Hijacked - The Grace Of God
Words Of Truth

Words Of Truth


"That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth..." (Proverbs 22:21).


Hijacked - The Grace Of God


I. Introduction: We are continuing in our short series of awesome Biblical subject matters that have unfortunately been hijacked by false teachers. In this lesson we are going to address the Grace of God.

A. It is wonderful to state that the lost are saved by grace (Acts 15:1-11)!

  1. The saints in Ephesus were told that God had predetermined that redemption for sinners would come through Christ according to the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:3-7; cf. I Peter 1:18-20).
  2. In the second chapter of the letter to the saints in Ephesus, Paul wrote more concerning grace in that Jesus came into this world and the sinners in Ephesus did not do something to earn what Jesus did (Ephesians 2:1-18).
B. There is even more to the wonderful subject of God’s grace, but the subject matter has been hijacked by false teachers and thus much time is spent answering error rather than talking about grace.

  1. The limited definition many provide leaves the faithful having to answer it. Notice the limited definition: “What is grace? It is the unmerited favor of God. It is where God shows us mercy, kindness, and patience instead of the judgment that we deserve for sinning against him. God’s grace cannot be earned by our actions or sincerity. It cannot be lost by our rebellion or sin. It is based on the character of God and not on our sincerity, performance, or ability to keep the law of God. Otherwise, grace would not be grace” (https://carm.org/about-doctrine/what-is-grace/).
  2. “The Bible defines God’s grace as an unmerited favor, a gift given freely without any expectation of return, revealing the depth of His love and mercy” (https://christianpure.com/learn/gods-grace-meaning/).

II. Body: The Grace of God Is A Marvelous Gift (Romans 5:12-15), And Much More (I Peter 4:10)… [manifold meaning: “of various sorts” (Thayer; Strong’s # 4164]

A. The grace of God is MUCH more than “unmerited favor” that is “given freely without any expectation of return”…

  1. The grace of God requires those whom have received it to continue in it (Acts 13:43).
  2. The grace of God includes responsibility for the recipient (I Corinthians 15:9-10).
  3. The grace of God can be received in vain [empty] (II Corinthians 6:1).
  4. The grace of God can be delivered from man to man in matters aside from salvation (II Corinthians 8:1-4).
  5. The grace of God can be frustrated (Galatians 2:16-21).
  6. The grace of God requires one to walk worthy (Colossians 1:3-10).
  7. The grace of God, from which saints benefit today, had a HIGH price (Hebrews 2:9).
  8. A person can “fail of the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:14-17; cf. Galatians 5:1-4).
  9. And much more could be said of grace…
B. The grace of God is visible in the conversions of the lost (Acts 11:19-23).

  1. Once an individual sins, that person separates himself or herself from God (Proverbs 15:29, Isaiah 59:1-3, and John 9:31).
  2. Our just Creator hates sinners (Psalms 5:4-5).
  3. So, the fact that a person can be converted (Acts 3:19) is a display of the grace of God (I Timothy 1:12-16 and II Timothy 1:8-10).
C. The grace of God does NOT permit the continuation of sin (Romans 6:1-2).

  1. What does grace teach (Titus 2:11-14)?
  2. The instruction of God is to cease from sin, err not (I Corinthians 15:34, II Timothy 2:19, James 1:13-16, etc.).
  3. Having an advocate in Christ does not change the fact that the Lord requires His people not to sin (I John 2:1).
D. Let’s come back to Ephesus as we talked briefly about the saints there in the introduction of this lesson.

  1. If you study further about the saints in Ephesus you will see that they did not obtain grace by doing nothing (Acts 19:1-7).
  2. Nor could/did they continue in God’s grace by doing nothing (Ephesians 5:1-11 and Revelation 2:1-7).

III. Conclusion: I will conclude this lesson by just simply citing what Paul concluded to the “saved by grace” saints in Ephesus (Ephesians 6:24; cf. John 14:15; 14:21-24).