"THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD"
INTRODUCTION
1. In Ac 20:24, Paul speaks of the ministry he had received from the
Lord Jesus...
"to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
2. The word "gospel" means "good news", and "grace" means "unmerited
favor"; so Paul was given the ministry to proclaim the good news...
a. That GOD has provided a way of salvation for sinners
b. And that HE had done this without requiring merit on the part of
sinners!
3. In this lesson we shall summarize the "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
[Before we can begin to appreciate why the grace of God is good news,
we must understand...]
I. THE "NEED" FOR GRACE
A. THE BIBLE DESCRIBES MAN'S TRUE CONDITION...
1. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Ro 3:23
2. "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one
point, he is guilty of all." - Ja 2:10
3. "For the wages of sin is death..." - Ro 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." - Isa 59:2
5. "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our
righteounesses are like filthy rags;" - Isa 64:6
B. 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 of 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 - cf. 1 Pe 3:12
3. THIRD: As sinners, we cannot accomplish the removal of our
guilt on our own!
a. We cannot run away from this guilt
b. We cannot work our way out of this guilt
[So don't be self-deceived by notions of our own goodness. We are
sinners in need of salvation!
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...]
II. THE "PROVISION" OF GRACE
A. OUT OF "LOVE", GOD HAS PROVIDED HIS SON...
1. Because God loved us, He sent His Son to die that we might
have eternal life - Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 4:9
2. Because God loved us, He made His Son a "propitiation" for our
sins - 1 Jn 4:10
a. A "propitiation" is a sacrifice designed to appease
b. Therefore God has offered His Son as a sacrifice designed
to appease Himself, which leads to a related point...
B. OUT OF "JUSTICE", GOD HAS PROVIDED HIS SON...
1. To satisfy His justice, God provided redemption through the
blood of His Son - Ro 3:24-26
2. 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). Therefore we need to consider...]
III. THE "RECEPTION" OF GRACE
A. RECEIVING GOD'S SAVING GRACE REQUIRES OBEDIENCE...
1. For Jesus is "the author (or source) of eternal salvation to
all who obey Him," - He 5:9
2. Freedom from sin comes when one is willing to obey from the
heart - Ro 6:17-18
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 - Mk 16:15-16; Ac 2:38; 22:16
B. HOWEVER, SUCH OBEDIENCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EARNING OR
MERITING SALVATION!
1. Salvation is by grace, and "not by works of righteousness
which we have done" - Ti 3:4-5a
2. But by God's mercy, He saves us "through the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" - Ti 3:5b
a. When a penitent sinner, who trusts in Jesus, is baptized
into Christ....
1) He or she is united with Christ by baptism into His
death, and therefore rises to walk in newness of life
- cf. Ro 6:3-8
2) He or she is "clothed" with Christ, able to enjoy all
the blessings made possible by Jesus' death and
resurrected life! - cf. Ga 3:26-27; He 7:24-25
b. Through such a "washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit", one is truly "born again of the water and the
Spirit!" - cf. Ti 3:5; Jn 3:5
CONCLUSION
1. God has ordained...
a. ...that through faith and repentance
b. ...culminating with baptism into Christ
...we might receive the wonderful grace of God!
2. 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" - cf. 1 Ti 2:3-6
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! - cf. Mk 16:15-16; Ac 2:36-38; 22:16
3. We saw at the beginning of our study that Paul's ministry was...
"to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." (Ac 20:24)
4. So we have sought to do in this study; and in closing we add the
words of Peter...
"testifying that this is the true grace of God in which
you stand." (1 Pe 5:12)
Dear friends, what is your relationship to the grace of God? Have you
received the gospel of the grace of God? Are you standing in the true
grace of God?
NOTE: This outline has borrowed heavily from a small tract entitled
"The Gospel Of The Grace Of God" by Leslie Diestelkamp. The tract
can be ordered from @Florida College Bookstore (800-922-2390).
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