Why Grace is Amazing – Part 1

 

It was the epistle of Galatians that the Holy Spirit used to reveal to Martin Luther that a sinner who is separated from God is saved by grace through faith and wonderfully justified before a Holy and Righteous God. This truth is what brought about the Protestant Reformation in 1517 AD. Basically, Martin Luther said that God’s pleasure is not based on our performance. Luther confronted the religious system of the day declaring that they were missing the significance of the death of Christ by adding other requirements to the gospel.

Centuries before Martin Luther came on the scene, the Apostle Paul writes a letter to the churches that he established (Acts 13-14) on his first missionary journey confronting a dangerous teaching that had infiltrated the minds and hearts of the Galatian Christians. The proponents of this dangerous teaching, known as Judaizers, taught that in order to be saved, one needed Jesus PLUS the law, circumcision, keeping the Sabbath and anything else a Jew had to do to gain merit with God.

Paul writes six chapters to confront not only the error, but to teach why God’s grace is amazing!   What is the grace of God? Why is it so important for our lives? Why was Paul so upset about the spiritual condition of these Christians in Galatia?

 

Grace Comes From God…

Galatians 1:1-10

 

1. As a generous gift.

 

• “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:3

 

• Romans 5:15 “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”

 

 

2. To save us from sin.

 

• “Who gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father…” Galatians 1:4

 

• Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

 

• Acts 15:8-11

 

 

3. To empower us to live for him.

 

• “And recognizing the grace that had been given to me…” Galatians 2:9

 

• Ephesians 3:7-8 “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me to preach…”

 

• 2 Timothy 2:1 “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

 

 

 

Grace is what God freely gives as a continuous gift, so that his power may work in us and accomplish the will of God for our lives. So, it is God working in and through us accomplishing only what he can accomplish for his glory.

 

April 17, 2016

Pastor Greg Zetts

King of the Nations

 

Why Grace is Amazing

 

It was the epistle of Galatians that the Holy Spirit used to reveal to Martin Luther that a sinner who is separated from God is saved by grace through faith and wonderfully justified before a Holy and Righteous God. This truth is what brought about the Protestant Reformation in 1517 AD. Basically, Martin Luther said that God’s pleasure is not based on our performance. Luther confronted the religious system of the day declaring that they were missing the significance of the death of Christ by adding other requirements to the gospel.

Centuries before Martin Luther came on the scene, the Apostle Paul writes a letter to the churches that he established (Acts 13-14) on his first missionary journey confronting a dangerous teaching that had infiltrated the minds and hearts of the Galatian Christians. The proponents of this dangerous teaching, known as Judaizers, taught that in order to be saved, one needed Jesus PLUS the law, circumcision, keeping the Sabbath and anything else a Jew had to do to gain merit with God.

Paul writes six chapters to confront not only the error, but to teach why God’s grace is amazing!   What is the grace of God? Why is it so important for our lives? Why was Paul so upset about the spiritual condition of these Christians in Galatia?

 

Grace Comes From God…

Galatians 1:1-10

 

1. As a generous gift.

 

• “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:3

 

• Romans 5:15 “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”

 

 

2. To save us from sin.

 

• “Who gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father…” Galatians 1:4

 

• Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

 

• Acts 15:8-11

 

 

3. To empower us to live for him.

 

• “And recognizing the grace that had been given to me…” Galatians 2:9

 

• Ephesians 3:7-8 “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me to preach…”

 

• 2 Timothy 2:1 “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

 

 

 

Grace is what God freely gives as a continuous gift, so that his power may work in us and accomplish the will of God for our lives. So, it is God working in and through us accomplishing only what he can accomplish for his glory.