Last week we talked about what it means to commit to serving God as our master rather than our sinful desires and behaviors. This week we are going to talk about God’s grace and how it applies to our growth in holiness.
NOTE: POSTS IN THIS SERIES HAVE BEEN ADAPTED LARGELY FROM A STUDY CALLED “CHRISTIAN RECOVERY” FROM PROVIDENCE CHURCH.
Grace by definition is “unmerited favor” which means that God relates to us in a way that is undeserved and cannot be earned. God’s grace is the free gift of all the benefits of the cross of Christ and it is through the regular application of these benefits or gifts of grace found in the cross of Christ that we are enabled to grow.
DISCOVERING THE PRINCIPLE IN SCRIPTURE
Let’s look at a passage that will help us to understand more about how we can experience God’s grace in our fight against sin and growth in holiness. Read Ephesians 2:1-10
1: Look at verses 1-3: Make a list under this heading – “Before believing in Christ I was…”
2: Look at verses 4-10: Make a list under this heading – “Now that I’ve trusted in Christ I am…”
3: Compare the length of both lists. How does the length of these lists encourage you?
4: Look at verse 4 again: Notice how God’s mercy, love and grace work together to make us alive. Work with others in your GC to create your own definitions of the words: mercy, love and grace.
5: Look at verse 8-9 again: Where did your faith come from or how did you get it? Why is the answer to this so significant to our understanding of grace?
6: Look at verse 10 again: Whose workmanship (project) are we? What kinds of works (everything we think, say and do) were we created for? Who designed those works? When were they designed? Who were they designed for? Think of this… We were children of wrath. God adopted us. Now we are children of God. He created us. Saved us. Made new clothes for us. Now what’s the last thing he says? What are we to do with the clothing (works) that he created for us?
APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE
The diagnostic questions below are designed to help you apply the principle of grace. They will help you think through how you can work toward applying God’s grace in specific situations in your life. Remember to be as specific as you can about your real life.
Assessing sinful behavior, feelings and desires.
- What sinful behavior did you struggle with last week? (i.e. speaking hurtful words; overspending; overworking; drunkenness; pornography; binge eating; purging; laziness; negative thoughts towards others; etc.)
- What feelings were you aware of when you struggled with this behavior? (i.e. angry; lonely; sad; afraid; hurt; tired; ashamed; guilty; betrayed; unwanted; etc.)
- What desires or wants were attached to those feelings? (i.e. the desire or want to be: respected; in control; powerful; accepted; included; comfort; safety; desired; etc.)
- Make a list of words mapping the pathway of sin that you followed from the outside in (beginning with your behavior moving to your feelings and then to your desires. Here’s an example: >> I spoke hurtful words >> because I felt angry >> because I wanted to be respected.
- Now make the list the opposite way from the inside out. Here’s an example: >> I wanted to be respected >> when I was disrespected I felt angry >> when I felt angry for being disrespected I spoke hurtful words.
- Discuss how your desire is met by the presence of Christ now and how it will be met in Heaven.
- As you think and talk about your sinful behaviors, feelings and desires; what negative thoughts or feelings are you tempted to give into about yourself?
- How do these negative thoughts or feelings fit within the first list we made from Ephesians 2:1 – 3?
- Now look at the second list from Ephesians 2:4-10 again. What does God in his grace say about you?
- What do you think is the most important thing you need to be reminded of when you struggle with sin?
Spend some time in prayer with the rest of your GC. Ask the Lord to help you submit to his transforming grace and help you become more like Jesus. Ask him to teach you how to resist your sinful behaviors, feelings and desires and to help you become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentleness and self-controlled. Ask him to renew your hope and focus your entire being on the promises of Heaven rather than the promises of momentary pleasure in this life. Ask him to change you into a bright and shining light in the midst of this dark world. Ask God to be glorified in all that you think, say, feel and do.
Finally, if there was someone who was hurt by your sinful behavior this last week. If so, ask your GC leader to help you work through some steps of seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with the person you sinned against.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT FOR GOING DEEPER
After working through the diagnostic questions above, talk with your GC leader about any action steps you need to take related to this lesson. Refer to the diagnostic questions above as you wrestle with applying God’s grace to your sin over the course of the next week. Make this a part of your daily process as you spend time with the Lord at the end of each day. Review the “Discover the principle in scripture” section each day as a part of your daily devotion time with the Lord.
Memorize Ephesians 2:1-10 and Hebrews 12:7-11.