How to use this Devotional

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How to use this Devotional We would like to encourage you to use this devotion as a part of your daily time with the Lord. Perhaps you’ve never had a consistent time with God in your day, that’s alright. We hope that this booklet will serve as a sort of primer to you daily worship. We also hope that this will help you to ask important questions about what you believe and help you develop a practical theology. The word “theology” makes us nervous at times. It brings about thoughts of angry old men, arguments, church splits and maybe even some heartache. As a result, many modern evangelicals opt out of theology altogether and settle for a “Just love Jesus” sort of faith. However, every human being has a theology. It is either good theology or bad theology. At its most basic level, theology is what you believe about God. While we do need to love God in an affectionate way, we also need to know Who we love. If you desire to be love a person well, how do you do it? You don’t simply talk about the idea of who they are or fall in love with them superficially. Rather, you earnestly try to get to know that person: What makes them tick? What are their likes and dislikes? How do I love them the best that I can? We can’t approach God superficially either. Our desire in this journey is to help you to draw closer to God with both your heart and your mind.

Directions Each devotion is set up with a question, corresponding answer, scripture references and further explanation. 1. Read and memorize the leading question and answer. There are two answers to each question. The underlined and bolded words create a more succinct answer for youth and children. The full answer is for adults. 2. Read the corresponding scriptures. 3. Read the devotional and answer the corresponding questions. 4. Answer the provided questions 5. Discuss the scripture and questions in Gospel Communities, small group or Sunday school.

How can we be saved? Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross; so even though we are guilty of having disobeyed God and are still inclined to all evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of our own but only by pure grace, imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ when we repent and believe in him. Ephesians 2:1-10 | Philippians 3:8-9 | Romans 3:20-25 We are saved simply by the grace of God in Jesus. We are saved by what He has done on the cross and in the resurrection for us. This is grace. This grace is a free gift of God. There’s no special prayer, no service, no ceremony, no action on our part; we must only have faith in the grace of God to save us. Grace in Jesus is our only hope of salvation. By sinning we have caused a separation between ourselves and God and will not chose God apart from grace. Try as we might to follow God’s law perfectly, we always fall short. Much of the New Testament, particularly Galatians, was written on this very topic. People would come into early churches and add to the gospel of grace alone through faith alone, claiming that Christ’s death needed to be supplemented with good works. This continued throughout history and even continues in our modern age. No amount of good works could ever be enough, however. This is why we needed a Savior. God requires perfection. All we can offer is imperfection. But when Christ died for our sins, He made a way for us to be with Him. The way Jesus accomplishes this is by freely giving us His righteousness. He gives us His perfection and righteousness and covers us so that when God looks at us He no longer sees our sinfulness, but instead sees His Son’s righteousness. He does this all by grace. We don’t earn it ourselves. God’s gracious sacrifice in His Son is our only hope to be saved from His righteous wrath. And in God’s love, He offers it freely to those who put their faith in Him.

Who or what is grace and why does it matter?

The grace of God is a theme throughout scripture. What are some examples?

Why is grace countercultural?

Should those who have faith in Christ seek their salvation through their own works, or anywhere else? No, they should not, as everything necessary to salvation is found in Christ. To seek salvation through good works is a denial that Christ is the only Redeemer and Savior. Ephesians 2:4-9 | Galatians 2:16 & 21 | Acts 4:12 We contribute nothing to our salvation. That’s easy to say but hard to believe. We can preach “grace alone” until we’re blue in the face, but we daily try to hijack our salvation. We feel that we must prove to God how good we are; that we are worthy of salvation. However when we do this we go against the very definition of the word “grace.” Grace means undeserved merit or favor. In his letter to the church of Galatia Paul says that relying on good deeds for salvation or to prove your salvation nullifies, or makes void, God’s grace. It’s basically like looking Jesus in the face and saying “Thanks, but I’ve got this. What you did was not quite good enough.” We would never dream of actually doing this; however, this is what we do every day. We, fully aware of our sin, try to earn God’s grace and tell Him “Your sacrifice can’t cover me.” But be encouraged that when Christ went and died on the cross, with His last breath He proclaimed “It is finished.” With His final breath He accomplished the only work necessary to save His children; He accomplished the only work that could save His children. Gifts are never purchased by the person receiving the gift. Only the giver purchases the gift. God is the giver of grace, and we cannot and need not reimburse Him. The best thing that we can do is cherish that gift, resting in the fact that our salvation was fully accomplished in Jesus, apart from our works, and tell those around us of this free gift.

In what ways do you “nullify the grace of God?”


How does the fact that Jesus provided everything we need for our salvation change how you see God?


Why is grace so hard to believe for you and others?

Will God’s grace for me ever run out? No, it will not. God is infinitely gracious. While we are warned not to sin because God is gracious, His genuine children will never fall out of His grace. John 1:16-17 | Titus 2:11-14 | Lamentations 3:22-23 Grace upon grace. How does that phrase strike you? Most of us are familiar with the fact that we are sinful people and that Jesus came down to be the sacrifice for our sins so that we could have eternal life. That initial salvation is a gift of grace. However, that’s often times where our view of grace ends; it’s a solitary moment in our history in which God gave us a pass. God may not punish our sins, but that’s as far as His grace extends. We think, often subconsciously, that God forgives the sins of our past, but punishes our current and future sins. However, God is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knows the sins you have committed, are currently struggling with and will struggle with in the future. He saw them all and placed them upon His Son. That’s not to say that we are exempt from the natural consequences of sin. That’s also not to say that we have a free pass to sin in whatever way we please. However it does mean that we don’t have to live our lives in guilt and shame for our shortcomings. We are told in scripture that in spite of our weaknesses we are able to draw near to the throne of God’s grace. God is far more serious about extending grace to us than we think He is. His mercies are new for us every morning. No matter how bad we think we are, God will not abandon His children, even though we run from His grace. As much as a criminal has no right to undo the verdict of a judge in the courtroom, we have no right or power to overturn the verdict of the divine Judge. Through His Son’s sacrifice we are stamped blameless now and forevermore and He will continue to transform us until the day when we finally see Him face to face.

Does God’s grace make me exempt from the consequence of sin? In heaven? On earth?

Why do we often think that we need grace only for salvation but not every day?

In what ways do you need the grace of God every day? (anger, sin, relationships, jobs, future, etc)

What is the Reformation and Why Does it Matter? One of the most pivotal moments in the history of the world was the Reformation. The reformation began with a young Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther being tormented by the incompatibility of the perfect justice and holiness of God and his own sin. Luther wondered if he could ever be saved from the fires of hell or purgatory. Try as he might, he never felt his works could come close to earning the forgiveness of sins from a holy God. However, as he studied the scriptures, he made a world-shifting re-discovery; works don’t earn salvation, but rather God freely grants grace through faith in Christ. The Roman Catholic Church taught something different. The Church taught that while God was a gracious, His grace needed to be supplemented with good works and sacraments, such as attending mass, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the purchase of indulgences. Realizing the falsehoods of the Church, Luther aimed to start a dialogue about possible reforms that could take place in order to be faithful to the scriptures. This collision of thought changed the world. On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed a document containing 95 critiques of the Roman Catholic Church to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This action and this document brought about far more than simply dialogue; Luther’s act lead to him being declared a heretic, excommunicated from the Catholic Church, the splitting of the church and most importantly a return to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. While the Reformation happened 500 years ago we too must remember these events. The church of the 21st century, must be dedicated to the scriptures, to grace and to the clarity of the gospel of Jesus. We must examine the doctrines of our churches, our Christian culture and our own hearts. We need to be confident that we live our lives according to the Scripture and preach no other gospel than grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to others and ourselves. So, let us celebrate the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation together. Let’s celebrate that God remained faithful to His church and convicted a man to take a stand for the truth of the gospel through His Spirit. Let us also, like Luther reflect upon our own cultural shortcomings and seek a reformation of heart and mind as we dwell upon our God of sovereign grace. We would encourage you to think about these concepts throughout the month and discuss them with your Gospel Communities and small groups in hopes that they are driven deeper into your hearts and unify us as a church.

The Five Solas This month, we are celebrating the Reformation by going through a sermon series focusing on the Five Solas. The 5 Solas were the “battle cry” of the reformers. The 5 solas exemplified the theology of the reformers: Solus Christus- Christ alone is our Savior, Lord and King. Sola Gratia- we are saved by grace alone and not by our works. Sola Fide- Salvation is through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Sola Scriptura - Scripture is our highest authoritative for faith and practice. Soli Deo Gloria- God alone receives glory for our salvation and life, not us. Although it has been centuries since the Protestant Reformation, the truths of the Five Solas are still relevant today. We are surrounded by worldviews that are centered not on God but ourselves. Unfortunately, many modern evangelicals are guilty of having this man-centered theology rather than one that sees its purpose, motives and end being God’s grace and glory. Our goal during this month is to remember the Five Solas and see how each one plays out in our belief systems and our day-to-day lives. Join us as we look at the Reformation, examine our hearts and grow our love for God.