PART 1. FORGIVENESS – ACCEPTING GOD’S GRACE

 

Jesus said, “There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to Me.”  Luke 24:47 (NLT)

 

 

Why do we need forgiveness?

 

 

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender.  One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both.”  Luke 7:41-42 (NIV)

 

              1.  Because we are in ________________!

 

 

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8 (NIV)

 

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23 (NIV)

 

 

Falling short of the glory of God means, I don’t ________________________ to Jesus.

 

 

              2.  Because we are in ______________ over our _________________!

 

 

“For the wages of sin is death….”  Romans 6:23 (NIV)

 

The sin debt that we owe God is beyond our ability to ______________.

 

 

              3.  Because we cannot ________________ our own _______________!

 

“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”  Hebrews 9:22 (NLT)

 

“Christ’s death was … a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever.”

Hebrews 9:28 (MSG)

 

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”  Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

 

 

What is God’s grace?

 

“You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and full of unfailing love and mercy.”  Nehemiah 9:17 (NLT)

 

Grace has been described as ___________________________.  That means:  something for ______________.

 

 

 

Most of us have a hard time believing this is possible, especially with God.  So, we try to __________ His forgiveness.  The reality is, forgiveness does have a price, it’s just that Jesus has already paid it.

 

Grace is:

 

              G____________

              R____________

              A____________

              C____________

              E____________

 

“In this man Jesus there is forgiveness of your sins.  Everyone who believes in Him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God.”  Acts 13:38-39 (NLT)

 

Grace is a _______________________.

 

“All of us need to be made right with God by His grace, which is a free gift…through Jesus Christ.”  Romans 3:24 (NCV)

 

Religion is spelled ____________, but Christianity is spelled _____________________!

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

 

_________________ is the only one who can give grace.

 

“… grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  John 1:17 (NCV)

 

“…many people received God’s gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:15 (NCV)

 

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6 (NIV)

 

Jesus is the one who paid my _________________________, so that I could enter Heaven.

 

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

 

“God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Him.”   2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

 

 

The Bible teaches that when I commit my life to Jesus, that I am “in Christ.”  Once I am “in Christ”, when the Father looks at me with eyes of grace, all He can see is the _______________ of His Son Jesus.

 

Grace is available to _________________ and __________________, including _______.

 

 

“The promise is not only for those people that live under the law of Moses. It is for anyone who lives with faith like Abraham.”  Romans 4:16 (ICB)

 

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 (NIV)

 

There are no _________________ in heaven.

 

Grace lasts _______________________.

 

“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NLT)

 

              Heaven will be a place of:

 

                            ___________________

 

                            ___________________

 

                            ___________________

 

 

“Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! “ 1 Peter 1:3-4 (MSG)

 

I can have eternal life, by ____________________ it.

 

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

 

 

“People receive God’s promise by having faith.  This happens so that the promise can be a free gift.”  Romans 4:16 (NCV)

 

Salvation is not based on my ____________________,

it is based on God’s ______________.

 

Salvation is not based on my _________________,

it is based on God’s _____________.

 

I’ll get to heaven, not based on my ________________,

but based on God’s ____________.

 

 

“The Lord longs to be gracious to you.”  Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)

 

 

How does a person accept God’s grace and get the gift of forgiveness?

 

The Bible makes this promise: “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”  Acts 10:43 (NIV)

 

In the Bible, the word “believe” means more than just brain knowledge, it means “to make a __________________ to.”  So, everyone who makes a commitment to live the rest of their life for Jesus, accepting the price that He paid for their sins on the cross, receives forgiveness.

 

 

Jesus said, “Here I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear Me calling and open the door, I will come in….”  Revelation 3:20 (NLT)

 

 

Many people have come to Christ, had their sins forgiven, invited Him into their life by saying a prayer similar to this one:

 

“God forgive me for all of my sins and come into my heart and life.  I believe, with all I understand, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God…and God, I believe with all I understand that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He paid for my sins.  And, with all I understand I believe He rose from the dead.  Right now, I’m saying ‘come in’ to Jesus.  I’m trusting Him to forgive my sins and give me eternal life.  Thank You for the fresh start You are giving me.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

 

 

 

When you pray that prayer, you are doing four things:

 

_________________ you have sinned.

_________________ that Jesus died to pay for your sins.

_________________ God’s free gift of salvation by grace.

_________________ Jesus to come into your life.

 

 

“In the past you were without Christ…and you had no part in the promises that God made to His people.  You had no hope, and you did not know God.  But now you belong to Christ Jesus.  Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to Him because of the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:12-13 (NCV/NLT)