Salvation By the Grace of God
And
Growing in the Grace of GodThis topic provides more detail message about the Salvation by Grace
of God and very brief details to the Growing in the Grace of
God in the end.
Salvation By the Grace of God:
- Every year we celebrated our Lord's resurrection day "the
Easter". Easter will not come without the Good Friday. My first part
of my message is about the Good Friday.
- So, let me start with a simple question:
- Why Jesus died?
.... Because of our sins. He died in our/my
place.
- These leads to another set of questions
- Are we sinners?
- From when we are
sinners?
- Is our sins are that worst that requires
our
life or Jesus' life? Is our sins are that worst that requires
Death Penalty?
- Let us explore these questions in details:
- We normally compare our self with Worldly Standards
and think we are doing great.
- For all these questions
unless otherwise we
read the Bible and know and understand our God's Standards we will
not find correct answers.
- Let us see one verse from Gospel
according to Matthews chapter 5
- Anger/Bitterness in heart is
equivalent to Murder
- Matt 5:21-22 -
21 ...
'You
shall not murder,
and whoever
murders will be
in danger of the
judgment.'
22
But I say to you
that whoever is
angry
with his brother
without a cause
shall be in
danger of the
judgment. And
whoever says to
his brother, 'Raca!'
shall be in
danger of the
council. But
whoever says, 'You
fool!'
shall be in
danger of hell
fire.
- Based on the in depth teachings of Jesus
Christ if we examine our hearts we all become guilty of sin because God sees
our heart, our motives, our intent.....
- Bible says that we are sinners as per our God's
Standards... we can read this in Romans 3rd
chapter...
- Romans 3:(9-18,23) 10
... "There is none righteous, no, not one;
...
12 All
have turned away from God; all have gone wrong.
No one does good, not even one ....
23 for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,
- When we go deeper into the Word of God for the answers to the questions
such as From when we are sinners?
- Bible clearly answers this in many places
and especially in
- NLT: Romans 5:12
When
Adam sinned, sin entered
the entire human race.
Adam's sin brought death, so
death spread to everyone,
for everyone sinned.
- In other words we inherit our sin
from our parents
blood. So, by birth we are
sinners.
- Not only that Bible also says that we are
blinded by Satan
and we are under the control of Satan.
- 2 Cor 4:4a - Satan, the god of this
evil world, has blinded the minds of
those who don't believe, so they are unable to
see the glorious light of the Good News that is
shining upon them. They don't
understand the message we preach about
the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness
of God.
- NLT: Eph 2:1-10 - 1
Once you were dead, doomed forever
because of your many sins.
2 You used to live just
like the rest of the world, full of sin,
obeying Satan,
the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is
the spirit at work in the hearts of those who
refuse to obey God. 3
All of us used to live that way,
following the passions and desires of our evil
nature. We were
born with an evil nature, and we were
under God's anger just like everyone else.
- These verses clearly provides us the details about
how worst we were before we accept our Lord and are deserved
penalty for our Sins.
- What is the penalty of our Sins?
- God gave this to
Adam also we can read this in
- Rom 6:23a - the
wages of sin is death,
...
- Is our death is end of all?
No
- Some think that way but Bible
clearly teaches that Death is not an end. Death
is the punishment for our sins. So, it
is not just absent from the body to a
peaceful state but it is the
beginning
of torment in Hell/Lake of fire forever and ever.
- Matt 25:41 - Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
- One more thing... Not all get equal
punishment but each one get eternal
punishment based on our deeds.
Rev 20:11-15 says books are opened and they were judged, each one
according to his works.
- Rev 20:11-15 -
11 Then I saw a
great white throne and Him who
sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for
them. 12
And I saw the dead,
small and great, standing before
God, and books were opened.
And another book was opened,
which is the Book of Life.
And the dead were judged
according to their works, by the
things which were written in the
books.13 The
sea gave up the dead who were in
it, and Death and Hades
delivered up the dead who were
in them. And they were
judged, each one according to
his works.14
Then Death and Hades were cast
into the lake of fire. This is
the second death. 15
And anyone not found written in
the Book of Life was cast into
the lake of fire.
- Is there any way out from this eternal punishment?
- Most of us hear were born and brought up
from the Christian families learn about
our God, His Commandments through our parents,
Sunday School, sermons or by reading Bible from
the child hood.
- So, we may ask the question
- Didn't God gave His commandments
and the laws to Moses
and asked to keep or observe all these?
- By doing so can't we escape from
this eternal punishment from God?
- Let us learn this in detail from Jesus in
- Matthew
19:16-22 -
16
Now behold,
one came and
said to Him,
"Good
Teacher,
what good
thing shall
I do that I
may have
eternal
life?"
17
So He said
to him, "Why
do you call
Me good? No
one is good
but One,
that is,
God. But
if
you want to
enter into
life, keep
the
commandments."
- 18
He said to
Him, "Which
ones?" Jesus
said, "'You
shall not
murder,'
'You shall
not commit
adultery,'
'You shall
not steal,'
'You shall
not bear
false
witness,'
19
'Honor your
father and
your
mother,'
and, 'You
shall love
your
neighbor as
yourself.' "
- 20
The young
man said to
Him, "All
these things
I have kept
from my
youth.
What
do I still
lack?"
21
Jesus said
to him, "If
you want to
be
perfect,
go, sell what
you have and
give to the
poor, and
you will
have
treasure in
heaven; and
come, follow
Me."
22
But when the
young man
heard that
saying, he
went away
sorrowful,
for he had great
possessions.
- Matthew
19:23-24 - 23
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I
say to you that it is hard for a rich man to
enter the kingdom of heaven. 24
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
- Generally we focus on Rich man
but Jesus didn't stop there in the following
two verses He points out that
this is applicable to all:
- Matthew 19:25-26 - 25
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly
astonished, saying, "Who then can be
saved?" 26
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With
men this is impossible, ........"
- Disciples left
everything and followed God
at the same time rich man
didn't for both of them
Jesus said
it is
impossible by them or by us to
be right with God, get saved
or enter into heaven by our
own deeds and efforts.
- If you notice the previous passage Jesus
only said that in Matt 19:17 that "if
you want to
enter into
life, keep
the
commandments."
Why then Jesus says it is impossible by
men?
- We can see the answer in
Matt 19:21
"If
you want to
be
perfect".
- Our
God is Holy and perfect and
to be right with Him we need to
perfect as per His expectation.
We can see this in
- Matt 5:48
- Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
- In The Epistle of James 2:10-11
we can read and understand what level of perfection
our God is expecting from us
- NLT: James
2:10-11 - 10 And
the person who
keeps all
of the laws except one is as
guilty as the person who has
broken all of God's laws.
11 For
the same God who said, "Do
not commit adultery," also said,
"Do not murder." So
if you
murder someone, you have broken
the entire law, even if you do
not commit adultery.
- So, it is impossible to keep his
commandments as per His expectation and
standards and escape/saved
from this death penalty or eternal punishment of
God.
- Please do not underestimate God's standards. He is
the Righteous Judge.
- Isaiah 55:9
- "For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, So are My ways higher
than your ways, And
My thoughts than your
thoughts.
- We may ask... Why then God gave these laws and asked
us to keep?
Bible clearly explains this in
- NLT: Rom 3:19-20 - 19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given,
for its purpose is
to keep people from having excuses, and
to show that the entire world is guilty before God.
20 For
no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The
law simply shows us how sinful we are.
- Does Jesus stop His
conversation with disciples
saying "With men this
is impossible"
for their question Who then can be saved?
NO
- Go back to
Matt
19:26 Jesus said
that "With men this
is impossible"...
with
disciples,
rich man,
and all of
us it is
impossible
to enter
into heaven
by our
efforts..... but
Jesus didn't stop there...
- Matthew 19:26 - 25
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly
astonished, saying, "Who then can be
saved?" 26
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With
men this is impossible,
but with God all things
are possible."
- Praise God!
Jesus didn't
stop there
He
continued
and said...
For Disciples, rich man and all of us
only God can provide
and make the way to escape
from eternal punishment to eternal life.
- So,
- We are sinners by birth
- Satan blinds us and keeps
us under his control.
- We all are doomed and
destined for eternal punishment by God
after our death in Hell.
- We didn't
realize our sins and
approached Him.
-
How then God redeemed us from this eternal
punishment?
- While we are in this desperate situation
instead of exercising His Righteous
Judgment on us God showered His Grace.
- What is Grace? It means
unmerited favor.
- God instead of leaving us in that eternal
doomed state and punishing by
His
amazing Grace
He approached us and
provided the way apart form the law
- Rom 3:21
But now the righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed,...
- He is Sovereign God He can throw away all
His standards but by His Divine nature He cannot
throw away His word or His standards. That is
the reason instead of punishing Adam and Eve the
eternal punishment death God provided the
temporary sacrifice in place of Adam and Eve and
provided skin cloth to them.
- Wages of Sin is Death.
- So, Instead of lowering or
throw away His standards He made a way by
fulfilling His standards not
by punishing us but by
boring all our sins and
shame in Him and died Himself on the
Cross in my place or in our place...
- Gal 3:24
- Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ,
...
- By His Great Love He made a way apart from
the law
- Rom 5:8 - But
God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us.
- John 3:16
- For God so loved the
world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever
believes in
Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.
- By His abundant Grace He approached us
- Rev 3:20-
Behold, I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will
come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me.
- By His tender Mercy He pardon our sins to
those who respond Him through faith.
- Rom 3:21- 28 - 21
But now the righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even
the
righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus
Christ, to all and on all who believe.
For there is no difference; 23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, 24 being
justified freely by His grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom
God
set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the
present time His righteousness, that He
might be just and the justifier of the one who
has faith in Jesus. 27
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what
law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
28
Therefore we
conclude that a man is justified by
faith apart from the deeds of the law.
- So,...
- Eph 2:8 For
by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9
not
of works, lest anyone should boast.
Call to all:
Jesus Says, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. - Matt 11:28
- So, I urge you to never
approach our God by your works:
- NLT: Gal 5:4 - For
if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.
- Rom 9:30-32 - 30
What shall we say then? That
Gentiles, who did not pursue
righteousness, have attained to
righteousness, even the
righteousness of faith; 31 but
Israel, pursuing the law of
righteousness, has not attained
to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did
not seek it by faith, but as it
were, by the works of the law.
For they stumbled at that
stumbling stone.
- But I strongly urge you to always approach
the thrown of Grace by Faith
- Hebrews 11:6 - But
without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
- If you didn't accept/commit your life to Jesus, didn't have
the God's peace in your heart or have relationship with Jesus
Christ please go to Jesus just
whatever state you are in and "confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God
has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation" - Rom 10:9,10
What to do once we become Christian after accepting Jesus as our
Lord and Savior?
Just learn how to Grow in the Grace of God:
- To all believers in Christ who started their Christian life and have this
assurance of salvation please
continue in the Faith that you have started:
- NLT: Romans 1:17 - This Good News tells us
how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."
- We died with Jesus Christ in our old sinful life or
we are freed from the Slavery of Sin. We are new creature in
Christ.
- Rom 6:15-18 - 15
So since God's grace has set us free
from the law, does this mean we can go on
sinning? Of course not! 16
Don't you realize that whatever you
choose to obey becomes your master? You
can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can
choose to obey God and receive his approval.
17 Thank God!
Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have
obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God
has given you. 18 Now you are
free from sin, your old master, and you have
become slaves to your new master, righteousness.
- John 8:34-36 - 34
Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, whoever commits sin is a slave of
sin. 35 And a slave does not
abide in the house forever, but a son abides
forever. 36 Therefore
if the Son makes you free, you shall be
free indeed.
- 2 Cor 5:17 -
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is
a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.
- The day we accept Him as Lord and Savior God lives
in our heart. We are the temple of the Holy
Spirit.
- 1 Cor 6:19-20 - 19
Or do you not know that
your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price;
therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God's.
- Renewing our mind by reading the word of God.
- Matt 11:28-30 - 28
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. 29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. 30
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
- Rom 12:1-2 - 1 I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service. 2 And do
not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God.
- Abide in Him and develop the Love
relationship with our Almighty God Jesus Christ
- Allow Him work in you the genuine faith
that Bible talks about will definitely produce fruit
- James 2:26 - For as the
body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead
also.
- NLT: Gal 5:24,25 - 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
25 If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.
- Phil 1:6 - (Paul is) being confident of this very thing, that
He (Jesus) who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
|
 Updating...
2011-06-18-TCF-01.wma (19965k) Suresh Lenin, Jun 19, 2011, 7:21 PM
ć Suresh Lenin, Jun 19, 2011, 7:25 PM
|