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CloseGene Cunningham - August 11, 2022
Gain Grace?
![Gain Grace?](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GainGraceTitle-900x506.jpg)
Lewis Sperry Chafer in his systematic theology tells us that there are three essential factors that relate to the grace of God. Three things about the grace of God that we need to keep in mind. And these are very important. Number one, You cannot gain the grace of God through merit You cannot gain it through merit neither before or after your salvation. See, a lot of people want to do this little trick: We'll put the cross here as the point of salvation, and they'll say, If you want to enter salvation, you have to work. Paul says, "No!" Romans 4:3-4 makes it very clear. We were saved by faith without work. Ephesians 2:8-9 says the same thing. We are saved by grace. You cannot be saved by works (this is just another word for merit.) "Look what I've done." You cannot gain the grace of God by merit. But some come along and say, "Well... "...you don't have to work for your salvation," "...but you better work to keep it." It's the same thing. It's the same thing. If you don't work, you're going to lose it. Then it's not a gift, is it? What is God, an "Indian Giver?" When he said, "He who believes in me shall never perish..." He had the fine print like, you know, used car salesmen have? "Buy this car. It's a great car." "And for one down payment, you can drive it for a year..." "...without making a payment. Unless you happen to breathe, eat..." "...drink, sleep..." (the fine print there.) "...And then we charge you $10,000." Right? Who would turn the Lord Jesus Christ into a used car salesman? So you cannot gain the grace of God by merit. Now get ready, because here's point number two. You cannot lose the grace of God by demerit. The you can't lose it by demerit. Someone came up and said, "But what if we deny Jesus?" Well, we have an example of that, don't we? A guy named Peter. By the way, wasn't he the leader of the Apostles? By the way? Didn't he not only denied the word, he denied Him three times? And by the way, not only did he deny Him three times... he cursed and swore, "I never knew Him!" And when you swore in those days, you didn't say, "Hell, no!" When you swore in those days, you took an oath on the God of heaven. Imagine saying, "I swear by the God of Heaven..." "...that I don't know who He is." That's about as bad as it gets. And when Jesus told him, "You're going to deny Me three times tonight," what was the very next thing He said? "Let not your heart be troubled..." "You believe in God, believe also in Me." And when God gives grace to you, He is not going to give it to you because you are good, and He's not going to take it away from you because you're bad. God loves you with an infinite love. And when you trust in His Son as your Savior, He loves you like He loves His own Son, Jesus Christ. So you cannot gain the grace of God through merit. You cannot lose the grace of God by demerit. And you can only receive the grace of God by faith. What is faith? Because see, now people are trying to redefine faith. Faith is "belief," is it not? "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He didn't jump through hoops. He didn't turn cartwheels. He didn't do anything spectacular. God told him something and he said, I believe it. I believe it. How simple is faith? I'll tell you how simple it is, Jesus said. "Except you become as little children," "...you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." Because I'll tell you something I've learned. I've had five kids and ten grandkids. I never had a one of them when I showed them a picture for the first time of an elephant, and I said, "There is an elephant." They don't look at it and say, "No, that's a giraffe!" They never saw an elephant before in their life, and they can hardly talk. And they go "Melefunt". Yeah, that's an elephant. And you know what? The next day, the next week, I show on the picture and I say, What's that? They say, "melefunt." They believe it. They just believe it, right? Like a little child. That's how we need to become. Faith is so simple.
Related Topics: The Gospel | More Messages from Gene Cunningham | Download Audio
More Messages
![Living Sacrifice 01 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 01
Gene Cunningham
Romans 12:1-2, Luke 8:5-15, Ephesians 4:30, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 8:38, Matthew 10:33, Luke 9:26, Hebrews 11:16, Matthew 9:36, 1Corinthians 15:31, Galatians 2:20, Matthew 8:34
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May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 02
Gene Cunningham
Romans 12:1-2, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Ecclesiastes 3:2, Ecclesiastes 3:4, 1Corinthians 13:11, Ecclesiastes 3:5, Ecclesiastes 3:5, Romans 12:9, Ecclesiastes 3:7, Psalms 90:12, James 4:13-15, Psalms 31:22, Psalms 116:11, Isaiah 28:16, Job 14:5
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May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 06
Gene Cunningham
1Corinthians 10:1-5, 1Corinthians 10:14-17, Romans 11:5, Philippians 1:12, Romans 12:1, Galatians 3:9, Romans 5:1-2, John 3:36, 1Peter 3:18, 1Corinthians 12:13-15, Philippians 3:8, Isaiah 64:6
![Living Sacrifice 07 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 07
Gene Cunningham
1Peter 3:20, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 6:5, John 19:30, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 1:6, Romans 8:1, Hebrews 10:10-14, Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 4:4, Hebrews 4:16
![Living Sacrifice 08 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 08
Gene Cunningham
1Corinthians 15:22, Colossians 1:13, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 8:1, 1John 3:1-3, John 1:12, Hebrews 2:6-11, James 4:7-11
![Living Sacrifice 10 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 10
Gene Cunningham
Hebrews 2:11, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 2:10, 1Thessalonians 5:23-24, Acts 17:26, 2Peter 1:4, Hebrews 2:12-13, Matthew 12:47-50, Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:15, Hebrews 2:16-17, Hebrews 12:18
![Living Sacrifice 11 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 11
Gene Cunningham
Romans 6:1-14, Romans 6:2-3, Romans 6:4-5, Romans 6:5, Hebrews 2:14, Romans 6:6-10, Romans 4:3, Romans 6:11, 1Thessalonians 4:3, Romans 6:12-13, Galatians 2:20
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May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 12
Gene Cunningham
Romans 12:1-2, 1Peter 1:22, Hebrews 2:18, Romans 8:1, Hebrews 4:16, 2Corinthians 13:1, Romans 9:1, Romans 10:4, Romans 9:2, Romans 9:3, 2Corinthians 12:8, 1Corinthians 15:10, 1Corinthians 9:19-27, Romans 9:4-5
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May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 14
Gene Cunningham
Hebrews 2:14, Romans 11:1-6, Romans 11:5, Romans 5:8, Romans 11:1, Romans 11:5, 1Corinthians 4:3-4, John 16:7-11
![Living Sacrifice 15 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 15
Gene Cunningham
Romans 11:1-6, Romans 11:1-2, Philippians 3:3-8, Romans 11:2, Acts 2:23, Hebrews 13:8, Romans 8:29, 1Peter 1:1-2, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 17:8, Romans 11:2-3, 1Kings 19:14, Romans 11:4-5, Romans 11:5, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 11:6
![Living Sacrifice 16 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 16
Gene Cunningham
Romans 1:1-2, Hebrews 11:34, Psalms 16:3, 1Corinthians 9:22, Colossians 1:13, 1Corinthians 12:13, Romans 12:1, Matthew 9:36, Psalms 103:1-2, Ephesians 1:1-3, Romans 5:1
![Living Sacrifice 17 Image](https://basictraining.org/wp-content/plugins/seriesengine_plugin/images/series_thumb_placeholder.jpg)
May 23, 2000
Living Sacrifice 17
Gene Cunningham
Isaiah 53:1-12, Romans 12:1, Galatians 5:1, 1Corinthians 8:1, 1Corinthians 10:23, Numbers 6:1-21, 1Corinthians 9:1-27, Philippians 1:21, 1Corinthians 11:14, 1Corinthians 15:10, Romans 3:21-26, Romans 3:25, Colossians 2:14, Romans 5:10-11