ONLY BY GRACE

Theme of the Month

 John 1: 14,16

14, The Word became flesh and

made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of
the One and Only, who came from
the Father, full of grace and truth.
16, From the fullness of his grace
we have all received one blessing
after another.
GOD IS THE GOD OF ALL GRACE

 The fullness of God’s grace has

appeared gloriously and it
marvellously bring about
wonders and blessings into our
lives.
 It becomes an active, powerful
force that accomplishes all His
gracious purposes concerning
us.
 1. GRACE TURNS
our burdens into blessings
• Grace softens the hard demands of the
law. (John 8:7-11)
• Grace stoops to where we are and lifts
us up to where we ought to be. (2 Cor.
8:9; Ps. 40:1-3)
• Grace sustains our strength in times of
trials. (2 Cor. 12:9,10)
• Bill Gates could sign his name to a piece of
paper and make it worth a million dollars –
that’s net worth, CAPITAL!
• A mechanic can take a material worth only
a hundred pesos and make it worth ten
thousand pesos – that’s SKILL!
• An artist can take a hundred pesos worth
of canvass, paint a picture on it, and make
it worth 500,000 pesos – that’s ART!
God can take a worthless, sinful
life; wash it by the blood of
Christ;
put His Spirit in it, and make it
a blessing to humanity –
that’s GRACE!
 2. GRACE TRANSFORMS
us from sinners into saints.
• The word “saint” literally means “set
aside” or “sanctified”
• Saints are ordinary, common people
who have experienced new birth and
then set aside by God for His control
and devoted for the Master’s use.
(2 Tim. 20,21)
 The word “saint” clarifies three
things about genuine Christians:
• It DECLARES our ROOT
– in Christ Jesus
• It DEFINES our RESPONSIBILITY.
– to live worthy of the name/calling.
• It DESCRIBES our REWARD.
– our citizenship is in heaven (Phil.3:20)
 3. GRACE TEACHES
us to depart from worldly vanities
and develop godly virtues.
• For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men.
• It teaches us to say NO to ungodliness
and worldly passions, and to live self-
controlled, upright and godly lives in
this present age. (Titus 2:11,12 )
 Grace shapes us into becoming
what God wanted us to be.
 By meeting our needs when we are
helpless, He teaches us TRUST.
 By making us wait for what we need,
He teaches us PATIENCE.
 By allowing us to fail and make
mistakes, He teaches us WISDOM.
 By allowing us to experience the
consequences of wrong choices, He
teaches us VALUE.
 By letting us go through pain and
affliction, He teaches us HUMILITY.
 By involving us in the lives of
people we are not comfortable to be
with, He teaches us
UNSELFISHNESS.
 4. GRACE TESTIFIES
to the loving kindness and
faithfulness of our God.
• Grace soothes our doubts and calms our
fears. (Heb. 4: 14-16)
• Grace guarantees our security.
• Grace summons sinners to come home.
(2 Pet. 3: 9)