Grace Conditions (5 of 6)
Series: Amazing Grace
Steve Jones
Romans 4:16
INTRODUCTION: Sometimes one of my grandchildren want to give me a gift. I think the last one was a painted rock from my granddaughter. Before she gave it to me she stood before me with her hand behind her back and said, ''Papa, I have a gift for you. Now, sit down, close your eyes and hold out your hand.'' I did as I was told and received my rock.
My point is that the giver of the gift gets to specify the conditions for receiving it. I didn't earn that rock by closing my eyes and holding out my hands. It was still a gift. But if I hadn't done what she told me, there would have been NO ROCK.
Likewise, God, the giver of the grace-gift of salvation, has specified the conditions by which it is received. There are four.
1) FAITH
Rom 4:16 ''For this reason it (the promise) is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace.''
This does not refer to the generic faith general faith in God required of all human beings simply as creatures: ''I believe there is a god.'' Rather, the faith that receives the gift of justification is faith in the work of God as Redeemer. It is ''faith in his blood (Rom.3:25). It is believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (Rom.10:9).
Actually, there are three levels of faith, as follows, going from the most general to the most specific.
1) We must believe that God exists (Jas 2:19; Heb. 11:6). This is the general belief of the creature in his creator. It is not a saving faith as such, but it is a necessary starting point.
2) We must believe that God will honor his promise to save us from sin. This was the level of saving faith in OT times.
3) We must believe that Jesus Christ is the one who saves us from sin through his death and resurrection and that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as an indwelling, empowering presence. THIS is the specific saving faith of the NT age.
The key word here is DEPEND. ...
Series: Amazing Grace
Steve Jones
Romans 4:16
INTRODUCTION: Sometimes one of my grandchildren want to give me a gift. I think the last one was a painted rock from my granddaughter. Before she gave it to me she stood before me with her hand behind her back and said, ''Papa, I have a gift for you. Now, sit down, close your eyes and hold out your hand.'' I did as I was told and received my rock.
My point is that the giver of the gift gets to specify the conditions for receiving it. I didn't earn that rock by closing my eyes and holding out my hands. It was still a gift. But if I hadn't done what she told me, there would have been NO ROCK.
Likewise, God, the giver of the grace-gift of salvation, has specified the conditions by which it is received. There are four.
1) FAITH
Rom 4:16 ''For this reason it (the promise) is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace.''
This does not refer to the generic faith general faith in God required of all human beings simply as creatures: ''I believe there is a god.'' Rather, the faith that receives the gift of justification is faith in the work of God as Redeemer. It is ''faith in his blood (Rom.3:25). It is believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (Rom.10:9).
Actually, there are three levels of faith, as follows, going from the most general to the most specific.
1) We must believe that God exists (Jas 2:19; Heb. 11:6). This is the general belief of the creature in his creator. It is not a saving faith as such, but it is a necessary starting point.
2) We must believe that God will honor his promise to save us from sin. This was the level of saving faith in OT times.
3) We must believe that Jesus Christ is the one who saves us from sin through his death and resurrection and that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as an indwelling, empowering presence. THIS is the specific saving faith of the NT age.
The key word here is DEPEND. ...
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