Teen Scene: October- December 2023

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corp.

Teen Scene is an age-appropriate Christian quarterly lesson guide for young people ages 15-17. In addition to introductory material and biblical exposition, each lesson contains lesson applications along with activities and questions that enhance the students’ understanding of the presentation. Biblical principles are specifically written to reflect the interests and problems of growing teens. It follows the International Uniform Sunday School Lesson Outline from the National Council of Churches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Sep 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886351408

Book preview

Inward Change

Romans 2:12–24, 28–29

Background Scriptures: Romans 2:1–29

ALL who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged in accordance with the law.

13For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight but the doers of the law who will be justified.

14When gentiles, who do not possess the law, by nature do what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves.

15They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, as their own conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them

16on the day when, according to my gospel, God through Christ Jesus judges the secret thoughts of all.

• • • • • •

17But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God

18and know his will and determine what really matters because you are instructed in the law,

19and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

20a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth,

21you, then, who teach others, will you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

22You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by your transgression of the law?

24For, as it is written, The name of God is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.

• • • • • •

28For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something external and physical.

29Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not the written code. Such a person receives praise not from humans but from God.

Dictionary Term

idols: an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.

KEY VERSE: It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified. (Romans 2:13, NRSV)

Introduction

Two phrases can encapsulate the heart of today’s lesson: actions speak louder than words and practice what you preach. If we claim that we are faithful and devoted followers of Jesus Christ, and the Law He established, our actions should align. This is what Paul teaches in today’s lesson.

God’s Judgment of Sin

Today’s Scripture comes from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Our Scripture begins after his critique on the failings of the Gentiles in chapter one, in particular verses 18–32, where he describes the wickedness of man and all the sinfulness that has consumed their hearts. In chapter two of the book of Romans, Paul argues with a hypothetical individual who embodies the concept of self–righteous Judaism. This is an individual who would place themselves directly opposite the aforementioned Gentiles and consider themselves better than the sinful persons mentioned in chapter one.

Paul’s letter clarifies that God will punish the Gentiles for sinning, even though they never received His written Law. But He will also punish Jews when they sin because they do have the Law, yet neglect and disobey it. Paul writes to the people to remind them that simply knowing the Law isn’t enough to earn God’s approval and save them from His wrath. In Romans 3:23, Paul writes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, which demonstrates that no one is exempt from His judgment and serves as a reiteration of what is written in Romans 2:11: God does not show favoritism.

Instead, God expects people to obey the Law in order to be declared right in His sight. This expectation is applied to both Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s letter implies that all people who instinctively follow God’s Law know in their hearts what is right and what is wrong, whether they have God’s written Law or not. This proves that God’s Law is written inside of them, guiding their consciences, and helping them to determine whether they are doing right or wrong. Paul assures the reader that there will come a day when God judges everyone’s life, using the example and teachings of Jesus to do