THE IMPORTANCE OF

GRACE

Part 4

Man cannot forgive HIMSELF of

his sins.

No WORK done by man alone can ever remove one sin, or

gain eternal salvation. By our Sin we have dug a whole so deep for ourselves that we

cannot get out of it by ourselves through our own efforts

WE NEED HELP

This was the point that Paul was

making in that most famous verse.

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift

of God:"

It is by God's GRACE that WE ARE SAVED.

It is not by anything that we have done or

could do. We would not even know how to obtain

access to it if God had not revealed it through

His word the Bible.

Paul tells us that it is the

"GIFT OF GOD." GRACE, then, is the "GIFT OF

GOD." If we KNOW what the "gift of

God" is, then we shall know :-

How we can obtain the BENEFITS of the GRACE OF

GOD.

The gift of God was JESUS

CHRIST. THROUGH CHRIST, God

has shown His love, favour and mercy toward

humanity. THROUGH CHRIST we

have the hope of salvation.

We see this from the words of our Lord to the woman at the well in Samaria. (John 4:10)

"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knew the gift of

God, and who it is that says to you, give me to drink; you

would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living

water."

Some would limit this Grace of

God only to those who were ELECTED (chosen) to salvation.

Those who are ELECTED, or the "ELECT," refers to a doctrine

that teaches that a select few were elected to salvation before

the world was created.

This is contrary (opposite to) to the scheme (plan) of God's redemption for

humanity.

God's grace, which comes through Jesus Christ is

extended to ALL, NOT just to a select few.

Paul taught that "the Grace of God brings

salvation" (Titus 2:11).

We all agree with this statement. Yet, Paul continues by saying, "hath appeared to all men."

This Grace is not limited. It has appeared so that all men might have an opportunity for salvation.

The word "appeared" means, "to become visible,” or "to be seen."

How did God's Grace "appear”

to all men?

It has appeared through the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Although the Grace of God has appeared to all men, this does

NOT imply that all men are saved.

It means that all possess an

opportunity to take advantage of the gift of

God, which is Jesus Christ.

Our salvation comes through our faith in Him, when we do what we need to do in order

to gain access to God's Grace.

Paul teaches that we all have

sinned and come short of God's glory (Romans 3:23).

As such, we are in our sins and in need of salvation.

Our salvation can come only through Jesus Christ (cf. 1

Thessalonians 5:9; Acts 4:12).

To receive the benefits of the Grace that God offers,

we must go to Christ.

The Grace of God has come by (or through) the RESURRECTION of Jesus

Christ.

The fact that Jesus Christ died

is significant.

But if that is ALL He did, then we are void (have no access to)

of God's Grace.

It was through the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ

that God's Grace became effective.

Peter says it aptly:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a

lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead“

(1 Peter 1:3).

Without the death, burial and

resurrection of Jesus Christ, we ALL would

be WITHOUT any HOPE or SALVATION.

Grace, as it relates to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, is a theme

that Paul develops in his letter to the

Romans.

Paul proved that all are guilty of sin, and that by one man's

disobedience sin came into this world.

In chapter five this theme is well developed.

Paul also noted that it was by one man's obedience that all have the hope of salvation.

This theme is summed up

in one verse. "For as by one man's

disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall

many be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)

Finally, in chapter six, we see that when we

are baptized into Christ, we are baptized

into the likeness of Christ's death, burial and resurrection.

In this act we realize the true significance of God's

Grace.

Before Christ came into this world to be our sacrifice for sins, we were dead in our sins.

Christ did not come because we were so good or great.

He came because we were sinners and if we continued in our sin we would PERISH

Whenever we think about the Grace of God, we must

understand this fact.

This is what makes Grace - Grace.

We were dead in our sins, but through Christ we can

be made alive.

The key is "through Christ."

This helps us to understand Paul's statement:"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with

Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:5).

The parenthetical clause explains the idea of Grace being through

Christ.

The GIFT of God is Jesus Christ. The GRACE of God is Jesus Christ.

The Gift of the GRACE of God is FOUND through OUR

ACCEPTANCE of Jesus Christ.

Through Christ, and His death, burial and

resurrection, we have access to the Grace of God.

Peter makes a simple, yet profound statement about the Grace of God:

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given

among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)