I. Introduction
A. Gift with Assembly Required
B. Salvation At Odds
1. Grace and faith have been at odds in the religious world, but God never intended for it to be so. In fact, His Word is very clear that we are saved by His grace, but it also makes it clear that we have a responsibility to respond to that grace in faith.
2. Notice that we read in this passage that we have been saved by grace through faith. If you take one of these two words out of the sentence, it is no longer true because the two work together.
3. In simple terms, God’s grace is the work that He has done for us; faith is our response to that gracious offering.
4. What does that mean?
II. Grace & Faith
A. (God’s Part)
1. In a sense, everything God has done for us is summed up in the idea of grace.
2. God has done for us what we cannot do for .
a. We do not deserve the gift He has given (Ephesians 2:5; Romans 5:8).
b. We cannot earn the gift He has offered “…and this not of your own doing…” (Ephesians 2:8).
3. When we forget that it is God’s grace that has saved us, we try to become our own .
a. When we become our own saviors, we tell God that we don’t really need Him; He’s just a good idea.
b. It impacts our reliance on Him, our thirst and hunger for Him, and our understanding of why it is important to follow Him.
c. Understanding God’s grace is all about understanding our need for Him.
4. Tonight, I’ll elaborate on one of the greatest dangers to both Christians and non-believers—apathy.
a. Our society is quickly moving away from fighting against God to simply not caring about God at all.
b. But throughout Scripture, we see God offer grace to man that man continues to refuse (i.e., Jesus), and that’s where faith comes into play.
B. (Our Part)
1. God’s gift requires a ; it always has.
2. Remember that there are two kinds of faith talked about in the Bible:
a. THE faith (Jude 1:3)- Truth from God which is unchangeable.
b. Personal faith (Luke 7:48 )- Our personal belief system by which we live.
c. The task for everyone is to shape their personal belief system according to the truth that comes from God.
3. True Faith
a. Faith is belief, but not belief . (James 2:19)
b. Faith is , but not salvation through our own good works (James 2:17-18).
c. Faith is seen in the based on the beliefs. (In Hebrews 11, the phrase “By faith…” occurs 18 times).
d. Faith is seen in a changed . (Ephesians 2:10)
e. Faith is the willingness to that what God has declared is what is right.
4. Take special notice that the only time we read the phrase “faith alone” in the Bible is in the negative sense in James 2:24, “You see that a person is justified by works and by .”
5. Our faith can be summed up in asking one question: “Do you God enough to listen to what He says?”
C. His
1. When we receive God’s grace through faith, He works us and us.
a. Remember that Jesus is the agent of creation (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16). To be His workmanship (ποίημα) is to be after Him. We are created new in Christ.
b. Just as the work Christ did was good, so we, too, as His creation in His image, are to bear those same (ἔργον).
c. Paul is reminding us that we are continually works in progress through which God does His work.
d. If we trust in what God has done for us, it leads us to glorify Him.
2. Faith that truly trusts in God responds to His grace through humility, , and obedience, by love for the One who has made grace available to us.
III. Conclusion
A. God and Man
1. The study of grace and faith is a study of God and man.
2. God has extended mercy, grace, and forgiveness to man as only He, the Creator, can.
3. Man, who has freewill, must decide that he wants this gift and must take responsibility for receiving it into his life and allowing it to change him.
4. Together, through grace and faith, God and man have a relationship; however, if one is missing, we remain separated.
B. Invitation