God’s Abundant Grace “abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33

Grace and Faith Please open your Bible & follow along in Ephesians 2:11-12 God’s Abundan t 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 Abundan t 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. 3:28-30 shows that God the is the God of all people, and saves those who have faith – Rom. 4:13-16 The promise to Abraham is fulfilled in accordance with the faith of those who believe – Acts 15:9 God makes no distinction on physical traits… – Faith makes salvation possible for anyone, because anyone can believe and have faith! – Now let’s review God’s part in offering salvation, and see how it corresponds to man’s part in receiving it God’s Abundan t 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 Eternal life (salvation) is a gift (Rom. 6:23) Man still has choice: to receive or reject it… God’s Abundan t Grace Acts 4:33

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) Faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22) Faith in God’s promise (Rom. 4:13) Faith in obeying (Rom. 1:5; 16:26) Faith in justification (Rom. 3:2-30) “FAITH” sums up everything man must to do receive the gift (Eph. 2:8) God’s Abundan t Grace Acts 4:33

Faith is a Choice – Faith is belief in the testimony of witnesses to facts (Heb. 11:1) John the baptizer was a witness (John 1:34) The Apostles were witnesses (Acts 3:14-15) They testify to us even today through scriptures! – 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” – How to increase faith: Hear more…believe more! – Faith is an act of freewill: You can choose to believe or not God’s Abundan t 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, case, 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 Abundan t 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 Abundan t 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 Abundan t Grace Acts 4:33

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age… (Titus 2:11-12) God’s Abundan t Grace Acts 4:33

Faith is the victory over sin! 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 Abundan t Grace Acts 4:33

God’s Abundant Grace “abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33