to give you the discipline that you need to develop to grow in your faith so that you can squash the confusion that comes your way. Thank him for never being the source of your confusion but for being your answer to it.

My Notes