Grace of God (Part 3)
The Gospel of the Grace of God

In Acts 20:24, Paul speaks of the ministry he had received from the Lord
Jesus..."to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

Paul was given the ministry to proclaim the good news that GOD has
provided a way of salvation for sinners and that HE had done this
without requiring merit on the part of sinners!

In this lesson we shall summarize "The Gospel Of The Grace Of God"
under these three headings:
a. The "need" for grace
b. The "provision" of grace
c. The "reception" of grace

THE "NEED" FOR GRACE
The Bible describes man's true condition...
1. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans
3:23
2. "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one
point, he is guilty of all." - James 2:10
3. "For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23
4. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your
sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." - Isaiah
59:2
5. "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our
righteounesses are like filthy rags;" - Isaiah 64:6

What these passages really mean to us...
1. FIRST: We must all plead guilty!
a. Every accountable person has sinned
b. We can never demand entrance into heaven because we are somehow good
enough
c. Even the very best among us is without merit in God's sight!

2. SECOND: Our sins have alienated us from God!
a. By our transgressions, we lose that precious relationship
with God
b. We experience "spiritual" death, or separation from God;
which if left unchecked, will result in eternal separation from God
(i.e., hell)
c. While in this state of "spiritual" death, we are dead to God;
our prayers are not heard - 1 Peter 3:12: "For the eyes of the Lord are
on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face
of the Lord is against those who do evil.""

3. THIRD: As sinners, we cannot accomplish the removal of our guilt on
our own! We cannot run away from this guilt; We cannot work our way out
of this guilt.
4. It is fair to say, then, that the FIRST requirement of salvation is
recognition of our true guilt. Once we acknowledge our sinfulness, we
are in a position to appreciate...

THE "PROVISION" OF GRACE
Out of "LOVE", God has provided his Son... Because God loved us, He made
His Son a "propitiation" for our sins:
a. A "propitiation" is a sacrifice designed to appease
b. Therefore God has offered His Son as a sacrifice designed to
appease Himself...

Out of "JUSTICE", God has provided his Son...To satisfy His justice, God
provided redemption through the blood of His Son

(Rom 3:24-26) "and are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. {25} God presented him as a
sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to
demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished-- {26} he did it to demonstrate his
justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies
those who have faith in Jesus."

God's grace therefore functions in this way:
a. God's justice requires an appropriate sacrifice for sin
b. Because He loves us, He provided His Son as a sacrifice for sin
c. God recognizes the death of Jesus on the cross as a suitable
ransom for our sins, paid in full!

So to satisfy both His justice and His love, God has graciously provided
salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. What we cannot earn, God has
provided! But the provision of grace is not unconditional (otherwise all
would be saved).

THE "RECEPTION" OF GRACE
Receiving God's saving grace requires obedience...
1. For Jesus is "the author (or source) of eternal salvation to all who
obey Him," - He-brews 5:9
2. Freedom from sin comes when one is willing to obey from the
heart - (Rom 6:17-18) "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be
slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which
you were entrusted. {18} You have been set free from sin and have become
slaves to righteousness."

3. Such obedience involves:
a. Trusting in Jesus as the Son of God who died for your sins Jn
3:16
b. Confessing your faith before men - Ro 10:9-10
c. Repenting of your sins - Ac 17:30
d. Culminating with being buried with Christ in baptism for the
remission of your sins

However, such obedience has nothing to do with earning or meriting
salvation!
God has ordained...that through faith and repentance...culminating with
baptism into Christ ..we might receive the wonderful grace of God!

Why don't more people respond to God's saving grace?
a. It may be some do not understand the "need" for grace
1) They consider themselves good, moral people
2) Yet, in nearly every example of salvation in the book of Acts,
those being saved were deeply religious and very moral already!
3) But as Isaiah said, "all our righteounesses are like filthy
rags"!

b. It may be some are not aware of the "provision" of grace
1) They may think that they are too sinful to receive God's grace
2) Yet God desires all to be saved, and has provided Jesus "a
ransom for all"

c. It may be that some have not been taught the proper "reception" of
grace
1) Many are told to "Say the sinner's prayer", but are not told
what Jesus and His apostles commanded people to do to receive God's
saving grace
2) People need to listen to Christ and His apostles, not modern
preachers! -
(Mark 16:15-16) "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation. {16} Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

(Acts 2:36-38) ""Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has
made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." {37} When the
people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" {38} Peter replied, "Repent
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit."

GOD'S GRACE REQUIRES HOLY LIVING!
1. Some people reason that since we are saved by grace, we are free
to do whatever we wish
2. Yet Paul wrote that the "grace of God...teaches us" to:
a. Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts
b. Live soberly, righteously and godly
c. Look for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of Jesus
Christ - read (Titus 2:11-14) "For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men. {12} It teaches us to say "No" to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright
and godly lives in this present age, {13} while we wait for the blessed
hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
{14} who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wick-edness and to
purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is
good."

HOLY LIVING REQUIRES GOD'S GRACE!
1. To live "soberly, righteously and godly" requires the grace of
God
2. We cannot do it on our own, but with God's help we can!
a. He works in us to do His good will - (Phil 2:12-13)
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my
presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling, {13} for it is God who works in you to
will and to act according to his good purpose."

(Phil 4:13) "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

WE CAN RECEIVE GOD'S GRACE IN VAIN!
Having received God's grace, it is possible for it to have been in vain!
Paul pleaded with the Corinthians that they might not receive God's grace
in vain . Having received God's grace, it is possible for it to have been
in vain!

a. By seeking justification for sin elsewhere - Gal. 5:4
1) In the immediate context, Paul has reference to the Law of
Moses
2) But if we seek to be justified by any system of salvation by works
alone, we will fall from grace!
b. By using God's grace as an excuse for sin
c. By willful and impenitent sinning, thereby despising the Spirit of
grace
(Heb 10:26-31) "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have
received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, {27}
but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will
consume the enemies of God. {28} Anyone who rejected the law of Moses
died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29} How
much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has
trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing
the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the
Spirit of grace? {30} For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I
will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." {31} It is a
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

CONCLUSION
What a terrible thing it would be, to have received God's grace in vain!
To have received God's grace at one point but then to make it all vain
(useless)

But it is just as terrible... not to receive it all! Or having received
it, not to grow in it! So I encourage you all, in the words of the
writer of Hebrews 12:15: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Last modified: April 18, 2006