Grace - Part 1
Written by Daniel S. McPherson II   

Dear Reader,

Almost anyone today who calls himself or herself a Christian will tell you that they’ve been saved by the grace of God. Sadly, however, if questioned further on the subject, you will find many, many times that a great majority of these people do not understand grace at all. They trust in their baptism, their "good deeds", their emotions, a decision they’ve made, etc. They speak of God’s grace and sing about it in their churches; yet they try to make some sort of contribution to their salvation. Time and time again we hear the "evangelists" say "Christ has done his part now you must do your part." This is not grace!

When the Bible speaks of grace it is talking about a grace that is quite different that what is widely being taught today. Many books have been written for and against the doctrines that we’ll look at in this study. This book does not claim to teach anything new. Some of the words are my own; some have been taken from other books, pastors, and Bible teachers. All of it, however, I believe agrees with what the Bible teaches about the grace of God.

The purpose of his study is to help the reader look for himself at what the Bible says. By no means is this to be considered an exhaustive work on the topic. Rather, it is to help inform and

encourage the reader towards further study. I recommend using the King James Version when answering the questions.

LESSON ONE: THE NEED FOR GRACE

To fully understand the grace of God, it is of the utmost importance that we study the spiritual condition of man. Is man a good creature? Is he utterly evil and corrupt? Or, is he somewhere in between? Many false teachings have become popular in churches today due to a misunderstanding of where man stands in relationship to God. This is what we shall examine in lesson one.

  1. Part One: The Fall of Man
    1. Adam’s Sin
      1. Read Genesis 2: 16,17
        1. What did God command Adam? (v. 17)
        2. What would happen the day Adam disobeyed? (v. 17)
      2. Read Genesis 3: 6-19
        1. Did Adam obey God’s command? (v. 6)
        2. After Adam sinned, did he lose his innocence?
        3. How do you know? (v. 7)
        4. Did he still desire fellowship with God?
        5. How do you know? (v. 10)
        6. Did Adam die physically that day?
        7. In what way did Adam die?
    2. Adam’s Sin Was Imputed to Us
      1. Read Genesis 5: 1-3
        1. In whose likeness was Adam created? (v. 1)
        2. Seth was born in whose likeness? (v. 3)
        3. In whose image? (v. 3)
        4. Did Adam’s offspring inherit his corruption?
      2. Read Romans 5: 12
        1. Did spiritual death come to just Adam?
        2. To whom did spiritual death spread?
      3. Read Ephesians 2: 1-3
        1. In what are the unsaved dead? (v. 1)
        2. How does unsaved man walk? (v. 2)
        3. What does God say we are by nature? (v. 3)
      4. Read Psalm 58: 3
        1. When do we go astray?
        2. What do we speak?
        3. Does man have to learn to be sinful, or is he born with it?
        4. Is it biblical to teach that babies are innocent
When God created Adam, He made him perfect and free from all sin. Adam was a servant and friend of God, having fellowship with him and enjoying his presence. Whe n Adam chose to disobey God by eating of the forbidden fruit, his relationship to God changed drastically. He was separated from God and died spiritually (and later physically). We can see the evidence of his spiritual death by the following:

  1. Adam’s awareness of evil --- his eyes were opened (Gen. 3: 7)
  2. Adam’s lost innocence --- he covered himself (Gen. 3: 7)
  3. Adam’s broken fellowship with God --- he hid himself (Gen. 3: 8)
Adam, being the representative for all mankind, plunged the entire human race into sin.

His sin was imputed to us and therefore, we are born separated from God and in a spiritually dead condition.

  1. Part Two: Every Faculty of Man is Corrupt
    1. The Heart
      1. Read Mark 7: 21-23
        1. List some things that come from the heart of man. (vs. 21,22)
        2. Are any of these things pleasing to God?
        3. What do they do to man? (v. 23)
      2. Read Ecclesiastes 9: 3
        1. Of what is the heart of man full?
        2. What else is in the heart?
      3. Read Jeremiah 17: 9
        1. How does God describe the heart of man?
        2. Is there anything that is more deceitful?
        3. Is it biblical to teach that man is basically good at heart?
    2. The Mind
      1. Read Romans 8: 7, 8
        1. What does the carnal mind have towards God? (v. 7)
        2. Does the carnal mind desire to do God’s law? (v. 7)
        3. Is it able? (v. 7)
        4. Can the carnal mind please God in any way? (v. 8)
      2. Read Ephesians 4: 17-18
        1. How do the unsaved walk? (v. 17)
        2. What has happened to their understanding? (v. 18)
        3. What is their relationship to God? (v. 18)
        4. What is in them? (v. 18)
        5. Why is ignorance in them? (v. 18)
      3. Read 1 Corinthians 2: 14
        1. What does God say about man receiving spiritual truth?
        2. What is mankind’s attitude towards the things of God?
        3. Is he able to understand the things of God?
        4. Why not?
    3. The Will
      1. Read Romans 3: 9-12
        1. Under what power is mankind? (v. 9)
        2. Are any righteous? (v. 10)
        3. Can unsaved man understand spiritual things? (v. 11)
        4. Who seeks after God? (v. 11)
        5. Who does good? (v. 12)
      2. Read John 8: 44
        1. Who is the father of the unsaved?
        2. From whom are the desires of unsaved man?
      3. Read Jeremiah 13: 23
        1. Does man have the ability to change his skin color?
        2. Does man have the ability to change his evil nature?
        3. Does this imply a freewill or a bound will?
Since the fall of Adam, mankind has been at total enmity against God. We are born with our minds corrupted, our hearts hardened and our wills in bondage to sin. We cannot come to God nor do we want to come. The Bible speaks of us as being servants (slaves) to sin and to the devil. This does not mean that man is as sinful or as wicked as he could possibly be, but that he is sinful in all of his being. Man cannot change his evil desires.

Part Three: A Picture of Our Dead State

    1. Lazarus:
      1. Read John 11: 1- 44
        1. What was the physical condition of Lazarus? (v. 14)
        2. What did Jesus command him to do? (v. 43)
        3. Did Lazarus come forth? (v. 44)
        4. Did Lazarus contribute in any way to this miracle?
        5. Did Lazarus come forth to receive life or did he receive life so that he could come forth?
        6. What would have happened if Jesus would have left the decision up to Lazarus?
The historical account of Lazarus in John 11 is teaching us an important spiritual truth. Lazarus was dead. He was totally and completely un able to help himself in any way. He did not ask for life nor did he "accept" an offer for life. He was made alive by the power of Christ alone. As it was with Lazarus physically, so it is with mankind spiritually.

"If men were able in the slightest degree to try to move in God’s direction, there would be no need for God to save them. He would allow them to save themselves. But no man is able even to attempt it."

--- Martin Luther