Grace Alone - Part 2

Welcome to the InTouch podcast with tile for Thursday, April 21 effort can get you far in this world, but those attitudes get in the way of a relationship with God.

Stay tuned to discover why you have to rely wholly on Christ to have eternal life always of the grace is God's kindness and graciousness to humanity without regard to man's worth or his merit and is in spite of whatever may have been going on in his or her life does make a difference. They can never merit they can never deserve salvation. It's God's graciousness and kindness to humanity without regard to merit all worth of the individual who receives that grace and spite of what they are and in spite of their condition and in spite of the fact that they don't deserve. No one deserves that. What is salvation because oftentimes people say what yes I think I'm stable. What is salvation. Salvation is the work of God whereby he delivers rose from eternal death and endows us with eternal life. So the whole idea that Paul has in mind here is this is to explain how it is that God delivers us from eternal death and endows this as a gift with eternal life. How does he do that he says it is by grace and grace alone, and I believe that one of the primary reasons for the struggle that goes on is while we say we believe it and we sing about it. Deep down inside we are still working to add to to be sure that we indeed are remaining safe so what place does works have in the Christian life.

Well, look, if you will, in verse 10, because after he says that we are saved by grace, by God's unmerited and undeserved favor.

Notice what he says in verse 10, because he gets back to works for we are his workmanship, that is, without self-made Christians, we are his workmanship, listen to this, created in Christ Jesus, that is saved by him become new creatures look at this now we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus was an x-ray say all good works. That is one of the motivations for saving us is good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So then what is the place of work in the Christian life incident has nothing to do with becoming one works has nothing to do with becoming a Christian is one of the motivations for which God saves us and what he says is that he prepared beforehand before God brought you to this world, God had a choice in your life for you. I think he had many choices and alive.

He does this leave us up to make choices in our life and he's many things he's prepared and planned beforehand bars. One of them is how we'll spend their life heat gifts as the spiritual gifts that you have. God gives you spiritual gifts to equip you for what he wants you to do, how he want you to spend or invest your life so you are not here just by happenstance and some people are very capable in areas because God wants to use them in those areas now when he says prepare that you and I should walk in them. That means that serving God is not optional.

Somebody says well you know I think I will serve my think I will does not even an option. Look at what this says he says for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. That's just simple and plain as it can be. He saved us one of his primary reasons for saving us is good work, he says, which God prepared beforehand that you are not should walk in them. It is a way of life.

It is a lifestyle that you know that a Christian who does not serve God is totally unscriptural.

Whether you are a college student on mother or father, grandparent, it makes no difference what you are good works should be a part of our life in the mobile wrist say. Let your life be such that people will see the good works in your life now that you say and they'll do what they'll want look at you listen and not glorify you and me is not that we be glorified, but that God be glorified by people seeing what God is doing in your life. So the master question.

Is there anything going on in your life that someone will look at your life and say what God's doing something in her life. God's doing something in his life. When is the last time someone walked up to you and said I really would like to know God the way you knowing was that I summoned about a said that. I'm asking that again. When is the last time someone came up to you, or has anyone ever come up you and said I believe you know something about God I'd like to know. I wish I had the kind relationship to Jesus that you have Skype. I wish I wish I could be as excited about God as you are.

I wish I love the Scriptures like you love. I wish I understood the Bible like you understand a lot of questions they could ask, listen, if our light impact Christian experience is being lived out the way it should be somebody ought to be asking us something because he says you and I were created in Christ Jesus. On the good works.

Let your light so shine which means that they should be something about the normal Christian life that somebody will see and something is going to be so radiant in us, something is going to be so evident about us something about how life is going to have some kind of oral about it and somebody is going to want to know who we know and what it is about God that we know this change their life or made us happy. That's what the works are all about has nothing to do with salvation because, listen dead men came shine vacation that men can't work works of darkness works of evil works of the flesh, but nothing that's going to glorify the father you see a lost person can't glorify God. First of all, the hearts full of sin and are separated from God and the motivations of selfish, but he says let your light so shine before men, that they will see your good works and glorify the father want to know him, desire him in their life.

That's the place of works in the life of the believer. What is the place of faith look at this verse.

He says, by grace, and you been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God will say this again and again and again because it is so very important faith is not what gets me say the death of Jesus is what gets the same faith is the channel faith is my expression of acceptance.

If I really trust him.

That is, I receive him as my personal savior.

So he says, by grace God's unmerited undeserved love and favor taught us that we save through faith. That is the moment I accept what Jesus did at the cross person applied to my life and he says salvation becomes my gift to look at this. He says not of works, lest anyone should boast. Even my faith look at this. He says that we are saved through faith and that not of yourselves.

Now the word that what does that referred to does it refer to grace the visit referred to faith. The truth is it could refer to either one of and it doesn't making a difference because your faith to trust God as a gift and the grace of God is a gift.

It's all of him, and none of us when we can come to the conclusion that everything that comes our way. All of God's goodness and love and mercy.

His salvation and all that he has to offer us is absolutely from him and is nothing to do with our goodness nothing to do without works, then we gonna start loving God on a whole different level and we go to be able to enjoy our relationship on a whole different level that we are the recipients of the love of God.

He says he's poured out in our heart. And when God pours out his love. He pours them in the abundance, overflowing, abounding in love. That is the gift of every single believe where that come from we should and pump it up. The Bible says he pointed out we didn't pump it up waiting work it up.

He poured out upon us.

That is the grace of God.

So if you notice he says this passage the condition of man is sinful condition requires that salvation is by grace alone. Seconded that his unacceptability about works. That is the fact that our works are unacceptable.

Requires dates by grace and grace alone at their thingamajig notice. Here's this very nature of grace requires that it is what it is grace only what we said we said grace means without merit. There is not anything within you go back if you will, to the first chapter divisions a look at this fourth verse he says, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. Now listen. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world not only on merit, not only what we would do, not what we would promise to do had nothing to do with what's on the inside of us, not about works. It is pure grace is God's law poured out now know what you may be thinking, I think the same thing we think Lord, how could you love me that much right you can answer the question, how can he love us like that because he's God, and the wonderful thing about him is there is not anything within God to inhibit his love. You see you can do anything to cause him not to look. He understands is fully absolutely completely think about being totally absolutely and overwhelmingly loved by God, whose love absolutely never changes the very nature of grace says it's got to be grace on it came anything mixed up with that if you mix anything with that. It is no longer grace, but rather it is grace plus works and he says there's no way for that to happen. Look, if you will. In Romans chapter 11 Romans chapter 11. He says little differently. There and the six verse but if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works otherwise grace is no longer grace. They know what that does.

Somebody says what you know that looks likely that gives me license to sin no is what it does.

If you think about it what it really does is absolutely totally humble us because what it says is salvation is absolutely and totally the work of God. We are totally dependent upon him. There's not anything we can do except to receive it by faith is all God and none of us instead of giving us license to send it on to humble us and so he says this passage, the very nature of grace itself. You cannot pay God back. You cannot change that. He is the fourth and the last one that is in this passage. He says God's supreme purpose for saving man requires that it is grace alone. What is his supreme purpose would certainly not to make us feel good he was at a hell it certainly isn't too late because I have joy and peace and happiness in life. Those things may be true, what is his supreme purpose for saving now brought to this verse of Scripture.

A number of times and I'm not too sure how many people got this but in this context maybe you will look back. If you will.

And let's start in verse four of Ephesians 2. Look, if you will, in verse four, but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love in which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you've been saved and he says that he is what he did to us and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus in his what he says when he saved us, remember this for the Bible says the place is in the Christ. That is where a part of him, and where is he seated the father's right hand in the mind of holy God.

Every single believer is seated with him in Christ in the heavenly places.

That is at the father's right hand where all their because of our relationship to him physically, spiritually, emotionally, and every other way.

I'm here. But he says him also there is a lot of understand that. Thank God you don't have to understand just believe it. He says we are in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus is in us, we believe that part. He says he raised us up with him that we are seated in the heavenly places in Christ.

That is our eternal security.

We are in him.

Verse seven. Here is his supreme purpose for saving every single person in order that in the ages to come. That is, in the future. Eternity, he that is God a show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus know what the world is that me that God's ultimate purpose. I go back for just a moment you know he didn't have to allow sin in the world. That is something that Satan did. Apart from the power of God. God could have created this universe and he could have eliminated he could made the earth so that there absolutely would have been no sin whatsoever you single.

Why in the world.

It may do it. Wouldn't things have been better what we had just lived in this wonderful marvelous thing called earth and just been 1B huge garden to be, well, it could have been. I suppose so, why did God allow sin he allowed man to choose the rebel against it, and knowing that he was going to rebel against it.

He chose anyway to allow man to rebel and then turn right around and immediately began his redemption plan on earth which resorted predetermined beforehand and began to save man and he says in the future in all future eternity. He says what he is done is in all that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Listen what he saying is this, that all the principalities and all the powers and all the celestial beings and all the terrestrial be an old beings that they are they will glorify and magnify God the father above everything else for his rich grace toward sinful human beings because all the celestial beings know how sinful man is and so you and I he says will be everlasting living eternal trophies of the richness of the grace of Almighty God. What will bring him more glory than anything else in all eternal future is what one saved sinner will bring the father more glory than the entire creation you say well overlooking all of these people who lost right understand that but look at this verse. He says in order that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus friend.

God didn't allow man to fall just out of some happenstance that was purpose and it friend you talking about grace and goodness and love and mercy and bringing glory to the father.

Now what should that Satan was, that says that every single one of us listen every single one of those will be an eternal trophy so grace is in license for sin. Grace is a motivation for holy living. Grace is a motivation to want to serve God and the want to work for him and the want to be what he wants us to be. Why we are living eternal trophies of the grace of God. Every celestial being will see us and give glory and praise and honor to God you are so important you are.

There's no such thing as an unimportant site.

You may come the church in July, nobody knows me nominal, but I don't count limitation something French in glory, you gonna count just as much as anybody Because you're a trophy of his grace, he did something the you he's never done for an angel. He saved us out of our sins, and is making us like his son Fran, that is grace, and it can be yours, simply for the asking.

Because you see, he says, for by grace you saved through faith does make a difference how vile and wicked you been makes no difference what you've done in your past. If you willing to ask God to save you to forgive you of your sins and to make you one of his children that you do believe that his death across the death of his son Christ pager sin that that's why he died.

The moment you will him to accept that as payment for your sin and receive him by faith in that split second you become a child of God and your forever child of God, and he says he forgives us for every single solitary sin by grace. That's why it's amazing when I think about the fact that God is saved, you and me. That's amazing and it is marvelous.

It is greater than all of our sin that is grace. Thank you for listening to part 211 grace alone.

If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley were in touch ministries, not my intent to start OIG's podcast at the presentation of InTouch ministries Atlanta, Georgia