The Razor's Edge Youth Sunday School Lesson

The Razor's Edge Bible Study

Read the following passages and answer the questions below.

Leviticus 4:27-29, 31d – "If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty. 28 When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.

29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering…In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven."

1) When is a person guilty?

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2) When is the guilty person commanded to bring their sacrifice?

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John 19:10-11 – "'Do you refuse to speak to me?' Pilate said. 'Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?'

 11Jesus answered, 'You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.'"

3) Is Pilate committing a sin in this passage?

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4) Is Pilate's guilt as great as it could be? How do you know?

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Luke 12:47-48 – "That servant who knows his Master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his Master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

5) What is the basis for the severity of the servants' punishment?

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The Razor's Edge Bible Study

Read the following passages and answer the questions below.

Leviticus 4:27-29, 31d – "If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, he is guilty. 28 When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.

29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering…In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven."

1) When is a person guilty?

When they do what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands.

2) When is the guilty person commanded to bring their sacrifice?

 When they are made aware of their sin.

John 19:10-11 – "'Do you refuse to speak to me?' Pilate said. 'Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?'

 11Jesus answered, 'You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.'"

3) Is Pilate committing a sin in this passage?

 Yes.

4) Is Pilate's guilt as great as it could be? How do you know?

 The Pharisees and chief priests are guilty of a greater sin.

Luke 12:47-48 – "That servant who knows his Master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his Master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

5) What is the basis for the severity of the servants' punishment?

 Whether or not they knew what their master wanted them to do.

The Razor's Edge Lecture Notes

The Problem:

Christian ethical theory – the Church's moral theology – has been developed over   thousands of years by the work of the greatest minds in the Church.

But the advent of modern technology raises new questions for us (the morality of life-  support, euthanasia, etc).

Deciding between right and wrong in a situation is complicated because it usually depends  not simply on the application of one principal, but many.

This leads to "Gray areas", those situations where the difference between right and wrong  are not quite as clear to us as the difference between black and white.

Example of the Problem:

Scenario 1) A married couple is imprisoned in a World War 2 concentration camp.

They are separated into male and females sides of the camp.

One of the guards threatens the wife that he will have her husband executed if she  does not have sex with him.

In order to save her husband's life, she agrees to have sex with the guard.

After the camp is liberated, the wife tells her husband what she had had to do to  save his life.

The husband filed for divorce on account of his wife's adultery.

Question: Did the man have Biblical grounds for divorce?

Scenario 2) What if the guard held the woman at gunpoint? Would that be adultery?

Scenario 3) What if the woman, not being able to have sex with her husband because they  are separated in the camp, seduces the guard to satisfy her sexual needs?   Would that be adultery?

The third scenario is obviously adultery. The second scenario is not adultery, but rape.   The first scenario is also not adultery, but rape.

But does the woman have an obligation to resis in both the first and second scenarios, even  if it means death for either her or her husband? Is it ever morally acceptable for  the woman to give in?

The Point of the Example:

When you have extremes, it is easy to see right and wrong.

But some situations are more complicated than we might like to think. This is the "gray  area".  

Dealing with the Problem:

The problem is that moral relativism puts everything in the gray area.

There are no gray areas in God's mind. Everything that we do is either righteous   according to God, or unrighteous according to God.

There are no gray areas in God's mind because He is omniscient (all-knowing). He knows  perfectly, what is right and what is wrong.

We have "gray areas" because of our lack of knowledge, or lack of insight, to discern right  and wrong in complex situations.

When making decisions, we should get help from others.

Expand your knowledge by listening to others (pastors for instance).

Expand your knowledge by studying the Scriptures.

What if we do make the wrong decision?

The Scriptures show that sin is committed in degrees.

A sin committed in genuine ignorance and good intentions is less serious of a sin than doing  something that you know is wrong.

Discussion Questions:

1) What are your thoughts on R C's example concerning the "adultery" of the imprisoned woman? What are the woman's moral obligations?

2) If God takes our ignorance into account, when weighing sin, what does this say about Christians who differ us in interpreting the Scriptures? If someone truly believes that Scripture supports the acceptance of homosexuality, or abortion, or "mercy-killing", what does that mean as regards their relationship to God?