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Living by Faith: God's Grace (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

God's grace stands as the cornerstone of our spiritual salvation, a divine assistance that is entirely unmerited and unearned. It is not given out of obligation or compulsion, but flows freely from His nature as a giver who delights in saving and helping those less fortunate. His benevolence empowers us for service and spiritual growth, a gift that prompts gratitude and recognition of His abundant providence. Without what He freely provides, we are nothing, utterly dependent on Him for both physical sustenance and spiritual life. Salvation is accomplished through God's grace from beginning to end. He rescues and saves us, not because we deserve it, but because it is His purpose and character to do so. This grace is not an entitlement; it is a reflection of His covenant love and faithfulness, a power that enables us to live a new life in Christ. As seen in the journey of the Israelites, salvation can be lost if we refuse His gifts, underscoring that it is not unconditionally guaranteed. We must believe and yield to what He offers, acknowledging that every spiritual gift, including faith itself, originates from His grace. Faith, as a fruit of God's grace, is not something innate within us but is given by Him. He draws us to Himself, initiating a relationship that allows us to trust in His Son. This calling and election are acts of His grace, often determined before we have done any works, emphasizing that our spiritual standing is entirely due to His gifting power. We are saved by grace through faith, both of which are not of ourselves but are His gifts, ensuring that no one can boast as if salvation were earned. Understanding grace humbles us, as it reveals that He owes us nothing but death due to our sins, yet He continues to bestow wonderful gifts. Every aspect of Christian responsibility and work derives from His creating grace, which equips us to glorify Him and serve His body. Even good works, while fruits of His grace, cannot earn it; they are simply the result of His freely given empowerment. His steadfast love, reflected in both Old and New Testament concepts, remains the foundation of our hope, assuring us of His unchanging character and faithful commitment to His people.

The Manifold Grace of God

Sermon/Bible Study by

God's calling us is just our initial taste of His grace. Grace is unmerited, but it is not unconditional. We have an obligation to respond to God.

Faith and the Christian Fight (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Faith for salvation arises solely because God first places within a person an urge or inclination to respond to Him, an act accomplished through the hearing of the gospel as the medium by which He bestows this gift. This faith is never a self-generated human response to the message, for no one can come to Jesus Christ unless the Father draws that individual. Grace functions as the overarching kindness of God that supplies both the faith and the accompanying revelation of Himself, ensuring that salvation cannot place God in debt to any person's works or merit. The process unfolds as God quickens those who are spiritually dead, creates them in Christ Jesus for the good works He has already ordained, and grants access into a standing of grace that produces peace with Him and the hope of sharing His glory. Justification occurs when God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believer, crediting what Christ alone earned through His substitutionary death. This legal righteousness then opens the way for sanctification, in which the same grace supplies the continuing desire and power to cooperate with God, working out the salvation already received and producing the external evidence of the internal gift. Throughout, the believer functions as part of a divine team, responding to the Father and the Son by yielding to the faith and Spirit they provide, while every essential element—calling, faith, mercy, and the capacity to obey—originates with God. This arrangement guarantees that no flesh can boast and that every person, regardless of prior works or knowledge of the law, receives an equal opportunity to be justified and to advance in the fight of faith.

Faith (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

At the time of the end, sin will be so pervasive and so compelling that our only resource for enduring its influence will be our relationship with God.

Forms vs. Spirituality (Part 6)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Christ emphasizes that the internal, weightier matters, which change the heart, take precedence over external ceremonial concerns that don't change the heart.