Grace – God’s Part of the Salvation Plan
Salvation (means deliverance) – The scripture that won the debate in my life.
- 2 parts to the salvation – Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
- Grace defined – The word in Greek is charis – which means grace, favor, thanks, divine influence
- Thus, in the teachings of Apostle Paul, grace is the power of God to overcome sin in this fallen world. Grace is free!
- Ephesians 2:6 – “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” that is a covenant relationship.
- We weren’t saved just so we can make it to heaven. – we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew so we can do the good things he planned for us to do.
- And God has saved us for His purpose – 2 Timothy 1:9– who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
Grace is uniquely connected to the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
- God wants his people to walk in the gifts He has given them. But before we’re able to walk in the gifts we must first learn about what empowers the gifts, it’s His Grace.
- Acts 2:38 – Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Gift comes from the Greek word charisma – which means gift.
- Received the Holy Spirit – (John 20:22) – but commanded to wait to be filled/baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5)
- Why – all we need to do is look at Peter
People walking in grace look a certain way. They are a model of a koinonia community.
- Some have taken God’s grace out of context – Romans 6:1-2. Grace is not the power to sin but to destroy sin.
- We are to be a people free from sin – Romans 8:12-15
- Grace also allows us to fulfill the 2nd great commandment – to love one another – Matthew 22:37-40
- This is what the Holy Spirit is changing in the American Church – but we need God’s grace
- The opposite is also true – those who choose not to change are also choosing not to walk in grace
- Looking at the splinter in someone else’s eye – Matthew 7:3-5 – And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’, and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
- People walking in Grace are focused on their lives, their transformation.
- People who do not walk in grace are overly focused on everybody else
- Philippians 2:3 – Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
People walking in grace are also victorious people.
- People walking in Grace truly understand this verse – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- They understand – Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
- Acts 2:47 – …all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill (favor) of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. This is the effects of a community walking in grace
How do we get to the place of walking in God’s Grace?
- We get filled once again with the Holy Spirit
- We can rest in this – Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Proverbs 19:21 – Many plans in person’s heart, but LORD’s purpose prevails.
- To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Those who are transformed will be those led by God’s Spirit.
- God wants to bring us to a new level, a new place – but the hallways are tough