INSIGHT
 
   In Ephesians 2:8 Paul said, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." This great truth, although widely accepted, is often misunderstood. In Hebrews 11:6 we read, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Again in Acts 16:31 Paul told the Philippian jailer to "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..." These and numerous other scriptures clearly show the tremendous importance of faith. Without it there is no hope for a lost and dying world Faith can either be acceptable to God or useless, depending upon the state or condition in which it exists. 
   The Bible describes two different conditions in which faith may exist. One type of faith can and will lead to salvation, while the other will only bring a curse. They are 'living faith' and 'dead faith'. The Bible draws a very clear contrast between a dead, useless faith which cannot save, and an active, working faith which is pleasing to God. There is not one single case in all of the Bible of a person ever being saved through dead faith. Paul made this fact doubly clear in Galatians 5:6 when he said that the faith which pleases God is "...faith expressing itself through love." Every case of Bible conversion shows that people were saved only when their faith was coupled with the works of obedience to God's law. James said, "...show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." James 2:18
   We may believe in Christ and even claim to be a Christian, but unless we actively obey His teachings, our faith will be proven to be dead and shall be forever lost.
   Yes, it is by grace we are saved; but this grace, this gift of God, comes through faith. A faith, that is living and active; not one that is dead and useless.
The Relationship with God
Living Faith


Key Text:                 1 Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Theme:
The road of salvation is not traveled by works. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to realize that to depend on our good deeds for salvation is foolish and worthless. It is only through Jesus’ death on the cross that we are saved. It is equally sad, however, that one school of thought prides itself on having arrived at a true understanding of grace, only to encourage lukewarm commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ. Clearly, we must strike the balance between faith, works and grace.

Application:
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 that the grace given him was not without effect. Similarly, we ought to allow the grace of God to have its effect in our lives. Let faith show itself by what you do. Seek fellowship, pray often, read His Word and do the things that will lift up the cross of Christ. Remember what our great Lord and Savior Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Mt. 5:16

May the Lord richly bless you!

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon Outline


The Balance: Grace, Faith & Works

I. Saved by "chŕris"

  A. Biblical definition of "grace"
    1. Ephesians 2:8--God's saving gift
    2. Titus 3:4,5--God's kindness, love, mercy

  B. "Chŕris" received through faith
    1. Ephesians 2:8--through faith (trust)
    2. Romans 5:2--access through faith
    3. Roman 10:17--faith comes though the Bible

  C. An effective "chŕris"
    1. Ephesians 2:10 
      a. Good works produced
    2. Titus 2:11-12
      a. It teaches (trains, disciplines) us

II. Two Kinds of Faiths

  A. Living faith
    1. James 2:18,22--Working, active faith
      a. Doers of the word (James 1:22)

  B. Dead faith
    1. James 2:17,20--Dead, useless faith
      a. Hearers of the word (James 1:22)

III. Conclusion

Let grace be effective not defective
Small Group Study

Warm-up:
Did you ever win a prize in a contest of some sort? What did you win? What did you do in order to win this prize?

See To It                             Titus 3:3-7
1. What does verse three reveal about man’s present condition? How does this verse apply to us as Christians?

2. Why is it important for us to be reminded of our past condition? How does this benefit us?  

3. What can we learn about the nature of God from verse four? In what does He delight?  

4. Paul says, “not because of righteous things we have done...” Does this mean that the Christian does not have to perform works of righteousness? Explain your answer.

5. How did God save us? What does “the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit” mean? Explain your answer.

6. How do you explain baptism in Acts 2:38 in light of the statement “...not because of righteous things we have done”?

Seeing It Closer:
1. Before being baptized into Christ, which of the following relate to you? Explain.
   a. Foolishness
   b. Disobedient
   c. Deceived
   d. Enslaved by passions and pleasures
   e. Full of malice and hatred

2. After becoming a Christian, has any of these worldly qualities changed in you? What caused the change and what were those changes?

Getting To It:
Let us always remember to let grace have its transforming effect on us, for Christ died for a people eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14b).

 

This week's Quiet Times:

Living Faith

MONDAY
Probably the hardest thing to do in our Christian walk is to live a balanced life. Balancing faith and works is a tough thing to do! The Bible teaches us that we are not saved by works, but by faith Ephesians 2:8,9. At the same time, the Bible teaches us that faith without works is dead! (See James 2:20-26). This week we will be examining passages that will teach us about striking the spiritual balance in our lives that will lead us to growth in Jesus Christ. Examine Ecclesiastes 7:15-18. What extremes do you believe Solomon is talking about? Look specifically at verse 16. How can someone be classified as overrighteous? How about overwise? Could this be referred to as a condition known as being “superspiritual” or “the church cop”? Have you ever been overrighteous?  Read Matthew 18:23-35. Can you identify with the wicked servant who had no mercy? This man apparently forgot he was cleansed from past sins. Write down your thoughts on  2 Peter 1:5-9. Write Micah 6:8 down on an index card and meditate upon it throughout the day.

TUESDAY
Let’s first take a look at faith. Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the faith chapter. The Hebrew writer uses the patriarchs as examples of men that were called righteous by God because they showed great faith in their lives. Notice verse 6. What must you have in order to please God? Notice that the writer gives us a definition of faith in this verse as well. How does the writer define faith? Look up faith in a good dictionary and compare definitions.  How are the definitions similar? Different? Keeping these definitions in mind, read over chapter 11 in Hebrews and describe how each patriarch showed his faith. As you see from these examples, faith is shown by what you do. You don’t do to get faith; but rather faith causes you to do. Carefully examine James 2:14-26.  What must accompany your faith? Is it possible to have faith without having any deeds to show for it? Look at verse 14. Can such a faith ­save you? Read verse 22. What must work together with faith? What happens to your faith when it works together with actions? Write James 2:17 on an index card and meditate upon it throughout the day.

WEDNESDAY
Now we’re going to examine works. Examine closely Ephesians 2:8-10. Notice that, though we are not saved by righteous deeds, we have been created to ­do good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do! That’s why he commands us to let our light so shine before men! Whatever works we do are not even our own; for we have been transformed to do them in Christ Jesus.  What is it that saves us then?  Have we earned salvation or is it a gift of God? Can you boast about your own works?  Why or why not? Is this saving grace conditional upon your obedience to the gospel? (Justify the answer to this question using Scripture).  Read carefully 2 Kings 5:1-15. Did Naaman have to follow God’s instructions to healed of his leprosy?  Was it the works that cleansed him, or was it God’s grace? Was the healing power in the water or in God? Is your forgiveness of sins conditional on your obedience of the gospel? As you can see from these Scriptures, even though we are not saved by our own deeds (thank God!), we have been created for the purpose of doing good things in the name of God. Also we cannot forget our cleansing of sin--the fact that we  received grace upon our obedience to the gospel by faith in Jesus Christ!  Praise His everlasting name! Write Titus 2:11-14 down on an index card and meditate upon it throughout the day.

THURSDAY
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! Read Titus 3:5-7. Is salvation based on righteous works? Why has God saved you? Notice how our redemption comes by the Holy Spirit, whom we received as a gift! Notice also, from verse 7, that we have been justified (look up this word in a good dictionary) by God’s grace, not by anything that we have done or ever will do. By the way, what is the result of this justification?  Again, is this justification and the gift of the Spirit conditional on your obedience to the gospel? Remember Naaman’s story! Write Ephesians 2:8,9 down on an index card and meditate upon it throughout the day.

FRIDAY
Let’s put all of it together: faith, grace and good works! Highlight these three words in Ephesians 2:8-10. Read Jude 4. Have you used grace as a license to sin?  How does God view this licentiousness (look this word up in a dictionary)? Read carefully Titus 2:11-14. What has grace taught you?  Make a list of the things you need grace to still teach you.  Look at verse 13-14. What must you be eager to do? If our lives are well balanced with grace, faith and works, His appearing should be what we eagerly and hopefully await! Write Romans 6:1-2 down on an index card and meditate upon it throughout the day.