Sola Gratia, Again.
Text: Ephesians 2:1-10
Speaker: Brian Borgman
8/30/15
[Listen or Watch]
Again. We really cannot get tired of hearing of God’s saving grace in Christ. In this message, we look at some common reasons why we misunderstand grace and then explore what the Bible says grace really is and really does.
Discussion Questions
- What are the two primary reasons people do not understand grace? Explain those two reasons.
- What are the two prerequisites for understanding the grace of God?
- Read through Eph. 2:1-10 and explain this statement: Depravity in sin makes sovereignty in grace an absolute necessity.
- List the four things grace does for us in this passage.
Quotes to Remember
“Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior. He who has stood before his God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck, is the man to weep for joy when he is pardoned, to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and to live to the honor of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed.”
CH Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol I, 54.
“Grace demands humility, the humility that constrains us to be willing debtors all along the line of salvation from its fount in election to its consummation in glory.”
John Murray, “The Grace of God,” Collected Writings, Vol 1.
This is how I know of & trust in the doctrine of Grace Alone; this is why it is a real part of my life: The Spirit's real counsel (i.e. not just a "feeling" or a "hunch" or a "suspicion" that I have), on top of God's word, calls to my attention the filth in my every thought, word and deed. Because God is God and because I know that He is perfectly holy and wonderful, and high & lifted up above all things, I know that I am low and I know I am yet corrupt – in all & always. Even when I start to think I have done something good, I am faced with the simultaneous reality (which is even more obvious) that I am really interested in myself, and I am thus brought even lower. As Job said, "Behold, I am vile…" It's realty that simple. I am thankful for sovereignty in God's grace and for His word; and I am thankful that God's Spirit is truth.