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God’s Abundant G race. “abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33. God’s Abundan t Grace. Acts 4:33. Grace and Faith Please open your Bible & follow along in Romans 3:21-31. God’s Abundan t Grace. Acts 4:33. Outline: Grace and Faith Faith M akes Salvation P ossible For Anyone
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God’s AbundantGrace “abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 Grace and Faith Please open your Bible & follow along in Romans 3:21-31
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Outline: Grace and Faith • Faith Makes Salvation Possible For Anyone • God’s Part in Offering Salvation • Man’s Part in Receiving Salvation • Faith is a Choice • Faith Works!
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Faith Makes Salvation Possible For Anyone • Rom. 1:18 – 3:20 demonstrates that all men are condemned by law and subject to God’s wrath • Rom. 3:21 – 5:2 show that, if man’s part in salvation is faith, then any man can be saved, and not just those who are under the Law of Moses • Rom. 4:16 “For this reason it is by faith…” • Abraham, is proof of righteousness by faith rather than by the works of the Law • See also Acts 15:9 and Gal. 3:22 and Phil. 3:9 • Faith makes salvation possible for anyone, because anyone can believe and have faith!
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • God’s part in offering salvation: GRACE • Grace in the gospel that calls (Acts 20:24) • Grace in the sacrifice of Christ that saves (Heb. 2:9) • Grace in the promise that gives hope (Rom. 4:16) • Grace in the commands that guide (Titus 2:11-12) • Grace in providing justification (Rom. 3:24) • “Grace” sums up everything God does for man that man cannot do for himself to make salvation possible • Man still has choice: to receive or reject it…
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Salvation is a gift God offers (Rom. 6:23) • Man chooses to receive it or reject it, just like any other gift. • Man’s part in receiving salvation: FAITH (Heb. 11:6) • Faith in the power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17; 1 Cor. 2:5) • Faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18; Rom. 3:22,26) • Faith in God’s promise (Rom. 4:13,16) • Faith in obeying (Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Heb. 11; Jms. 2:14-26) • Faith in justification (Rom. 3:26-30; 5:1; Gal. 2:16; 3:24) • “FAITH” sums up everything man must to do receive the gift (Eph. 2:8)
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Faith is a Choice • Faith is belief in the testimony of witnesses to facts (Heb. 11:1) • The 12 Apostles were witnesses (Acts 1:8; 3:15) • Paul was a witness (Acts 22:15; 23:11; 26:16) • They testify to us in the epistles they wrote! • Faith comes by hearing the word of God • John 20:31 “these have been written so that you may believe” • Acts 8:12 “they believed Philip preaching the good news” • Rom. 10:8-17 “faith comes by hearing the Word” • Hear more…believe more: faith increases! • Faith is an act of freewill: You can choose to believe or not
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Faith is a Choice (not an imparted gift) • Typical denominational view is that man, having fallen in sin, is incapable of developing his own faith, and that God must put faith into a man to enable the man to do good. • This false view of faith is based on a misunderstanding of Eph. 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” • Pronoun: that Three antecedents: grace, saved, faith • In grammar, the pronoun must agree with the antecedent in number and gender • In the original Greek, “grace” and “faith” are feminine gender, while “saved” is neuter gender • The pronoun “that” is neuter gender, so it must refer to saved! • Compare Rom. 6:23! The gift is eternal life!
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Faith Works! (Jms. 2:14-26) • Faith without works does not save (14) • Faith without works is dead (15-17) • Faith cannot be demonstrated without works (18) • Even the demons believe and tremble. It takes more faith than that to save a person! (19) • Faith without works is useless (20) • Abraham was justified by faith + works (21-23) • We are NOT saved by “faith alone”(24) • Rahab was justified by works (25) • Faith without works is dead (26) • Consider all those listed in Hebrews 11…
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • Summary • God offers salvation to everyone! • God offers salvation through the grace of the Gospel, the sacrifice, the promise, the commands, and justification by grace, all of which God supplies. • God requires man to respond in faith: believing the Gospel, with faith in Jesus, faith in His promise, faith in obeying His commands, and faith to receive justification. Faith gains the victory! (1 John 5:4) • Faith is what you choose to believe after hearing. • We are thus saved by grace through faith, and this salvation is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8)
God’s Abundant Grace Acts 4:33 • We must have faith to receive salvation! • Have faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins and was raised up. • Repent of your sins…commit yourself to holiness in faith. • Confess your faith in Christ to save you. • With faith in His death, burial, and resurrection, be baptized into Jesus for forgiveness of your sins…this marks the moment when grace saves the sinner. • Continue in the blessed relationship of His favor by remaining faithful in godliness, and nourish that relationship by constant prayer.
God’s AbundantGrace “abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33