God’s
Abundant
Grace
“abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
Grace and Faith
Please open your Bible & follow along
in Romans 3:21-31
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Outline: Grace and Faith
– Faith Makes Salvation Possible For Anyone
– God’s Part in Offering Salvation
– Man’s Part in Receiving Salvation
– Faith is a Choice
– Faith Works!
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Faith Makes Salvation Possible For Anyone
– Rom. 1:18 – 3:20 demonstrates that all men are
condemned by law and subject to God’s wrath
– Rom. 3:21 – 5:2 show that, if man’s part in salvation is
faith, then any man can be saved, and not just those
who are under the Law of Moses
– Rom. 4:16 “For this reason it is by faith…”
– Abraham, is proof of righteousness by faith rather
than by the works of the Law
– See also Acts 15:9 and Gal. 3:22 and Phil. 3:9
– Faith makes salvation possible for anyone, because
anyone can believe and have faith!
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• God’s part in offering salvation: GRACE
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Grace in the gospel that calls (Acts 20:24)
Grace in the sacrifice of Christ that saves (Heb. 2:9)
Grace in the promise that gives hope (Rom. 4:16)
Grace in the commands that guide (Titus 2:11-12)
Grace in providing justification (Rom. 3:24)
• “Grace” sums up everything God does for man
that man cannot do for himself to make salvation
possible
• Man still has choice: to receive or reject it…
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Salvation is a gift God offers (Rom. 6:23)
• Man chooses to receive it or reject it, just like any
other gift.
– Man’s part in receiving salvation: FAITH (Heb. 11:6)
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Faith in the power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17; 1 Cor. 2:5)
Faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18; Rom. 3:22,26)
Faith in God’s promise (Rom. 4:13,16)
Faith in obeying (Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Heb. 11; Jms. 2:14-26)
Faith in justification (Rom. 3:26-30; 5:1; Gal. 2:16; 3:24)
• “FAITH” sums up everything man must to do
receive the gift (Eph. 2:8)
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Faith is a Choice
– Faith is belief in the testimony of witnesses to facts
(Heb. 11:1)
• The 12 Apostles were witnesses (Acts 1:8; 3:15)
• Paul was a witness (Acts 22:15; 23:11; 26:16)
• They testify to us in the epistles they wrote!
– Faith comes by hearing the word of God
• John 20:31 “these have been written so that you may believe”
• Acts 8:12 “they believed Philip preaching the good news”
• Rom. 10:8-17 “faith comes by hearing the Word”
– Hear more…believe more: faith increases!
– Faith is an act of freewill: You can choose to believe or not
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Faith is a Choice (not an imparted gift)
– Typical denominational view is that man, having fallen in sin, is
incapable of developing his own faith, and that God must put
faith into a man to enable the man to do good.
– This false view of faith is based on a misunderstanding of Eph.
2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”
• Pronoun: that
Three antecedents: grace, saved, faith
• In grammar, the pronoun must agree with the antecedent in
number and gender
• In the original Greek, “grace” and “faith” are feminine gender,
while “saved” is neuter gender
• The pronoun “that” is neuter gender, so it must refer to saved!
• Compare Rom. 6:23! The gift is eternal life!
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Faith Works! (Jms. 2:14-26)
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Faith without works does not save (14)
Faith without works is dead (15-17)
Faith cannot be demonstrated without works (18)
Even the demons believe and tremble. It takes more faith than
that to save a person! (19)
Faith without works is useless (20)
Abraham was justified by faith + works (21-23)
We are NOT saved by “faith alone”(24)
Rahab was justified by works (25)
Faith without works is dead (26)
• Consider all those listed in Hebrews 11…
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• Summary
– God offers salvation to everyone!
– God offers salvation through the grace of the Gospel,
the sacrifice, the promise, the commands, and
justification by grace, all of which God supplies.
– God requires man to respond in faith: believing the
Gospel, with faith in Jesus, faith in His promise, faith
in obeying His commands, and faith to receive
justification. Faith gains the victory! (1 John 5:4)
– Faith is what you choose to believe after hearing.
– We are thus saved by grace through faith, and this
salvation is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8)
God’s Abundant Grace
Acts 4:33
• We must have faith to receive salvation!
• Have faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for
our sins and was raised up.
• Repent of your sins…commit yourself to holiness in faith.
• Confess your faith in Christ to save you.
• With faith in His death, burial, and resurrection, be
baptized into Jesus for forgiveness of your sins…this
marks the moment when grace saves the sinner.
• Continue in the blessed relationship of His favor by
remaining faithful in godliness, and nourish that
relationship by constant prayer.
God’s
Abundant
Grace
“abundant grace was upon them all” Acts 4:33