1. So when is :finishing well” most tested?  
2.   a) You can be severely tested to deviate from a life that “finishes well” is __________________________________________.                                                                               

2 Timothy 2:3-7,15, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this… ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

2. As a soldier…   

5. Making a difference with our lives, fulfilling God’s dream for our lives, means ________________________ and getting to it. 

1. Legalism is putting a bunch of ____________________ on to people in the name of God, that God did not put on them.
2. The lie of legalism: you have to get your act together _____________ you can come to Christ for a relationship.
3. The lie says that _________________ has to come before           __________________________.
4. We tend to spell religion as ___________, but real faith in Jesus is spelled _________________.

Titus 3:5-8a, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying… These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

Ephesians 2:8,  ”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

5. We reduce spirituality to _____________________________.

1. Real judgmentalism: it’s the practice of _________________     __________________________.
2. What’s the opposite? ____________________________________.

See: John 4:4-18

3. Jesus didn’t condemn her for what she did, but He didn’t             _____________________________ it either. 

1. As a Jesus follower what is our relationship supposed to be with any government or political system?

See: Matthew 22:15-17; Luke 20:23-26 

1. a) While on this planet, Jesus followers should render to whatever ruler is in power ___________________________ while never turning away from their ultimate allegiance to God.

 See Romans 13:1-7 

1. b) There is no _____________________ that has not been established by God.
2.    c) The world needs to be ___________________.
3.    d) It’s important to obey authority because of ____________. It’s a way to serve and honor God and the authority He has established.

                      See: 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Acts 5:26-29; 

                                1 Peter 2:13-14; ! Peter 4:15-16 

2. Should a Jesus follower be politically active?

                                                                                                                                        See: Matthew 5:13-16

1.    a) Jesus is telling us in a direct command the we are to be __________________________________.
2. b) You must act in the world — you can’t just be a ______________________.
3. As Jesus followers how are we supposed to use politics to influence society?

1. The Old Testament is clear: The people of Israel were once immigrants and should treat others as they_______________    ___________________________. 

See Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 19:33-34 

2. Compassion to “strangers” is highlighted specifically by                   ______________________. 

See Matthew 25:31-46 

3. As Jesus followers we are not to be led by ______________. 
4. If you give in to ____________ and develop a mentality that  you are under siege, you give in to an ___________________  mentality. 
5. Fun fact: the words _____________, in one form or another, are listed 365 times in the Bible. 

1. The goal isn’t for a Christian to ____________ technological     advances, but to control that advance and set it into an ethical frame work. 

Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in His own image,
in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” 

2. First big idea: We _____________________________. 
3. If you are a Jesus-follower, someone who believes in and lives by the Bible, you are a ______________________________. 

“As Christians, we believe that we were wonderfully and carefully ______________, and that the entire creative process—whatever God may have used to do that—was miraculously and supernaturally generated and guided by God.” 

4. Second big idea: Not only were ____________, but we were     _____________________________________________. 
5. He gave us a _______________. 

National Public Radio — surveyed a wide range of scientists from different disciplines. 

                                                        Their top 3 questions were:    

1. a) How did life come about?                                                                                 
2. b) What makes us human?
3. c) What is consciousness?

1. The Belt of Truth — The Jesus Follower must at all costs be ___________________________________________.                         

Reference — 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 

2. The Breast plate of Righteousness —                                                           
3. Positional Righteousness is gained when you come to God through Christ for salvation and _________________________.
4. Situational Righteousness is where we are with God_______________________ as His children in light of our sin. 

“Habitual, unconfessed, unrepentant sin gives Satan a ________________________   in your life that you do not want him to have.” 

3. The Gospel Boots —                                                                       
4. Allows for __________________ due to the presence of the gospel of Peace.                                                                                         
5. Also, there is a sense that wherever you go, you are   ____________________________ with you.                                       

                                                                                                                        Reference: Romans 10:15 

4. The Shield of Faith — when arrows come our way from the evil one, they are designed to __________________________. 
5. The Helmet of Salvation — this is putting on the ___________ of your salvation, the _______________ of your place in Jesus. 

                                                                                                                      References: John 1:12; Galatians 3:26; 

                                                                1 John 3:1; Romans 8: 14-15, 37-3                                                                

6. The Sword of the Spirit —