Untitled Sermon (2)

Believer’s Bible Commentary G. Paul’s Third Missionary Journey: Asia Minor and Greece (18:23–21:26)

the gospel of the grace of God

"...the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."(Acts 20:24)

So apostle Paul was commissioned by Jesus to proclaim good news of God's grace!

The word "gospel" means "good news", and "grace" means "good will, loving kindness, unmerited favor". So, Paul was given the ministry to proclaim the good news:

That GOD has provided a way of salvation for sinners!

That GOD has done this on the basis of His grace, without requiring merit on the part of sinners!

Are you certain that you have heard the pure and simple gospel of the grace of God?

Are you sure that you heard and obeyed the gospel of Christ as proclaimed by Christ and His apostles, and not a perverted gospel (Ga 1:8-9) as is popularly proclaimed by many today?

"The Gospel Of Grace Of God" as taught in the New Testament can be summarized under three headings, beginning with...

1. THE "NEED" FOR GRACE

The Bible describes our spiritual condition. Everyone is a sinner (Ro 3:23), even if you have broken just one commandment (Jm 2:10)! The consequences of sin are serious, both in this life (Isa 59:2) and in the one to come (Ro 6:23; Re 21:8).

Even morally good people need to be saved! Consider the example of Cornelius: "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always." (Ac 10:2) And yet he was told to send for Peter, "who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved." (Ac 11:14)

Being a good, religious person cannot save you! In fact, most examples of conversion (salvation) described in the book of Acts were people who were already very religious, yet were told what they needed to do to be saved (cf. Ac 2:36-41; 8:26-38; 16:13-16).

The fact is, as sinners we cannot accomplish the removal of our guilt on our own. We cannot run away from this guilt; we cannot work our way out of this guilt. So don't be self-deceived by notions of your own goodness. We are all sinners in need of salvation!

But the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news about unmerited favor, because it tells about...

2. THE "PROVISION" FOR GRACE

Out of "love", God has provided His Son! He sent Jesus to die that we might have eternal life (Jn 3:16; 1Jn 4:9). Because God loved us, He made His Son a "propitiation" for our sins (1Jn 4:10). A "propitiation" is an offering designed to atone for sin. Therefore, God offered His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, which leads to a related point...

Out of "justice", God has provided His Son! God is holy, and to satisfy His justice (the price for sin must be paid) God provided redemption through the blood of His Son (Ro 3:24-26; Ep 1:7). God's grace therefore functions in this way...

God's justice requires an appropriate sacrifice for sin. This no man can offer.God's love provided His Son as the perfect sacrifice for sin. It is available to all!

So, to satisfy both His justice and His love, God has graciously provided salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. What we cannot earn on our own, God has provided for us! As John the Baptist said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1:29)

But the provision of grace is not unconditional (otherwise all would be saved). Therefore we need to understand...

3. THE "RECEPTION" OF GRACE

Receiving God's grace requires obedience. Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (He 5:9). Freedom from sin comes when one is willing to obey Him from the heart (Ro 6:17-18).

Such obedience involves:

Believing (i.e., trusting) in Jesus as the Son of God who died for your sins (Jn 3:16).Repenting of your sins because of godly sorrow, resolving to no longer live for sin, but to live for God (Ac 17:30; 2Co 7:9-11).Confessing your faith in Jesus before others (Ro 10:9-10; Mt 10:32-33).Being buried with Christ in baptism for the remission of your sins (Mk 16:15-16; Ac 2:38; 8:35-38; 22:16).Remaining faithful to Jesus even unto death (He 3:12-14; Re 2:10).

Please note carefully: Such obedience does not earn or merit one's salvation. Especially is this true in regards to baptism:

Baptism is a washing of regeneration that involves God's mercy and grace (Tit 3:4-7).Baptism unites one with Christ in His burial and resurrection to new life (Ro 6:3-8).Baptism is how we put on Christ through faith (Ga 3:26-27).Baptism is God working on you because of your faith in Christ (Col 2:11-13).Baptism saves us as an appeal for salvation (1Pe 3:21).

If you question the role of baptism in the gospel plan of salvation, read more about baptism here. Or simply note that in every example of conversion described in any detail in the book of Acts, baptism is mentioned:

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Thus, God has ordained that through faith, repentance, and confession, culminating our faith-response with baptism into Christ, we might receive the wonderful grace of God: the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ!

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WHY DON'T MORE PEOPLE RESPOND THIS WAY TO GOD'S SAVING GRACE?

It may be some do not understand the "need" for grace. They consider themselves good, moral people. Yet, in nearly every example of salvation in the book of Acts, those being saved were already deeply religious and very moral! But as Isaiah said, "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isa 64:6)!

It may be some are not aware of the "provision" of grace. They may think that they are too sinful to receive God's grace. Yet God desires all to be saved (2Pe 3:9), and has offered Jesus as "a ransom for all" (1Ti 2:3-6)!

It may be that some have not been taught the proper "reception" of grace. Many today are told to "say the sinner's prayer" (which is nowhere taught in the Bible; for a history of the "sinner's prayer", click here), but they are not told what Jesus and His apostles commanded people to do to receive God's saving grace. We need to listen to Christ and His apostles, not modern preachers (Mk 16:15-16; Ac 2:36-38; 22:16)!

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you received God's grace?

Will you receive God's grace?

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The responsibility of your salvation now rests with you. If you desire to study these things further, or to be baptized into Christ LET ME KNOW

Once you have obeyed the gospel of Christ with a faith-response culminating in your baptism into Christ, what next?