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THE IMPORTANCE OF GRACE Part 4. Man cannot forgive HIMSELF of his sins. No WORK done by man alone can ever remove one sin, or gain eternal salvation. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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THE IMPORTANCE OF
GRACE
Part 4
Man cannot forgive HIMSELF of
his sins.
No WORK done by man alone can ever remove one sin, or
gain eternal salvation. By our Sin we have dug a whole so deep for ourselves that we
cannot get out of it by ourselves through our own efforts
WE NEED HELP
This was the point that Paul was
making in that most famous verse.
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God:"
It is by God's GRACE that WE ARE SAVED.
It is not by anything that we have done or
could do. We would not even know how to obtain
access to it if God had not revealed it through
His word the Bible.
Paul tells us that it is the
"GIFT OF GOD." GRACE, then, is the "GIFT OF
GOD." If we KNOW what the "gift of
God" is, then we shall know :-
How we can obtain the BENEFITS of the GRACE OF
GOD.
The gift of God was JESUS
CHRIST. THROUGH CHRIST, God
has shown His love, favour and mercy toward
humanity. THROUGH CHRIST we
have the hope of salvation.
We see this from the words of our Lord to the woman at the well in Samaria. (John 4:10)
"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knew the gift of
God, and who it is that says to you, give me to drink; you
would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living
water."
Some would limit this Grace of
God only to those who were ELECTED (chosen) to salvation.
Those who are ELECTED, or the "ELECT," refers to a doctrine
that teaches that a select few were elected to salvation before
the world was created.
This is contrary (opposite to) to the scheme (plan) of God's redemption for
humanity.
God's grace, which comes through Jesus Christ is
extended to ALL, NOT just to a select few.
Paul taught that "the Grace of God brings
salvation" (Titus 2:11).
We all agree with this statement. Yet, Paul continues by saying, "hath appeared to all men."
This Grace is not limited. It has appeared so that all men might have an opportunity for salvation.
The word "appeared" means, "to become visible,” or "to be seen."
How did God's Grace "appear”
to all men?
It has appeared through the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Although the Grace of God has appeared to all men, this does
NOT imply that all men are saved.
It means that all possess an
opportunity to take advantage of the gift of
God, which is Jesus Christ.
Our salvation comes through our faith in Him, when we do what we need to do in order
to gain access to God's Grace.
Paul teaches that we all have
sinned and come short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).
As such, we are in our sins and in need of salvation.
Our salvation can come only through Jesus Christ (cf. 1
Thessalonians 5:9; Acts 4:12).
To receive the benefits of the Grace that God offers,
we must go to Christ.
The Grace of God has come by (or through) the RESURRECTION of Jesus
Christ.
The fact that Jesus Christ died
is significant.
But if that is ALL He did, then we are void (have no access to)
of God's Grace.
It was through the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ
that God's Grace became effective.
Peter says it aptly:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead“
(1 Peter 1:3).
Without the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, we ALL would
be WITHOUT any HOPE or SALVATION.
Grace, as it relates to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, is a theme
that Paul develops in his letter to the
Romans.
Paul proved that all are guilty of sin, and that by one man's
disobedience sin came into this world.
In chapter five this theme is well developed.
Paul also noted that it was by one man's obedience that all have the hope of salvation.
This theme is summed up
in one verse. "For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)
Finally, in chapter six, we see that when we
are baptized into Christ, we are baptized
into the likeness of Christ's death, burial and resurrection.
In this act we realize the true significance of God's
Grace.
Before Christ came into this world to be our sacrifice for sins, we were dead in our sins.
Christ did not come because we were so good or great.
He came because we were sinners and if we continued in our sin we would PERISH
Whenever we think about the Grace of God, we must
understand this fact.
This is what makes Grace - Grace.
We were dead in our sins, but through Christ we can
be made alive.
The key is "through Christ."
This helps us to understand Paul's statement:"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:5).
The parenthetical clause explains the idea of Grace being through
Christ.
The GIFT of God is Jesus Christ. The GRACE of God is Jesus Christ.
The Gift of the GRACE of God is FOUND through OUR
ACCEPTANCE of Jesus Christ.
Through Christ, and His death, burial and
resurrection, we have access to the Grace of God.
Peter makes a simple, yet profound statement about the Grace of God:
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)