Watch the video above and talk about it with a friend or mentor.

The second foundational truth for a pursuit of God is that in response to God’s grace, Christians intentionally live to honor God.

Key Points:

  • The Christian life is based on grace. The Christian life is not a matter of proving our worthiness or earning God’s favor.
  • We live to honor God. Pleasing God cannot be reduced to a checklist. Jesus made it clear that the Christian life is about relationships, not regulations.
  • The Bible guides us. Christians do not look to any church for the ultimate truth about what to believe or how to live. We look to God’s word (Luke 11:28).
  • The Holy Spirit empower us. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee (Ephesians 1:14), so his presence and work in us are not conditional on our worthiness.
  • Other believers help us. Every Christian is a part of God’s church (1 Corinthians 12:12). This is not a visible institution, but a network of relationships described in the Bible as a family, a body, and a flock (Ephesians 2:19Romans 12:4-5Acts 20:28).

See Also: Christian Life

Talk About It
  1. What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Think of Christians whose lives you have admired or not admired. What factors led you to that conclusion, in either case?
  3. Read Titus 2:11-12. How does grace act as an incentive to turn from godless living?
  4. “Pleasing God cannot be reduced to a checklist.” Do you agree or disagree, and why?
  5. Read Matthew 22:37-40. What two relational priorities does Jesus identify? In what way do these two commandments express “the entire law”?
  6. Read 2 Timothy 3:15-17. What does the Bible have the ability to do in our lives?
  7. Read Ezekiel 36:26. Describe the difference between a “stony” heart and a “tender” heart. What is the Holy Spirit’s role?
  8. Read Galatians 6:1-2. What are some ways we need other believers in our life? What happens when we try to go it alone in the Christian life?
  9. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

This is part 2 of the Foundations for Mormons series.