The Means of Grace
Suppose a man who cannot swim falls overboard. Suppose his friend in the boat throws him a lifeline and pulls him to safety.
Who or what saved the drowning man? His friend? The lifeline? The life preserver? The boat? Or did the man save himself? The answer, of course, is that his friend saved him, the lifeline, and the life preserver, and the boat saved him. He also saved himself.
This simple parable helps us to understand that it is as foolish to say that we are saved by grace alone as it would be for the drowning man to claim that any one of the above means saved him without other intervention.
The Bible certainly does teach that we are saved by grace. But it also teaches that God uses means. These means are called by theologians, the "means of grace."
This booklet lists seven of God's chosen "means of grace," and is intended to be a quick reference and teaching tool. On these pages we have compiled pertinent portions of the pure Word of God to show how God saves us by His grace.
When the truth of salvation by grace is better understood, the doctrine of easy believism loses its siren appeal.
--Simeon Young, Sr.
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The Significance of Seven
The number seven was sacred for the ancient Jews and played a prominent role in their religious life.
The children of Israel obeyed God's command to march around the city of Jericho once each day for six days and the seventh day they walked around Jericho seven times. At the sound of the trumpet, when they shouted a great shout, the city walls crumbled. (Joshua 6:4.)
Elisha send his messenger/servant to Naaman the leper, captain of the Syrian army, to tell him to wash seven times in the Jordan river. He obeyed and was he was healed. (II Kings 5:10.)
The Word of God declares, "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work" (Genesis 2:2-3).
The number seven indicates perfection and symbolizes completeness or wholeness. In this Bible study we show the necessity of these basic seven progressive steps of salvation. Without all of the seven steps there is no salvation.
Step 1
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Definition of Grace:
1. The unmerited love and favor of God;
2. A state of reconciliation with God
Someone demonstrated that the letters of the word grace suggest the acrostic:
- Great
- Redemption
- At
- Christ's
- Expense
- Romans 3:23,24:
- "...all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."
- Titus 2:11:
- "...for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men..."
- Ephesians 2:5:
- "...even when we were dead in sins, hath [He] quickened us together with Christ; for by grace ye are saved."
We can not be saved without the grace of God. The unmerited favor of God gives us the privilege of being saved, but we are not saved by grace alone and apart from God's chosen means.
- Ephesians 2:8
- "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
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Step 2
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Definition of Faith:
1. Confidence or trust;
2. Spiritual acceptance of truth;
3. Belief in God.
Ephesians 2:8:
"...by grace are ye saved through faith."
1 Peter 1:9:
"...receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
To be saved we must have faith in God.
- Hebrews 11:6:
- "...without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
- Mark 11:6
- "...he that believeth not shall be damned."
- James 2:19-20
- "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
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When someone says, "I believe," it doesn't necessarily mean that they are saved, because devils also believe. Devils are definitely not saved. There is more to salvation than saying, "I believe in God."
- Romans 10:10
- "...with the heart of man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
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Step 3
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Definition of Confession:
1. To disclose sins or faults to God;
2. To unburden the conscience;
3. To acknowledge guilt, wrong-doing or sinfulness;
4. To admit to unbecoming deeds.
Romans 10:10
"...with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Someone said, "Confession is good for the soul."
1 John 1:9:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
James 5:16
"Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed."
Confession involves transparency and honesty.
- Proverbs 28:13:
- "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
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Step 4
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Definition of Repentance:
1. To change one's mind;
2. To turn around;
3. To forsake sins;
4. To make an about face.
Proverbs 28:13
"...whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy."
It is not enough to merely confess our sins. We must turn from sin to be saved.
- II Corinthians 7:10:
- "For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation..."
- Luke 13:3
- "...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
- II Peter 3:9:
- "The Lord is not...willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Repentance is more than being sorry for one's sins. It involves a lifestyle-mindset adjustment. It is exciting to turn away from the old life of sin and condemnation!
We must not stop here.
- Acts 2:38:
- "Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized everyone of you..."
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Step 5
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Definition of Baptism:
1. To dip, plunge, or submerge;
2. A religious ceremony signifying spiritual purification by immersion in water.
1 Peter 3:21:
"...baptism doth also now save us..."
Mark 16:16:
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..."
Acts 8:16:
"...they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
Acts 10:48:
"...he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord."
Acts 22:16:
"...and why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Acts 10:43:
"...through His name whosoever believeth on Him shall receive remission of sins."
Luke 24:47:
"...remission of sins should be preached in His name..."
Acts 2:38:
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
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Step 6
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Jesus said to Nicodemus, "...Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Nicodemus asked Jesus, "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (John 3:4). Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).
- Romans 8:9
- "...if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."
- Romans 8:14:
- "...as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
How do I know if I have received the Spirit of God? What is the initial physical evidence? Read about the new birth experience in Acts 2:1-4.
- Acts 10:44-46
- "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God..."
- Acts 19:1-6
- "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."
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Step 7
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Definition of Endurance:
1. The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship;
2. The state or fact of persevering;
3. Continuing existence; duration.
The writer of Hebrews referred to the Christian life as a race.
- Hebrews 12:1
- "...let us run with patience the race that is set before us..."
To finish the Christian race we must keep running and enduring. It is not enough to begin this race by having faith, confessing sins, forsaking sins, being baptized in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Ghost. We continue on with the Lord.
- Matthew 10:22:
- "...he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
- Matthew 24:13:
- ...he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
- 2 Timothy 2:3:
- "...endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
- Hebrews 12:7:
- "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons..."
- James 1:12:
- "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him."
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Conclusion
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed
to the things which we have heard, lest at any time
we should let them slip. For if the Word spoken by
angels was stedfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
how shall we escape if we neglect so
great salvation...?"
Hebrews 2:1-3
All scripture references are from the KJV.
PRAYER OF REPENTANCE:
Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.
I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.
You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.
Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.
Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.
Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.
Amen
If you just said this prayer and you meant it with all your heart and you have repented for your sins, we believe that you just got saved and are born again. You may ask, "Now that I am saved, what's next?" First of all you need to get into a bible-based church, and study God's Word. Once you have found a church home, you will want to become water-baptized. By accepting Christ you are baptized in the spirit, but it is through water-baptism that you show your obedience to the Lord. Water baptism is a symbol of your salvation from the dead. You were dead but now you live, for the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed you for a price! The price was His death on the cross. May God Bless You!
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