Breaking out of Life’s Spiritual Prisons: A Bible Study Guide

By Keith D. Pisani

Breaking Out of Life’s Spiritual Prisons: Study Guide is a small group Bible study based on the content book Breaking Out of Life’s Spiritual Prisons (published by Westbow Press). Keyed to the content book, the study guide is an inter-active group study that presents a balanced approach to spiritual freedoms. Geared toward use by small groups or in other study venues, the study guide features “break out” sessions that include Bible study questions and practical exercises to help believers grow and “live free” in Jesus – outside of and apart from the “religious comfort zones” established by others. All answers in the study guide are keyed to/found in the larger content book. For other books by the author, please see the author’s website at www.keithpisaniministries.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973681144

Keith D. Pisani

Keith D. Pisani is a pastor, international evangelist, conference speaker, school administrator, seasoned author, family counselor, committed father, and devoted husband. He and his wife, Beth, have raised four children who love the Lord and led children’s crusades that have resulted in hundreds of boys and girls coming to Christ. For more about Keith and his books, visit www.keithpisaniministries.com.

Book preview

BREAKING OUT

OF LIFE’S

SPIRITUAL PRISONS

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A Bible Study Guide

KEITH D. PISANI

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Copyright © 2019 Keith D. Pisani.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Unless otherwise cited, all scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8115-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8114-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019919970

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/6/2019

Contents

Preface

Galatians 1:1–5

An Introduction: The Liberated Life

Galatians 1:6–9

Lies That Bind

Galatians 1:10–24

Liberated for Life

Galatians 2:1–14

Swallowing Your Pride (for the Cause of Christ)

Galatians 2:15–21

The Exchanged Life: Not I, but Christ

Galatians 3:1–5

Questioning Your Beliefs

Galatians 3:6–18

The Just Shall Live by Faith

Galatians 3:19–25

Knowing the Difference between Right and Wrong

Galatians 3:26–4:7

Son or Servant: Which Is Better?

Galatians 4:8–11

Living with Eyes Wide Open

Galatians 4:12–20

Until Christ be Formed in You

Galatians 4:21–5:1

Religion on Trial

Galatians 5:1

The Freedom to Please Christ

Galatians 5:2–6

The Bondage of Legalism (The Wrong Use of Right Laws)

Galatians 5:7–15

The Race of the Christian Life

Galatians 5:16–21

The Flesh and the Spirit: The Internal Battle with the Infernal Foe

Galatians 5:22–26

The Fruit of the Spirit: What God Produces in the Believer’s Life

Galatians 6:1–5

How Burdens Become Blessings through Grace

Galatians 6:6–10

Principles of Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:11–18

Freedom through the Cross

Endnotes

Preface

Has anyone ever placed so many restrictions and restraints on you that you felt you were living in a box or comfort zone of someone else’s making? Has that ever happened in a church or in some other spiritual setting? If it has, you are not alone.

When Paul wrote the book of Galatians, he was in prison physically. His crime was refusing to live in the box of legalistic, pride-filled, works-oriented, performance-based religion established by people who wanted everyone they met to live in the all-restraining box of their personal comfort zones. Paul’s spiritual comfort zone was Jesus. Because Paul’s faith system was based on a relationship with God through Jesus and went beyond adherence to ritualistic, self-righteous religion, Paul’s soul was free in Christ.

In today’s society and culture, spiritual prisons abound. Some are self-made due to sin. Other prisons are made by others who create systems of performance-based, works-oriented religions that incarcerate their followers behind walls of rules, regulations, and man-made demands. For Paul, it was time to break out and live beyond those walls.

How can believers and others break out of life’s spiritual prisons and live lives set free by Jesus? God’s apostle Paul answered this and other questions in his New Testament book: Galatians. Breaking Out of Life’s Spiritual Prisons: A Bible Study Guide is the companion book to the content book Breaking Out of Life’s Spiritual Prisons (WestBow Press). Keyed to the content book, this book presents a balanced approach to spiritual freedoms. Geared toward use in small group Bible studies and in other study venues, this companion guide features breakout sessions that include Bible study questions and practical exercises to help believers grow and live free in Jesus outside of and apart from the boxes and religious comfort zones others have established.

To aid in personal or group Bible studies, here is a recommended guide. If you are in a group, start from the beginning and read the book’s content out loud and then answer the questions or discuss the statements related to the content. If alone, read the content and then answer the questions or reflect upon the related statements. ¹ For group Bible study, here is a recommended sequence (the twenty sessions can be divided easily into four sessions of five studies or two sessions of ten studies).

Welcome

Opening prayer

Open the Bible

Do the Bible study with discussion

Prayer requests

Closing prayer for the requests and for any food served

Food

Fellowship

People return to their homes or go to the worship service

As He promised, for His glory, may God bless the study of His Word.

—Keith D. Pisani (Galatians 2:20: Not I, but Christ.)

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Galatians 1:1–5

An Introduction: The Liberated Life

Paul was a Christian. He was a practicing believer who lived his faith. Because first-century Rome punished Christians who refused to worship the emperor, Paul was in prison. Under house arrest, Paul’s freedoms were limited by the Roman guards who surrounded him. In his experience of confinement, Paul had a choice to compromise his beliefs and worship whatever and whomever Rome wanted him to worship or continue to worship Christ. Pressured by your society to worship someone other than God, what would you do? Paul worshiped Jesus.

Introductory Considerations:

_____ Yes _____ No

_____ Yes _____ No

Limitations physically (health or body related):

Limitations vocationally (job related):

Limitations financially (money related: how a lack of funds affected personal choices or limited you):

Limitations emotionally (how fear or other emotions became obstacles that limited you):

Limitations mentally (how your thoughts held you back):

Limitations psychologically (how a lack of belief in yourself or a lack of faith in God affected you):

Limitations spiritually (how a lack of spiritual growth, spiritual immaturity, or a lack of integrity before God became a problem that kept you from reaching your potential for God):

Other limitations:

When I was limited physically, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited vocationally, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited financially, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited emotionally, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited mentally, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited psychologically, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited spiritually, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

When I was limited in some other way, I had the following attitude, response, or perspective:

The theme of Galatians is a life set free by Jesus. It was written by a man who was chained to his legalistic past. Yet through his relationship with Jesus Christ, Paul became spiritually free. If you are bound by a philosophical bent, nonbiblical teaching, or outside influence that keeps your life spiritually confined, be like Paul. Establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and allow God’s Son—your Savior—to set you free to live His abundant life.

Read Galatians 1:1–5

Paul was an _________________.

Answer: I know that I was chosen, called, commissioned, or sent by Christ to do certain things or function in a certain way.

_____ Yes _____ Not Sure

Over the course of my lifetime, my mission as an ambassador for Jesus Christ was/is:

Specifically, I believe my present mission as an ambassador for Christ is:

Paul’s authority did not come from _________ (plural: a group of people or from any institution) or from a ________ (singular: one person with power such as the head of a hierarchal institution) but from __________ __________ (God the Son) and from ______ the ___________ (the Ultimate Authority in life) Who raised Him (Jesus) from the dead.

_____ Yes _____ No (he had the ___________/some fellow believers with him)

_____ To an individual _____ To churches in Galatia

_____ Yes _____ No

A message of _________ and _________.

Peace was the typical greeting given to Jews. In the language of the original, peace pictured two rivers flowing together as one in balance, not conflict. What are those two rivers? Are they God and the believer? Some other relationship(s) in life? Or in the context of the book of Galatians, law and grace?

Your response: _________________ and _________________.

In using both terms—grace and peace, it is obvious that Paul wrote to a mixed audience of Gentiles and Jews all bringing their acquired perspectives and beliefs.

(1:4): What truths about Jesus did Paul want people to know?

Jesus ____________ Himself for our sins.

Christ’s purpose in dying