(Acts 8:37).
2. "By no means perish" (John 10:28-29) C. What does grace perform?
1. "You have been saved" (Eph. 2:8-9) 2. "Grace...has appeared" (Titus 2:11) D. Why did God give grace?
1. "God so loved" (John 3:16) E. How did God give grace?
1. "Through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17) III. The believers:
A. Who is a believer?
1. Anyone who believes that "Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37). B. Are believers under the law?
1. "Not under the law" (Rom. 6:14) C. What is the standard of their conduct?
1. "Ought himself also to walk even as He walked" (1 John 2:6) IV. Christianity:
A. What is it?
1. "Christ died for our sins...was buried...has been raised" (1 Cor. 15:3-4) B. Is it a mixture of the law and grace?
1. "To the one who works...not accounted according to grace...to the one who does not work, but believes" (Rom. 4:4-5)
LESSON FOURTEEN FAITH AND WORK A person can be very polite, moral, strict, and conscientious and yet be very far away from the holiness of God. He can endeavor to work, with sweat on his face, and can offer offerings to God like Cain. He can read the Bible, pray, and listen to sermons and yet, at the same time, be waiting for death and judgment!
I. Can work save a person?
A. "Were not able to be justified by the law" (Acts 13:39) B. "Out of the works of the law no flesh shall be justified" (Rom. 3:20) C. "Where then is boasting?...No" (Rom. 3:27) D. "Not of works" (Eph. 2:8-9)
II. What is the faith of salvation?
A. Believe in the testimony which God has testified concerning His Son (1 John 5:10-12) B. "Believe in your heart" (Rom. 10:9-10) C. Abraham believed in God's word (Gen. 15:6) D. Abraham believed God's speaking (Gal. 3:5-6) E. "Having heard the word...believing" (Eph. 1:13; Rom. 10:13, 17) III. What can faith do?
A. "Your faith has healed you" (Luke 8:48) B. "Believes...has eternal life" (John 5:24) C. "Cleansing...hearts" (Acts 15:9) D. "Operating through love" (Gal. 5:6) E. "Saved" (Eph. 2:8-9) F. "To the gaining of the soul" (Heb. 10:39) IV. Does faith allow man to be unrestrained?
A. "Denying ungodliness" (Titus 2:11-13) B. "Put to death the practices" (Rom. 8:13) C. "Has overcome the world" (1 John 5:4) V. Are good works profitable? He who believes has eternal life. If one performs good works after he believes, he will, in addition to having eternal life, receive a reward.
A. "Repay each man according to his doings" (Matt. 16:27) B. "Receive the inheritance as recompense" (Col. 3:22-24) C. "My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is" (Rev. 22:12) VI. Works that are without faith:
A. Fleshly and worldly B. Of the self C. Inward and downward D. Leading to darkness and hardship E. According to man's wavering condition VII. Faith:
A. Of God and of heaven B. Based on Christ's accomplished work C. Outward and upward D. Leading to light and peace
E. According to God's unchanging truth
LESSON FIFTEEN SALVATION AND REWARD When a lost person receives Jesus, he freely obtains an eternal and perfect salvation. His sins are forgiven, righteousness is imputed to him, and the records of his sins are forever erased. God calls sinners to receive salvation and calls saints to receive the reward. Salvation is given through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. The reward is given through the work of the Christians. A man cannot be saved through good works, neither can he be rewarded through faith. Salvation comes from believing in the Lord Jesus as the Savior, and the reward comes from the good works which one performs after he is saved.
I. Salvation:
A. Salvation is a free gift:
1. "The gift of God" (John 4:10) 2. "Take...freely" (Rev. 22:17) 3. "The gift of God" (Rom. 6:23) B. Salvation is a present inheritance:
1. "Gave" (1 John 5:11) 2. "Has saved us" (2 Tim. 1:9) 3. "Has eternal life" (John 6:47) If a saved person works faithfully for the Lord, he will receive a reward. Such a promise may cause a believer to free himself from the pleasures of the world, keep him from falling, and grant him victory in an hour of persecution or temptation. II. Reward:
A. What is the reward?
1. "Crown" (2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 5:2-4; Rev. 2:10) 2. "Throne" (Matt. 19:28; Rev. 3:21) 3. "Reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:6) B. The requirements for the reward:
1. "Labor" (1 Cor. 3:8) 2. "Work" (Rev. 22:12) 3. "A cup of cold water" (Matt. 10:42)