Grace Alone

GRACE ALONE
Genesis 6:1-7:1


Grace is “undeserved blessing freely bestowed on humans by God.” Grace “does not start with us, it starts with God.”

WHY WE NEED SAVING?

Ephesians 2:1-10
Sin is disobedience towards God. Our sin has corrupted every aspect of this world.
1. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and every intention of human thinking was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5)
a. Corrupts the mind and will of man
2. Romans 8- 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope.
a. Corrupts creation
3. The Penalty of Sin
a. The wages of sin is death- Romans 6:23
b. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. (Ezekiel 18:20)

WHAT ARE WE SAVED FROM?

God tells Noah that a storm is coming that will “destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind” but also all of creation.

1. The Storm of the End Times
a. Matthew 24- 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
2. The Storms of Life
a. John 16:33- In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
b. Living a “good life” does not keep trouble away.

HOW WE ARE SAVED AND WHY WE CANNOT DO IT OURSELVES?

1. Get Out of Your Boat
a. Matthew 14- 24but the boat was already a considerable distance[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it…29Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
b. 2 Corinthians 4- 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
c. What the devil intends for our destruction—God will use for our benefit!
“But Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord…Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:8-9)
2. Noah was saved through grace because the Bible teaches that no one is good.
a. 19"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.” (Luke 18:19)
b. 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
c. Noah was told of the storm and told how to avoid its devastating effect.
3. Noah was declared righteous not because of his works, but because of his faith.
a. Romans 1- 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[a] just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
b. 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11)
c. Romans 4:5- 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
4. You cannot earn your way into heaven…it is 100% Grace Alone- God has provided our Ark in Jesus Christ!
a. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (Romans 3)
i. We try building our own ark—the problem is that our wood is warped.
ii. CAR TOTALED STORY- We are totaled from the minute that we come into this world.
1. Ephesians 2:3- 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
iii. What we try to do is “fix” our lives with philosophies and rules—but it is meaningless because in the end we have NO ETERNAL VALUE
b. Romans 3:22- 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
i. So, we should not try to “fix” our lives, when Jesus offers to buy us a new life—at no cost to ourselves—but costing him his life.
1. Romans 6:23- 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. 2 Corinthians 5:21- 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
3. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22- 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
ii. The new life is abundant life!
1. John 10:10- 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
2. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
5. On the other side of the storm- Peace
a. Genesis 8:11- “And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a newly sprouted and picked olive leaf!”

WHY WE HE CHOSE TO SAVE US?

“9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[b] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[c] our sins.” 1 John 4

“4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Simply because he loves us!

God shut the door!