God’s Grace

ARE YOU EXPERIENCING GOD’S GRACE?

This booklet is designed to tell you the most important message

you could ever hear...the message of God’s Grace.

This message comes to us through God’s Word...the Bible,

and was made possible through God’s Son... Jesus.

God is the beginning of Grace. In fact, “The heavens are telling of the glory of
he is the beginning of all things. God; and their expanse is declaring the
work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).
“In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). As Creator, God alone is worthy of the
praise of his creation.
The vast expanse of the universe and
everything in it is the work of God “Worthy are you, our Lord and our
alone. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and God, to receive glory and honor and
Ruler of all things. All creation reflects power; for you created all things”
his majestic power and glory. (Revelation 4:11).

As Creator, God alone is worthy of the praise of his creation.

God, our Creator, is a God of holiness The Bible says of God, “O LORD, our
and love. LORD, how majestic is your name in all
the earth! You have set your glory above
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD GOD, the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).
the ALMIGHTY” (Revelation 4:8).
God’s love is as great as his holiness
Holiness is the attribute of God that and might. God’s love is demonstrated
makes him completely unique and by his care for all his creatures and his
separate from his creation. God gracious disposition and compassion
is Majestic, Glorious, and Perfect towards us.
in every way. The slightest sin or
imperfection cannot dwell in The Bible speaks of “the kindness of
his Holy presence. God our Savior and his love for man-
kind” (Titus 3:4).
 “When I consider your heavens, the work of
Because of love, God your fingers, the moon and the stars, which
you have ordained; What is man that you
created human beings
take thought of him, and the son of man that
to reflect his power and you care for him? You have made him a little
glory. In fact, we are the lower than God, and you crown him with
pinnacle of his creation! glory and majesty! You make him to rule over
the works of your hands” (Psalm 8:4-6).

What makes us so special? We, unlike the rest of God’s creation, were created in
the image of God himself! “God created man in his own image, in the image of God
he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Because God is our loving Creator Jesus also said, “You shall love the
and Ruler, we are responsible to love, LORD your GOD with all your heart,
worship, and obey him alone. Since he and with all your soul, and with all
created us, he has the right to lay his your mind.’ This is the great and
claim on our lives. foremost commandment”
(Matthew 22:37-38).
Jesus said, “You shall worship the
LORD your GOD, and serve him Why, then, do we not reflect God’s
only” (Matthew 4:10). glory and obey him as we should?

Because God is our loving Creator and Ruler, we are

responsible to love, worship, and obey him alone.
Soon after God created Adam and God said, “You shall be holy, for I the
Eve (the first man and woman), they LORD your God am holy”
willfully chose to rebel against God, (Leviticus 19:2).
and sin entered the human race. Ev-
ery person thereafter has inherited God does not judge us based upon how we
that sinful nature and has continued compare to our fellow human beings, but
to rebel against our Creator. The on how we compare to him.
result of sin is that we have failed to
ref lect God’s glory. In order to dwell Clearly, all of us fall short of his
in his holy presence, God does not perfect standard.
require that we merely do our best
to live good lives; he requires us to “For all have sinned and fall short of the
ref lect his perfection. glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We are all sinners both by nature (because we have inherited our sinful
natures from Adam and Eve) and by choice (because we all willfully choose to
disobey God).

“Through one man [Adam] sin

entered the world, and death “Through one man [Adam]
through sin, and so death spread sin entered the world, and
to all men, because all sinned”
death through sin, and so
(Romans 5:12).
death spread to all men,
“If we say that we have no sin, we because all sinned” (Ro-
are deceiving ourselves and the mans 5:12).
truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
Because God is perfect in Holiness, he Because sin separates us from God, it
cannot tolerate the presence of sin. Our carries tragic consequences.
sins have separated us from our Creator.
“The wages of sin is death”
“Your iniquities have made a separa- (Romans 6:23).
tion between you and your God, and
your sins have hidden his face from One day, we will all stand before God
you” (Isaiah 59:2). to give an account for our deeds.

The problem is, How can we sinners ever

become righteous in God’s sight?
 “It is appointed for men to die once and af- Jesus also warned, “These [sinners] will go
ter this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). away into eternal punishment, but the righ-
teous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).
Jesus warned, “when the Son of Man
[Jesus] comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, then he will sit on his
glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31).
God will separate the sin-
God will separate the sinners from the ners from the righteous.
righteous. The righteous will enter The righteous will enter
into eternal life in heaven to dwell into eternal life in heaven
with God. Sinners will be sent away
from the presence of God into a place to dwell with God.
of eternal punishment called hell.
Atonement means “to repair a Peace with God was made possible by
broken relationship.” everything Jesus did on behalf of sin-
ners. This includes his Life, Death,
and Resurrection.
God, because of his great love for his
creation, sent his Son Jesus into the
world so that sinners may be recon- His Life. Jesus did for sinners what
ciled to God. they could not do for themselves. He
succeeded where we failed.
Jesus said, “For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that “Having been justified by faith, we have
whoever believes in him shall not perish, peace with God through our Lord Jesus
but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Jesus is God. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life.

“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], The Bible says that Jesus is “One who
and the Word [Jesus] was with God, and has been tempted in all things as we are,
the Word [Jesus] was God” (John 1:1). yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus became a man. The Bible says that Jesus “committed

no sin, neither was deceit found in his
“And the Word [Jesus] became flesh, and mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).
dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glo-
ry as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
His Death. God has provided atonement between himself and sinners through the
substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus died as the substitute for sinners; he
died in our place.

“But God demonstrates his own love “For Christ also died for sins once for all,
toward us, in that while we were yet sin- the just for the unjust, so that he might
ners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Jesus died as the substitute for

sinners; he died in our place.
At the cross, an amazing exchange took place: our sins were credited
to Jesus; his righteousness is credited to those who follow him.

our sin
“He [God] made him
[Jesus] who knew no sin
to be sin on our behalf, so
that we might become the
righteousness of God in
him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jes
u s’ ri ess
g hte o usn
His Resurrection. Jesus’ death is not “He [God] has fixed a day in which he will
the end of the story. Three days later, he judge the world in righteousness through
arose victoriously from the grave! Death a Man [Jesus] whom he has appointed,
has been defeated! Jesus’ resurrection having furnished proof to all men by
is proof that God has approved his min- raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
istry. Jesus alone is Savior and Lord!

Jesus’ death is not the end of the

story. Three days later, he arose
victoriously from the grave!
 The blessings of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection apply
only to those who will follow him as Savior and Lord.

By his life, Jesus attained righteous- The blessings of Jesus’ life, death, and
ness on sinners’ behalf. resurrection apply only to those who
By his death, Jesus paid the penalty will follow him as Savior and Lord.
that sinners owed.
By his resurrection, Jesus defeated This response to follow Jesus is called
death for all who will follow him. conversion.
We must each receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord by a voluntary and
intentional act of the will. This act includes both repentance and faith.
Repentance involves turning from sin to obey God. Faith is an active trust
in Jesus’ atoning life, death, and resurrection.

To receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we

Jesus said, “I am the
must trust him alone for salvation.
way, the truth, and the
“And there is salvation in no one else; for life; no one comes to
there is no other name under heaven that the Father but through
has been given among men by which we
me” (John 14:6).
must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
And we must repent. To repent means God offers us salvation as a free gift
to turn from our sins and turn to Jesus (Grace). God’s Grace comes to us
in love and obedience. through faith in Jesus as Savior
and Lord.
“God is now declaring to men that all
people everywhere should repent” “For the wages of sin is death, but the
(Acts 17:30). free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Jesus said, “unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). “For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the
Jesus also said, “If you love me, you will gift of God; not as a result of works, so that
keep my commandments” (John 14:15). no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
 Our sin separates us from Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection
God. Our best efforts cannot broke the sin barrier. Believers are
overcome this barrier. united to God through him.
God’s grace comes to those who “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will
receive Jesus by faith. be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“But as many as received him, to them “I am not ashamed of the gospel [good
he gave the right to become children of news], for it is the power of God for
God, even to those who believe in his salvation to everyone who believes”
name” (John 1:12). (Romans 1:16).

The Bible says, “that if you confess For those who repent of their sins
with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and and place their faith in Jesus as
believe in your heart that God raised Savior and Lord, God gives the
him from the dead, you will be saved… promise of eternal life.
for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the
Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9, 13).
GRACE E stands for ETERNAL LIFE

Jesus promised, “Truly, truly, I say Jesus brings new life to all who place
to you, he who hears my word, and their faith in him.
believes him who sent me, has eternal
life, and does not come into judgment, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is
but has passed out of death into life” a new creature; the old things passed
(John 5:24). away; behold, new things have come”
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
“He who has the Son has the life; he who
does not have the Son of God does not Jesus said, “I came that they may have
have the life” (1 John 5:12). life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Jesus brings new life to all who place their faith in him.
This promise of abundant life does In spite of difficulties, Jesus prom-
not mean that we will be free from ised his followers a peace beyond
troubles in this lifetime. understanding. The peace of Jesus is
something that only his followers
In fact, the followers of Jesus can can experience.
expect to face trials and difficulties.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my
Jesus said, “In the world you will have peace I give to you; not as the world gives
tribulation, but take courage; I have do I give to you. Do not let your heart be
overcome the world” (John 16:33). troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
Nothing in the universe can separate believers from the love of God.

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...in all these things
we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I am convinced
that neither death, nor life, nor an-
gels, nor principalities, nor things The promise of God to
present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
those who trust in Jesus
any other created things, will be able is peace with God in this
to separate us from the love of God, world and eternal life in
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” the world to come.
(Romans 8:35, 37-38).
When Jesus returns in power and This wonderful gift of eternal life is
glory, those who have trusted in him given to all those who have been saved
for salvation will live forever in his through faith in Jesus.
glorious presence!

“For the Lord himself will descend from

heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
who are alive and remain will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so we shall always be
with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

The most important question for each of all those who trust him as Savior
of us to ask is, “Where do I stand in and Lord. On the other hand, those
the sight of God?” who do not trust him as Savior and
Lord will rightly suffer the judg-
The Bible says that “the Lord Jesus will ment of God themselves.
be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribu- “He who believes in the Son has eternal
tion to those who do not obey the gospel of life; but he who does not obey the Son will
our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty not see life, but the wrath of God abides
of eternal destruction [hell], away from the on him” (John 3:36).
presence of the Lord and from the glory of
his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). “Do not fear those who kill the body but
are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear
On the cross, Jesus suffered the him who is able to destroy both soul and
justice and wrath of God on behalf body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
There is no middle ground with Jesus. will not fade away, reserved in heaven
for you, who are protected by the power
Jesus said, “He who is not with me is of God through faith for a salvation
against me” (Matthew 12:30). ready to be revealed in the last time. .
. . and though you have not seen him,
Everlasting life, joy, and peace await you love him, and though you do not see
those who stand on the Lord’s side. him now, but believe in him, you greatly
rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of
“Blessed be the God and Father of our glory, obtaining as the outcome of your
Lord Jesus Christ, who according to faith the salvation of your souls”
his great mercy has caused us to be (1 Peter 1:3-5, 8-9).
born again [spiritually] to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to obtain an inheritance
which is imperishable and undefiled and
The question remains: Are you ready to follow Jesus as your
Savior and Lord? If so, then you must
Where do you stand in the repent of your sins and place your
sight of God? faith in Jesus alone for salvation. You
Are you on the Lord’s side, or on your must believe that he lived, died, and
own side? Are you living for God rose again for your salvation. You must
through Jesus, or are you living for commit your life to him as your living
yourself? If Jesus returned today, Savior and Lord. If you are ready to
would you experience the everlasting have your sins forgiven and to receive
joy of heaven with him, or would you the gift of eternal life, then trust in
suffer the wrath of God? Jesus right now.
ARE YOU READY?

Go to God in prayer. (Prayer is talking Ask him to fill you with his presence
to God). Admit to him that you are a by giving you his Holy Spirit to em-
sinner and in need of a Savior. Ask power you to live a life that will bring
him to have mercy on you and to glory to his name.
forgive you of your sins.
The Bible says,“He who has the Son
Thank him for sending his Son, has life; he who does not have the Son
Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrec- of God does not have life. These things
tion secured salvation for all who will I have written to you who believe in the
follow him. Commit your life to Jesus. name of the Son of God, so that you may
Tell him that you repent of your sins know that you have eternal life”
and trust in him as Savior and Lord. (1 John 5:12-13).
LIVING DAILY IN GOD’S GRACE

As a new believer in Christ, you must Worship: Give God the praise that he
always remember that Christ “died for deserves. Love the Lord your God with
all, so that they who live might no longer all your heart, soul, and mind.
live for themselves, but for him who died
and rose again on their behalf” Bible Study: The Bible is the Word of
(2 Corinthians 5:15). God. Read it daily. The book of Luke (in the
New Testament) is a great place to start.
Only by putting Christ first can we
Christians experience victory in our Fellowship: Meet regularly with other
lives. We can do this through: Christians who will help you grow in
your new life with Christ. Finding a
Prayer: Pray daily. Speak to God as faithful church that believes the Bible
you would your dearest friend. and glorifies Jesus is a great way to begin.
Service: Serve Christ and serve your The next step. As soon as possible,
fellow human beings. We Christians seek out a faithful church that will
do not serve out of mere duty, but out baptize you (ask the pastor to explain
of love for our Savior, seeking to be baptism) and give you guidance and
obedient in ever aspect of life for the help in your new walk with Christ.
sake of Jesus, our Lord. Seek a church where Jesus is glori-
fied and the Bible is taught. If you
Witnessing: Tell others about what need assistance, the information on
Christ has done in your life. Share the the back of this booklet may be able
good news of God’s Grace with all who to help you locate a faithful church in
will listen. your area.
 © 2014 The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
2825 Lexington Rd, Louisville, KY 40280
The Department of Evangelism and Missions is part of the
Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry
For more information, email [email protected] | For spiritual questions or to
talk to someone about your relationship with God, call 1.888.Jesus20
Scripture taken from English Standard Version (ESV®) Copyright © 2001
by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
BG-444-2014