Study Guide
Lesson 1 - Outline
| I. | The body of Christ is basically divided into two groups: those who emphasize grace (what God does) and those who emphasize faith (what we do).
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. | |
| A. | The first group preaches that everything is totally up to God, and the second group teaches, “No, you have to do this and that, and this and that.” | |
| B. | You might phrase this same issue differently, but it all comes down to which part is God’s and which part is ours. | |
| C. | God’s Word clearly reveals a balance between grace and faith. | |
| D. | God has done so much for us by grace, but for us to receive what He has done, there must be a positive response on our part, which is what the Bible calls “faith”—there has to be a combination of both grace and faith.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. | |
| II. | Grace is what God does for you—it’s His part. Grace has nothing to do with you. By definition, it is “unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor.” | |
| A. | God’s grace is the same toward everybody because it’s not based on, or tied to, what you do. | |
| B. | The moment you begin relating God’s blessing—the manifestation of His power in your life—to anything you’ve done, you have just voided grace, because you’ve made God’s blessing and manifestation in your life proportional to something that you’ve done.
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. | |
| III. | The Word reveals that your sins are already forgiven.
He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. | |
| A. | What you have to do is believe the Gospel—that Jesus has already come, already died, and already forgiven the sins of the world. | |
| B. | The sin that is going to send people to hell is the singular sin of rejecting Jesus as their personal Savior.
When he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me. | |
| C. | If you have made Jesus your Lord, then all of your sins—past, present, and even future sins (sins you haven’t committed yet)—have already been forgiven. | |
| D. | Sin has already been dealt with by grace (Heb. 9-10). | |
| IV. | The grace of God is identical toward us all. | |
| A. | The grace of God is consistent. | |
| B. | God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11). | |
| C. | Grace is what God does for us independently of us. | |
| V. | God, by grace, has already done everything. | |
| A. | He anticipated every need you could ever have, and He already met all of those needs through Christ. | |
| B. | Salvation, healing, and deliverance have already been provided. | |
| C. | When people today hear the truth and believe, all of a sudden what God has already provided by grace becomes a reality to them. | |
| D. | As they mix faith with the Word of God, what He has already done by grace begins to manifest in their lives. | |
| VI. | True Bible faith is simply a positive response to what God has already provided by grace. | |
| A. | Faith only appropriates what God has already provided. | |
| B. | Faith doesn’t move God or make Him do anything. | |
| C. | There has to be a balance between grace and faith. | |
