Word + Walk: Salvific, Not Savage: Rethinking God’s Response in a Fallen World
✝️ Sermon Recap: Salvific, Not Savage
Text: Luke 13:1–5
Big Idea: God is not out to punish people for their past. He is not ranking sin. When tragedy strikes, it's not proof of someone's guilt or God's judgment. Jesus confronts the bad theology that assumes suffering is the result of personal sin. In reality, the world is broken by our collective sin, and God's activity in that brokenness is not savage but salvific. His call is not for us to speculate about the lives of others but to repent—to change our hearts and actions, and to live under His reign.
I. The Tragedy of Bad Theology (Luke 13:1–2)
Some brought Jesus news about Galilean worshipers who were killed by Pilate. Their blood was mixed with their sacrifices—an act of political violence in a sacred space. Jesus doesn’t analyze their guilt. He exposes the crowd’s assumption: that tragedy equals divine punishment. He asks, "Do you think they were worse sinners?"
We still ask this today: Who deserved to die? Who had it coming?
Reflection: Where have you assumed someone’s suffering meant God was judging them? What does that say about how you see God?
II. The Reality of Our Broken One (Luke 13:3–4)
Jesus brings up another tragedy—a tower collapse that killed 18 people. Natural disaster, structural failure, or accident—He doesn't explain it. He uses it to say: "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
Key Insight: The fall affects everyone. Not just bad people. The whole world is broken by communal sin. God isn’t behind the chaos; He’s working to pull us out of it.
Reflection: Have you adjusted to the brokenness of this world? Have you made peace with chaos?
III. The Fallen Way or the Kingdom Way? (Luke 13:5)
Jesus repeats the call: "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Repentance is not about avoiding random death. It's about realignment with the life of the Kingdom. It's about rejecting the fallen way and choosing God’s way.
Repentance = a change of heart that leads to a change in action.
Reflection: What would repentance look like for you this week? Where does your life reflect the fallen way instead of the Kingdom way?
🙏 Walk It Out: 5-Day Devotional
Day 1 – Worse Sinners?
📖 Luke 13:1–2; John 9:1–3
Walk It Out: Ask God to expose where you've assumed that someone deserved their pain. Confess any warped views of His justice, and ask Him to renew your understanding of His mercy.
Day 2 – The World We Made
📖 Genesis 3; Romans 8:18–25
Walk It Out: Reflect on the collective nature of sin. Consider how your daily choices either reinforce or resist the fallenness of the world. Choose one small way to live counter-culturally today.
Day 3 – The Call to Repentance
📖 Luke 13:3–5; Acts 3:19
Walk It Out: Name one area where you feel spiritually nearsighted or numb. Pray for clarity, and commit to one change that reflects Kingdom values.
Day 4 – Salvific, Not Savage
📖 Psalm 34:18; John 3:17
Walk It Out: Meditate on how God has shown you mercy in times of chaos. Thank Him for saving you, and ask how He might use you to rescue others.
Day 5 – The Kingdom Way
📖 Romans 12:1–2; Matthew 4:17
Walk It Out: Identify one pattern in your life that looks more like the world than the Kingdom. What needs to change in your mind and behavior to reflect life under God's reign?
🗣️ Adult Bible Class & Family Discussion Questions
Why did Jesus reject the assumption that the Galileans were worse sinners?
🔾 Follow-up: How do we fall into similar judgment patterns today?
📖 Luke 13:1–2; John 8:7What does Jesus mean by "unless you repent, you will likewise perish"?
🔾 Follow-up: What kind of perishing is He talking about?
📖 Luke 13:3–5; Romans 6:23What does true repentance look like?
🔾 Follow-up: How can we tell if someone has truly turned from the fallen way to the Kingdom way?
📖 Acts 26:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10How does this passage correct bad theology about suffering and God?
🔾 Follow-up: How can we help others rethink their view of God in times of tragedy?
📖 Luke 13:1–5; Job 42:1–6What does it mean that God’s work is salvific, not savage?
🔾 Follow-up: Where have you seen God act to rescue rather than punish?
📖 John 3:16–17; Ezekiel 18:23How does collective sin affect the world we live in?
🔾 Follow-up: How do our daily choices either contribute to or resist that collective fallenness?
📖 Genesis 3; Romans 5:12What is the danger of growing comfortable in a fallen world?
🔾 Follow-up: How do we recognize when we’ve made peace with chaos?
📖 Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:15–17Why does Jesus use questions to teach rather than just making statements?
🔾 Follow-up: How can questions reveal what’s truly in our hearts?
📖 Luke 13:2, 4; Matthew 16:13–15What role does Kingdom vision play in repentance?
🔾 Follow-up: How does seeing clearly help us choose the Kingdom over the world?
📖 Matthew 6:33; 2 Corinthians 4:18How do we know if we're living the fallen way or the Kingdom way?
🔾 Follow-up: What specific behaviors or beliefs mark each path?
📖 Galatians 5:19–26; Colossians 3:1–14What does it mean to live under God's reign in real time?
🔾 Follow-up: How does that look different from religion or routine?
📖 Romans 14:17; Luke 17:20–21How can our church be a voice correcting false theology about God?
🔾 Follow-up: What would it look like for us to be known for showing God's mercy, not misrepresenting His justice?
📖 Micah 6:8; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20