Today, we’re continuing in our message series Live Out God’s Purpose. We’re learning about God’s purpose for our lives from the book of Ephesians. Our message today is entitled “Transformed by Grace.”
What is grace? In the Bible, grace means the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. Grace really is what the Bible is all about, from Genesis to Revelation. Let’s watch a short video about grace called Grace 101. The students all failed the final quiz, yet the teacher gave what they didn’t deserve, an A. That gives us a picture of what grace is all about.
Let’s turn to the Bible to get a birds eye view of grace. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose to sin by disobeying God. The result was that their relationship with God was broken. That broken relationship caused spiritual death which would ultimately result in their physical death. The sin of Adam and Eve has resulted in each one of us being a sinner.
Romans 3:23 (ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
If we stopped there, this would be a very sad story. But there is good news.
John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God loves each person that He has created so much that He didn’t want them to be separated from Him. So, He sent Jesus into the world, to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. Jesus died and rose again so that sinners, like you and me could have eternal life. God’s grace is offered to every sinner on the planet as a free gift. Yet, God’s gift of grace must be accepted in order to be effective. God’s grace gift is accepted by believing in Jesus. Only those who believe in Jesus receive the grace gift of eternal life. Grace is not just for salvation, it is for all of life
Titus 2:11-12 (ESV) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
It is by God’s grace that we as believers are given the power to live godly lives pleasing to God. As we have received God’s grace, so God helps us to share His grace with others. Today, we’re going to look more closely at how we can be transformed by grace.