HOPE IN THE WORD CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

Sunday Worship Service – 2nd Service October 3, 2010

PTR. BRIAN TRACY L. DOMINGUEZ, Elder Youth Pastor

A Doctrinal Sermon on Ecclesiology

By

PTR. BRIAN TRACY L. DOMINGUEZ

Hope In The Word Ministries, International

31 January

Anno Domini 2010

Sola gratia is the teaching that salvation comes by God’s grace or "unmerited favor" only — not as something merited by the sinner. This means that salvation is an unearned gift from God for Jesus' sake.

All men are sinful and falls short of God’s glory! (Romans 3:10-12)

1 Kings 8:46; Matthew 15:19; Job 14:1-4; Proverbs 20:9; Romans 8:7-8;Jeremiah 13:23 ; 1 Corinthians 2:13; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 4:17-24

The PERSONAL EMBLEM

of Fr. Martin Luther, Circa,1517

- In commemoration of the 493rd Anniversary of Protestant Reformation

In Christian Theology… JUSTIFICATION

"By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works."[1]

- In November 1999, the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church issued the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification"

Our Protestant Tradition says… During the Reformation, Protestant leaders

and theologians generally believed the Roman Catholic view of the means of salvation to be a mixture of reliance upon the grace of God, and confidence in the merits of one's own works performed in love, pejoratively called Legalism.

The Reformers posited that salvation is entirely comprehended in God's gifts (that is, God's act of free grace), dispensed by the Holy Spirit according to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone.

Consequently, they argued that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change wrought in the believer by God's grace, and indeed, that the believer is accepted without any regard for the merit of his works—for no one deserves salvation.

Titus 2: 11 – 15 (Good News Bible)

v. 11 For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people.

v. 12 That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world,

V. 13 as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear.

V. 14 He gave himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good.

V. 15 Teach these things and use your full authority as you encourage and rebuke your hearers. Let none of them look down on you.

ONLY BY GRACE… Grace is undeserved / unmerited favor. It is mercy when we don’t expect it or deserve it. The Bible tells us how God has extended grace to

us by offering us salvation-eternal life with him-for free!

We don’t have to do anything to earn it. In fact, we can’t earn it or buy it.

We simply accept it by believing that Jesus, God’s Son, died for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. God’s ultimate act of grace is an example of how we are to extend grace to others.

We are to be quick to forgive, hasty in extending kindness, generous in love-even when others don’t deserve it.

Latin: which means, “Divine Grace”

GOD’S GRACE MAKES OUR SALVATION POSSIBLE. Grace is God’s voluntary and loving favor

given to those he saves. We can’t earn salvation, nor do we deserve

it. No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God’s mercy and love.

Without God’s grace, no person can be saved. To receive it, we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourself, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is by faith in Christ.

We are all sinners… In Adam, all of the human

race has been included in his fall. Not only did we inherit a nature which is in bondage to sin from Adam, we ourselves were born in sin.

Therefore at birth we were enemies of God and lovers of that which was evil.

Romans 6:23...”For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life through Jesus Christ!”

What the Bible says about our sinfulness…

1 Kings 8:46 Proverbs 20:9 Jeremiah 13:23 Jeremiah 17:9 Matthew 15:19 Romans 3:10-12 Romans 8:7-8 1 Corinthians 2:13 Ephesians 4:17-24

Romans 8: 7 – 10 (Good News Bible)

Rom 8:7 And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God's law, and in fact they cannot obey it.

Rom 8:8 Those who obey their human nature cannot please God.

Rom 8:9 But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to---if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Rom 8:10 But if Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin.

The Good News!

The reason why the Gospel is such good news is because it resolves that which is such bad news.

We are not only born in sin we continue in it each day; if we say that we have not sinned then we deceive only ourselves and we are liars (1 John1:8).

Romans 5:12-21, we again see the condition of man but we see the conquering grace of God abounding much more than the prevalent sin of man.

“Someone has to die to pay for sin.

Either we are going to TRUST JESUS’ DEATH to pay for our sins,

OR we will pay for them ourselves by suffering the ETERNAL

DEATH OF HELL.”- Dr. Adrian Rogers

President, Southern Baptist Convention

YOU OR JESUS?YOU OR JESUS?

GOD’S GRACE MAKES OUR SALVATION POSSIBLE.

Grace is God’s voluntary and loving favor given to those he saves. We can’t earn salvation, nor do we deserve it. No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God’s mercy and love.

Without God’s grace, no person can be saved. To receive it, we must acknowledge that we

cannot save ourself, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is by faith in Christ.

Let us be reminded that…

Tito 2:11 – 15, Ang BibliaTito 2:11 – 15, Ang Biblia• Tit. 2:11 Sapagka't napakita ang biyaya ng Dios, na may

dalang kaligtasan sa lahat ng mga tao, • Tit 2:12 Na nagtuturo sa atin, upang, pagtanggi natin sa kalikuan at

sa mga kahalayan ng sanglibutan, ay marapat mabuhay tayong may pagpipigil at matuwid at banal sa panahong kasalukuyan ng sanglibutang ito;

• Tit 2:13 Na hintayin yaong mapalad na pagasa at ang pagpapakita ng kaluwalhatian ng ating dakilang Dios at Tagapagligtas na si Jesucristo;

• Tit 2:14 Na siyang nagbigay ng kaniyang sarili dahil sa atin, upang tayo'y matubos niya sa lahat ng mga kasamaan, at malinis niya sa kaniyang sarili ang bayang masikap sa mabubuting gawa, upang maging kaniyang sariling pag-aari.

• Tit 2:15 Ang mga bagay na ito ay iyong salitain at iaral at isaway ng buong kapangyarihan. Sinoman ay huwag humamak sa iyo.

It is God’s mercy toward us even though we don’t deserve it.

From the very beginning with Adam and Eve (Gen.3:15), there is evidence of God’s grace up to our time, through

Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

God gives grace!

When we repent of our sins and turn to Him in faith, then, we receive grace.

Because it is part of the nature and character of God to give us grace.

We receive it by putting our FAITH in Jesus Christ.

WE ARE EXPECTED TO GROW IN GRACE, AND NOT

MERELY ACCEPT IT AS A STAGNANT GIFT.

Philippians 1:6 . . . I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus returns.

2 Corinthians 8:9 . . . You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

Grace involves self-sacrifice, giving something up in order to give it away.

Daniel 9:18 . . . We do not ask because we deserve help, but because you are so merciful.

Recognizing and requesting God’s grace takes humility, for we realize that we do not deserve it - which is exactly why we need it.

Let us Worship Jesus… For Who He Is – God’s Grace to Us!