understand the difference of living under the law and under grace.
what part Jesus plays in an individual’s salvation.
discuss why in individual can not save himself.
and explain God the Father’s part in the salvation process.
define the term “God’s Sovereignty.
explain why God allows people to go to hell.
Even though individuals separated themselves from God through personal sin, God wanted to offer a means
of restoring the broken relationship. At Mount Sinai, God
gave Israel the Law (Exodus 20). To live by the law was a difficult task; to break one law made the individual as
guilty of sin as if all the laws had been broken. Question 1
True or False
An individual who has broken only one of God’s laws is less of a sinner than the person who has
broken all of God’s laws. True ____ False _____
Since breaking one law makes a person as much of a sinner as breaking all of God’s laws,
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Instead of salvation coming through the law, it now comes by grace through in Jesus.
The Christian is a sinner saved by grace. Question 2
Why did Jesus come to earth?
( ) So He could seek and save the lost.
( ) So He could condemn people for their sins.
( ) So He could make us feel ashamed of our sins.
Question 3
Fill in the blanks
Instead of salvation coming through the _____________. It comes by _____________
through faith in _____________.
People can not save themselves for they are unable to stay sin free which would be the result of perfectly
following the law. So Christ did for the individual what the individual could not do for himself. Question 4
Why could man/woman not save himself/herself?
God knew that people would sin and need to be saved even before the creation of the world. This foreknowledge
of mankind’s coming action did not cause sin. Sin came as a result of the individual’s free action.
Knowing that individuals would rebel, God proposed to give people every opportunity to have salvation.
God’s grace refers to God’s desire to save every person. This desire on God’s part includes
three sections: regeneration, sanctification and glorification (See Week 5 Day 2). Question 5
List God the Father’s part in salvation
1.
2.
3.
God loves all people and wishes to save as many as possible. People are not puppets on a string.
God will not force a person to accept Him and lead a Christian life. God’s sovereignty means that He can act
as He wants without any outside permission. However, God has placed certain limitations upon Himself
in order to be fair to mankind. Question 6
How does God insure that He is fair to people?
( ) He places limitations on individuals.
( ) He places limitations on Himself.
( ) He does whatever He wants to do.
( ) He allows individuals to do whatever they want to do without consequences.
God will not force Himself on an individual. The Bible teaches that individuals possess freewill.
God made men and women with decision making abilities. While we have freedom of choice, we are also responsible
for our choices. God has set up certain natural laws, we can live by these laws or we can rebel against them.
However, we are left with the consequence of our actions. We know that gravity will pull us to the ground if we jump off
a high place. If we want to be foolish, we can still jump and break our leg. The same is true of God’s spiritual laws.
A person can live by God’s spiritual law and be blessed or ignore God’s laws and be cursed.
God never violates human personality. He will not save a person against his or her will. He knocks and asks
to be allowed into our lives but He never breaks down the door to come in. Question 7
How can a good and loving God allow a person to go to hell?
When an individual becomes a Christian our troubles are not over. We are free from sin’s penalty of death,
but not free from sins power. What makes us different is that we do not live for self but for God.
(See Week 5 Day 2/Week 8 Day 1).
Salvation
Week 5
Works Verses Grace
Day 2
Learning Goals
You will be able to:
how God offered salvation to each individual
the stages of salvation
define the states of salvation
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells how God offered mankind salvation: “For it is by grace that
you have been saved, through faith—and this not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, so that on one can boast.” Question 1
According to Ephesians 2:8-9 how are Christians saved?
( ) By good works ( ) By God’s Grace ( ) By being moral
Question 2
The passage also says salvation is received through:
( ) faith
( ) baptism
( ) joining the church
We are saved by God’s grace and our faith. A valid question is what are we saved from.
To answer this question, we must understand that salvation is not a one time happening. There are stages of salvation.
Our salvation takes place in the past, present and the future.
The first stage of salvation regards the past. We were saved from the penalty of sin.
This stage is justification. Justification is defined as God’s sovereign act of declaring a sinner not guilty
upon a profession of faith in Christ Jesus (John 5:24).
Questions 3-5
Read John 5:24 and answer the following questions:
is given to the believer?
is promised to the believer in regard to the future?
has the believer changed as a result of salvation?
The second aspect of salvation is related to the present. We are now being saved from the power of sin.
This is sanctification. Sanctification is “that gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which
God delivers the justified sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his whole nature in the image of God,
and enables him to perform good works.”
Christ has given us freedom from the power of sin. Read Romans 5:8-9. This passage speaks of salvation past
(it was while you were still sinners that Christ died for you). It also talks about salvation future (you will be saved
by Jesus from God’s anger).
In verse 10, Paul speaks of salvation Present. “Now that we are God’s friends
how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life.” Questions 6-7
In the past our sin made us enemies of God. How were w made God’s friends?
By whose life are we saved from the power of sin?
( ) Jesus
( ) our own
( ) the saints
The third stage of salvation is glorification. The Christian life is a growing maturing faith.
Paul talks about the completion of our salvation in Ephesians 1:14.
Read Ephesians 1:14 and answer the following questions. Question 8
What has God promised Christians He will do for them in the future?
Question 9
What guarantee do we have that God will fulfill His promise?
The final glorious result of our salvation is promised in I Corinthians 15: 51-54.
Read these verses and answer the following questions. Question 10
What will happen to the dead during the time of glorification in the future?
Question 11
What will happen to the living?
Question 12
What kind of body will be given to the dead and the living?
We have discovered that the three stages of salvation are: Salvation Past—Justification—we were saved from the penalty of sin by the death of Christ.
Salvation Present—Sanctification—we are being saved from the power of sin
by the indwelling of Christ in our life.
Salvation Future—Glorification—we will be saved from the presence of sin
by the return of Christ.
Salvation
Week 5
God’s Ultimate Purpose
Day 3
Learning Goals
You will be able to:
explain God’s ultimate purpose for every individual.
understand the biblical idea of perfection.
We can better understand the meaning of salvation when we discover the ultimate goal
and purpose of God’s relationship to mankind. The New Testament states more than 30 times that the
ultimate purpose of God for an individual is perfection.
His idea immediately causes some people to say, “I’ll never be perfect so I can not be saved”.
This idea is incorrect. People who make this statement do not understand God’s definition of perfection. Question 1
What is God’s ultimate purpose for every individual?
( ) to be good
( ) be perfect
( ) to do his/her best
Jesus was using Hebrew thought patterns when He said, “Be perfect as your heavenly father is
perfect”(Matthew 5:48). In Hebrew thought the perfect object was not flawless, beautiful or pure. Perfection is that
which is mature and fully developed. The perfect banana is ripe and ready to eat. When something becomes
what God intended for it to be it is perfect. Question 2
Define “Perfection”
Question 3
Is it possible for a Christian to be perfect? Why?
A perfect individual is a mature person. A perfect person has become what God want him/her to be.
The New Testament says the mature person has grown into the image of Christ. We are to become the kind
of person Christ is. Paul judged the perfect person with “attaining the whole measure of the fullness
of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
Christ is our model and example. We are to follow His steps (I Peter 2:21).
Possibly the New Testament writer had Jesus’ words in mind when he wrote: “A student is not above
his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:20).
Becoming Christ-like does not mean loosing our individuality. We continue to be different personalities,
but we approach life as did Jesus. We have the same kind of relationship to God and man that Jesus had.
In this way, we have assurance of our salvation. Question 4
List some ways you have become Christ-like since becoming a Christian.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Question 5 List some ways you have not changed since becoming a Christian.
These do not have to be bad characteristics.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
