The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying grace. The title of the study is "What's So Amazing about Grace"
Grace is the most important concept in the Bible, Christianity, and the world. It is most clearly expressed in the promises of God revealed in Scripture and embodied in Jesus Christ himself.
There could have been no grace whatsoever for us but for the fact that God the Son volunteered to take our place and redeem us: Grace... came through Jesus Christ.
Grace will bring the freedom to want the highest good for and expect the highest good from one another. It will make us want to obey and prompt us to love each other.
The greatest thing about grace is that it is free to you, but it is certainly not cheap. Jesus paid for it with His life.
Grace is free but it is also risky. Why is it risky? It can be taken to one of two extremes, the extreme of abusing it the other extreme is killing it by requiring that you work for it.
These are the notes to Session 4
We will be using the books, "The Grace Awakening: Believing In Grace Is One Thing. Living it is Another", and "The Grace Awakening Workbook" by Charles E. Swindoll. You can study along with us by clicking the above links or the images after the notes.
The simplest yet most profound statement in the Bible regarding the new birth is in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
(Eph. 2:8–9 NIV) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast”
However, Satan, in his determination to distort every truth in God’s Word, has caused many to think that God’s grace is cheap permission for a Christian to sin. Satan tells people one of two things. He says “You could never meet God’s standards. Why even try?” Or else he says, “God is a loving heavenly Father, and he understands your human weakness. Don’t take sinning so seriously. God will always forgive.”
Either of these attitudes toward sin in a Christian’s life will produce a devastating effect. It will destroy fellowship with God and will prevent us from growing and maturing in the faith. Inevitably these attitudes will cause a Christian to doubt his or her salvation and relationship with Christ.
Review
Last week our emphasis was on the fact that grace was free and our salvation which is the result of God's grace, which is free is not dependent on any works by us.
What do you think motivated the people of Shinar to build a city?
How does the popular idea that “God helps those who help themselves” represent a gospel of works rather than a gospel of grace?
Was Abraham made right before God based on his works? Who declared Abraham righteous? On what basis? - Romans 4:1–5.
Who deserves the credit for your right standing before God? Why? - Romans 8:1
Ephesians 2:1–9. Since you were dead before you accepted Christ, did you play any part in bringing yourself to life in Christ?
How much credit does verse 8 give us for being alive together with Christ?
If we give ourselves credit for our salvation or our growth in Christ, we’re still subscribing to the heresy of humanism. We are not the " the masters of our fate" or "captains of our soul'' as in the poem Invictus People who credit themselves for what they have accomplished for God don’t understand grace. They’re humanists at heart and they can be grace killers.
Grace is free but it is also risky. Why is it risky?
If there is nothing we can do to get it, isn’t it possible that we can abuse it.
Romans 5:20-21 NIV The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:1-2 NIV What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Some people will take advantage of it. They will misrepresent it. They will go to such an extreme that they will promote the erroneous idea that you can go on sinning as much as you like.
Grace really results in freedom for Christians because we no longer have to depend on ourselves for justification and salvation. God has taken care of that in Jesus and His sacrifice.
Most people yearn to be free. They hate living under bondage. They want liberty, yet many have no idea where or how to find it. There is nothing like an accurate understanding of God’s matchless grace to help make that happen.
Some people will take it to extremes. Couldn’t an awakening of grace lead to an abuse of grace?
Here is what a grace killer might say "you want to be Christians, and if you want to go to heaven, you must stop committing sins, you must take up good works, and if you do so regularly and constantly, and do not fail to keep on at it, you will make yourselves Christians, you will reconcile yourselves to God, and you will go to heaven".
Man’s whole emphasis is just this, that if you go on sinning you are certain to be damned, and only if you stop sinning can you save yourselves.
Statement of Clarification
Romans 5:1-2 NIV Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Remember the definition of justification? It is the sovereign act of God whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner while still in his sinning state. It doesn’t mean that the believing sinner stops sinning. It doesn’t even mean that the believing sinner is made righteous in the sense of suddenly becoming perpetually perfect. The sinner is declared righteous. They haven’t started doing all the religious stuff like going to church, reading the Bible every day, praying every day, paying tithes. They haven’t even been baptized.
By grace, through faith alone, God declares the sinner righteous (justification), and from that moment on the justified sinner begins a process of growth toward maturity (sanctification). Day by day, bit by bit, he learns what it means to live a life that honors Christ.
Pastor Swindoll wrote something that really hit me and changed my mind about something that I have heard and have even said and believed. He wrote;
Please understand, to be justified does not mean “just as if I’d never sinned.” I hear that often, and it always troubles me. In fact, that definition weakens the full impact of justification. Justification really means this: Even though I still sin periodically and have found myself unable to stop spinning on a permanent basis, God declared me righteous when I believed. And because I will continue to sin from time to time, I find all the more reason to be grateful for grace. As a sinner I deserve vengeance. As a sinner I’m afraid of justice. And so, as a sinner, my only hope for survival is grace.
He takes the guilty, believing sinner who says, “I am lost, unworthy, guilty as charged, and undeserving of forgiveness,” and extends the gift of eternal life because Christ’s death on the cross satisfied His demands against sin, namely, death. And God sees the guilty sinner (who comes by faith alone) as righteous as His own Son.
“Cheap grace” justifies the sin rather than the sinner. True grace, on the other hand, justifies the sinner, not the sin.
Now, it’s your turn to see if you understand how Really Just Simple His grace is.
1. Multiple Choice.
In order to repent, sinners have to
a. get their lives right and then ask God to forgive them for the things they’ve done wrong.
b. take the gift of grace that God offers through faith in Jesus Christ and never run back to the sins they used to do.
c. change their minds about Jesus Christ and take the gift of grace that God offers through faith in Him.
Repentance is not to be understood as changing your lifestyle, doing good deeds, or even committing to a holy life. It is a change of mind about Christ andHis work, choosing to trust in Him instead of self.
Answer c
2. True or False.
God declares believing sinners righteous when they believe, but once they believe, believing sinners can lose their right Christ and His work, choosing to trust in Him.-False
Romans 10:10-18 NIV For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
3. God sanctifies us through what offering? Jesus' blood
4. Whose sacrifice covers all of the believing sinner’s past, present, and future sins? Jesus’
The fear that grace abusers will consider free grace to be a license for sin doesn’t give anyone the right to stifle the message of grace.In spite of the very real risks, the message of free grace must be shared.
Alternatives to Grace
When we’re wrong, we cry for mercy. When we’re wronged, we demand justice.
What are the alternatives to grace?
1. I can emphasize works over grace.
I can tell you that as a sinner you need to have a stronger commitment to Christ, demonstrated by the work you do in His behalf, before you can say that you truly believe.
The problem in doing so is this: A sinner cannot commit to anything. He or she is spiritually dead, remember? There is no capacity for commitment in an unregenerate heart. Becoming an obedient, submissive disciple of Christ follows believing in Christ. Works follow faith. Behavior follows belief. Fruit comes after the tree is well rooted.
2. I can give you a list of dos and don’ts.
If I do that then it becomes my responsibility to tell you what to do or not to do and why. I then set up the conditions by which you begin to earn God’s acceptance through me. You do what I tell you to do . . . you don’t do what I tell you not to do, and you’re “in.” You fail to keep the list, you’re “out.” This legalistic style of strong-arm teaching is one of the most prevalent methods employed in evangelical circles. Grace killer.
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