<< Previous | Index | Next >>"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." - Jm 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. 1Pe 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; 1Jn 4:9 2. Because God loved us, He made His Son a "propitiation" for our sins - 1Jn 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" - Tit 3:4-5a 2. But by God's mercy, He saves us "through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" - Tit 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. Tit 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. 1Ti 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." (1Pe 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).<< Previous | Index | Next >>
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