The Gift We Could Never Earn – Chat Room

1. CHAT ROOM DISCUSSION GUIDE

Week 2 — Salvation: The Gift We Could Never Earn

Romans 3–5

ICEBREAKER

“Describe a time you looked in an actual mirror and saw something you hadn’t noticed before.”
(Use this to transition into the theme of truth → grace → alignment.)

SCRIPTURE FOCUS & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. The Truth About Us

Romans 3:23–24 (NLT)
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight.
He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

Discussion:
• Why is it important that grace meets us where our control ends?
• In what ways does the “mirror” of Scripture clarify rather than condemn?

2. The Problem We Couldn’t Solve

Romans 3:10–12 (NLT)
“As the Scriptures say,
‘No one is righteous— not even one.
No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
All have turned away…
No one does good, not a single one.’”

Discussion:
• Why does Paul first confront us with what we cannot do?
• How does this passage expose our need for a Savior more than our need for self-improvement?
• Which part of this truth is hardest to accept?

3. The Angled Mirror

Romans 2:1 (NLT)
“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad…”
Romans 3:10 (NLT)
“As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous— not even one.’”
Romans 3:27 (NLT)
“Can we boast…? No… It is based on faith.”
Romans 5:1 (NLT)
“Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God…”

Discussion:
• When are you most tempted to angle the mirror toward others?
• When do you angle it toward yourself?
• What does it look like to “stand still behind Jesus” this week?

Leader Insight:
Everything changes when the reflection passes through Christ first.

4. The Righteousness We Can’t Define

Romans 3:1–4 (ESV)
“Let God be true though every one were a liar…”

Discussion:
• Why do we try to define righteousness on our own terms?
• How does trusting His rightness give rest to your soul?

5. The Gift We Could Never Earn

Romans 3:25–26 (NLT)
“For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin…”

Discussion:
• Why is it important that salvation is a gift and not a paycheck?
• What does it mean to you that “heaven stepped into us”?

6. The Faith That Frees Us

Romans 4:1–5 (ESV)
“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

Discussion:
• How do we confuse “believing” with “behaving”?
• What does it practically look like to “stand still long enough for the true reflection to appear”?

7. The Peace That Follows

Romans 5:1–2 (NLT)
“Since we have been made right… we have peace with God…”

Discussion:
• Where does shame try to steal peace from your week?
• What does dropping shame look like in real life?

PRAYER FOCUS

• Thank God that salvation is a gift we could never earn.
• Ask for renewed alignment behind Jesus — reflection through Him.
• Pray for peace to replace shame, and hope to fill every cracked place.