BC 12: Godliness and the Good Life C (Jesus, Paul and the Paradigm Shift)

Does God promise blessings for the faithful? Does daily life bear this out? We see the primary position in the OT that God blesses the faithful. But the NT seems to change positions and claim that there is no guarantee of this. We look at Rom 8: 35-end, Luke 13:1-5, John 9:1-5 and Matt. 5:43-48. Study Guide: 1) How does loving your enemies make you “children of your father in heaven?” (Matt 5:45). How does the “rain on the just and unjust” explain the nature of God? 2) Explain how the two tragedies in Luke 13 display both moral and natural evils. Does Jesus equally reject both as indications of divine wrath? 3) What is the meaning of Jesus’ words in John 9:3, “but that the works of God might be revealed in him.” 4) Explain how Paul’s claim in Rom 8 that nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ Jesus our Lord relates to the issue of Godliness and the good life. How is Paul answering the question, “Does God promise blessings for the godly? Do my sufferings prove that I’m ungodly?”