Question 1 Can you de0ine grace?

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1 "THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD" I grew up attending a First Assembly of God, which meant we went to Sunday School, church service, Sunday evening church service and Royal Rangers on Wednesday nights. It also meant that we sang and worshiped God using a hymnbook. One of my favorite songs is about the grace that saves a sinner like myself. The songs title is He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs Here are the lyrics. Amazing Grace shall always be my song of praise, For it was grace that brought my liberty, I do not know just why he cared to love me so He looked beyond my faults and he saw my need I shall forever lift my eyes to Calvary To view the cross where Jesus died for me, How marvelous the grace that caught my fallen soul He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs, What a classic song about the grace of God. This morning I want us to explore the gospel of the grace of God through a series of questions. Remember, I m an educator so I like to ask questions. Question 1 Can you de0ine grace? The words faith and grace have been hard for me over the years to totally comprehend being a Christian. Faith is something I can t touch, smell or feel, I just have to believe and most of the time I don t even know what grace actually means. What does the word grace mean to you? Think about that for a minute. A few sayings come to mind A politician has fallen from grace A

2 dancer exhibits grace You must be in that person s good graces 1.Grace can be deqined as God's undeserved, unearned favor, goodness, kindness, and love toward us. 2.Grace is a free gift that cannot be earned. 3.God's grace is mentioned 150 times in the New Testament. Paul opened and closed his letters by mentioning it. This means the Lord's unearned favor is at the heart of what we believe as being Christians. 4.Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. As we know by reading the bible, Jesus talked a lot about grace, but mainly through stories. I would like to describe grace through a quick story. I remember once getting stuck in trafqic on a vacation and arriving 58 minutes late at the Hertz rental desk. I walked up in kind of a bad mood, put the keys down and said, How much do I owe? The woman says, Nothing. You re all clear. I said I was late and she smiled, Yes, but there s a one- hour grace period. So I asked, Oh really, what is grace? And she said, I don t know. [They must not cover that in Hertz training classes.] I guess what it means is that even though you re supposed to pay, you don t have to. That s a good start to a deqinition. Question 2 What has happened that leads you to laugh out loud and really appreciate God s grace? 1.Tell the story of my dad s salvation. That is the grace of our Heavenly Father. Question 3 By emphasizing grace, though, isn t there a danger of excusing behavior, of lowering standards and accepting failure? I challenge anyone to Qind an example of a person who lives a perfect life, so I m glad those of us who fail and have grace to rescue us.

3 Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In the book of Romans Paul doesn t mention a few have sinned, or many have sinned, but Paul writes ALL have sinned. Jesus deliberately raises the bar. If you look at the Sermon on the Mount, he keeps raising the ideal, so high that no one can meet it. You don t murder do you get angry with your brother? You don t commit adultery do you lust? He raises the bar so high that no one can meet it, and then provides the safety net of grace. We don t have to gain God s approval by jumping over the bar. Indeed, when we fail, grace is there to rescue us. Jesus style is not so simple, nor does it promise guaranteed results. If results were guaranteed, there would be no need for grace. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Question 4 What is the difference between grace and kindness? Excellent question Vince. I ve sometimes heard the difference between grace and mercy deqined this way: Mercy is not getting what you deserve while grace is getting what you do not deserve. Let me read that again. Kindness, however that s something different. Kindness can be given in a patronizing way. We can be kind to a homeless person, or even an animal, as an act of charity. Grace is different. It elevates the one you are showing grace toward. God s grace toward us puts us on a whole new level: God now judges us as if we had never sinned, through the Qilter of his Son Jesus. That s quite different than God deciding to be kind toward us. If we could grasp the in depth aspect of grace, it would help Christians reputation so much. That God loves good people is nothing new every religion says that. That God loves sinners, that s grace. In Romans 5:8 Paul states But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

4 Paul called himself the chief of sinners. With his background, Paul understood grace. Question 5 - Are there any limits to grace? Can I run so far away or sink so deep that grace will not reach me? Well, read the Bible. You ll read about the great characters of the Old Testament such as Moses, whose foul temper led to murder and rebellion against God, and David, who committed adultery and murder. Then turn to the New Testament where you ll see the church led by Peter, a former traitor, and Paul, a former human rights abuser of Christians. I d have to say, No. We can never sink so far that God s grace will not reach us. At the same time, grace does not leave us there. It raises us to new heights. The critics are right: Grace is unfair. We deserve God s wrath and get God s love, deserve punishment and get forgiveness. We don t get what we deserve. Paul put it ironically in Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We work hard for wages, which vanish at death; we do nothing to deserve grace, and get life eternal. It s unfair that a human rights abuser like Saul gets forgiven, or a murderer/adulterer like King David, or a thief hanging on a cross who has a conversion just before death. Yes, it s unfair gloriously unfair. I love C.S. Lewis. He was such a practical man. A quick C.S. Lewis story. It is said that, years ago, during a British Conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world gathered together and debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. So, they began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? No, other religions had different versions of God's appearing in human form. Resurrection? No, again other religions had accounts of return from death.

5 The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the ruckus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace." After some discussion, the conference attendees had to agree. "The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to be against every instinct of humanity. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional." When it comes to the grace of God, it is, without question, one of the most unlimited, and sad to say, most unappreciated attributes of God Himself. So what s the take away in today s message? God's grace is a gift offered to all humanity. However, each person must be willing to receive the gift before he or she can enjoy its beneqits. A. TO RECEIVE GOD'S SAVING GRACE REQUIRES OBEDIENCE For Jesus is "the author (or source) of eternal salvation to all who obey Him," Hebrews 5:9 2. Such obedience involves: a. Trusting in Jesus as the Son of God who died for your sins John 3:16 b. Confessing your faith before men Romans 10:9-10 c. Repent of your sins Acts 3:19 B. HOWEVER, SUCH OBEDIENCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EARNING or MERITING SALVATION 1. Salvation is by grace 2. Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. God loves us and has a plan for us. We are sinful and separated from God.

6 Through God s grace, he sent his son to die for our sins. Would you like to receive God s forgiveness? We can t earn salvation; we are saved by God s grace when we have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. All you have to do is believe you are a sinner, that Christ died for your sins, and ask His forgiveness. Then turn from your sins- that s called repentance. Jesus Christ knows you and loves you. What matters to Him is the attitude of your heart, your honesty. If you don t know God and want to accept him as your Savior, I suggest praying the following prayer to accept Christ in your life: Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will. In your name, Amen. If you prayed the sinner s prayer this morning you have been saved. It s that easy. God s grace has saved you from death. Now you need to go out and confess your faith to others. Repent from your sins and have a daily relationship, a friendship, with Jesus Christ. Thank God for his saving grace. Let s pray