A Bible Study by Jefferson Vann
Ephesians 2:1-9 NIV “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions– it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
the questions:
Why You Could Not Contribute To Your Salvation.
1. You were born spiritually ____________________ (1).
2. You naturally followed the ____________________ in its rebellion against God (2).
3. You were naturally disobedient because ___________ was your ruler (2).
4. What you _____________________ to do was sin (3).
5. You were by nature an object of God’s _________ (3).
What God has already contributed to your salvation
1. God chose to ________________________ you (4)
2. God chose to have _________________ on you (4).
3. God chose to give you _________________________ just as he raised Jesus from the dead (5).
4. God chose to give you a new __________________, that of being in Christ (6).
5. God chose to demonstrate his ___________________ to you for eternity (7).
What is there left to contribute?
1. _______________, because you are already alive (5).
2. _____________, because you are already exalted (6).
The answers:
Why You Could Not Contribute To Your Salvation.
1. You were born spiritually dead (1).
2. You naturally followed the world in its rebellion against God (2).
“The essence of the doctrine of grace is that God is for us. What is more, he is for us who in ourselves are against him.”
T. H. L. Parker, “Grace.” Baker’s Dictionary of Theology. 257
3. You were naturally disobedient because Satan was your ruler (2).
4. What you wanted to do was sin (3).
5. You were by nature an object of God’s wrath (3).
What God has already contributed to your salvation
“…God takes the initiative in saving men. If he left men to themselves, no one would ever be saved.”
James A Nichols, Christian Doctrines. 76
1. God chose to love you (4)
“…grace is an attribute of God….It is God’s free, sovereign, undeserved favour or love to man, in his state of sin and guilt, which manifests itself in the forgiveness of sin.”
L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology. 427
2. God chose to have mercy on you (4).
“Grace is the sweet sovereign favor shown to someone who does not deserve any favor, but the exactly the very opposite.”
Will Pounds, “Salvation By Grace Alone.” http://www.abideinchrist.com/selah/ jun26.html
3. God chose to give you new life just as he raised Jesus from the dead (5).
“Even faith is not some good work which God must reward with salvation. It is God’s gift.”
Millard Erickson, Christian Theology. 959
4. God chose to give you a new status, that of being in Christ (6).
5. God chose to demonstrate his kindness to you for eternity (7).
What is ther left to contribute?
1. Nothing, because you are already alive (5).
2. Nothing, because you are already exalted (6).
“There cannot be two ways of salvation for the same people. … If, then, I teach men that they can be saved by works, I have practically told them that salvation by grace is a myth, a mistake, a mischievous error.”
C. H. Spurgeon, “The Agreement of Salvation by Grace with Walking in Good Works” Online: http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/ 2210.htm
jeffersonvann 