*Notice again the absolution condition described. The bones were very dry no life whatsoever. But notice what happens next.

Gen. 1:2,3 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. *Note: Notice the absolute condition of the earth. There was nothing in it. What happened next? And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Then there was light, a change, an improvement of things. Eze. 37:1,2. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. *Notice again the absolution condition described. The bones were very dry no life whatsoever. But notice what happens next. Eze. 37:4-6. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall 1 / 16

know that I am the Lord. *Again we have God doing a work upon something utterly dead and lifeless. Then again we see an improvement, life, a change for the better. MH 17. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world as an unwearied servant of man s necessity. He took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses, that He might minister to every need of humanity. The burden of disease, and wretchedness and sin He came to remove. It was His mission to bring to men complete restoration; He came to give them health and peace and perfection of character. *In our above examples, could the earth or the dry bones do anything to improve their condition? No. What did we observe brought the change, the improvement in their condition? It was God. Matt. 1:21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 2 / 16

Dan. 9:24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness *Who is this a prophecy of? Christ the Saviour. What does it foretell will be his mission? to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. Eze. 36:25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. *Who does the Bible declare will do all these things? *Who can we look to, to do these things? *Where does God want our hope, our trust to rest? On Christ. 3 / 16

*Do we believe that GOD will do these things in us, just as we have been noting from Scripture. I pray, that by the end of this study, that you will welcome the gift of God to us in Jesus Christ. *This morning I would like to examine with you the subject of the grace of God, as it is detailed to us in the Scriptures. I know you will receive a blessing from this, for what does Titus 2:10 tell us For the grace of God [that] bringeth salvation. *We have a powerful declaration regarding Grace, in Eph. 2 :8: Eph. 2:8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. * Saved to make whole, delivered, protect, to do well. By grace, all this is accomplished. 4 / 16

*Lets look at some examples of grace. Gen. 19:15-19. the Lord being merciful unto him (v16) Lot speaking Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life (v19) *Did Lot deserve to be thus saved by the angels? Had Lot gone into Sodom by the direction of the Lord? No. He had gone there of his own choice. (Gen.13:11-13) Yet God was merciful unto him, and Lot recognized that he was the object of God s grace, in that God especially come and saved his life. Gen. 30:27, 30, 43 + 33:11. the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming (v30) and the man (Jacob) increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses (v43). 33:11 because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough [all things margin]. *Again, what had been Jacob s past? Hadn t he deceived his father Isaac, and had to flee for his life from Esau? He was in a foreign land, with a not-so-honest uncle, and yet God had been gracious to him, and had given him all things. 5 / 16

* We also find from these stories, that grace or be gracious is a characteristic of God. It is a point of His character. Exod 34:5,6. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Ps. 84:11. The Lord will give grace and glory Prov. 3:34. He giveth grace unto the lowly Jer. 31:2. The people found grace in the wilderness; even Israel when I went to cause him to rest. PP 428-429. It was God s power alone that had preserved them in that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions and drought, where there was no water. Every day of their travels they had been kept by a miracle of divine mercy. 6 / 16

*They found grace in the wilderness. Zech 12:10. I will pour upon the house of David, and Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication * Pour as giving much, liberally. John 1:14-16. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us full of grace and truth (v14) And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace (v16) *His fullness grace and truth (see also Rom 1:3, 5) 7 / 16

John 1:17. For the law (that is what God wanted his people to be, His character revealed) was given by Moses, but grace and truth (the actual points of God s character) came by Jesus Christ. * Let me explain. When God gave to Moses His ten commandments, written out on two tables of stone, there still had to be some way of making those principles a reality in the hearts and lives of the people. When Israel heard the proclaiming of the law from Sinai, what did they say? All that the Lord has said will we do. How did they say they would do it? WE! They had been emotionally moved as they witnessed the proclaiming of the law in awful majesty, which led them to make this solemn promise to God. But what did they do only 3 weeks after? They were worshipping the golden calf! Did their promise work? No. Why? Because THEY were trying to keep the commandments of God. There had to be something greater in their life, then the principles of God s law would be in their hearts. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth, the actual reality of God s law came by Jesus Christ. It was only through Christ that the actual reality of those holy precepts could be written upon their inward parts, and the tables of their hearts. It was to Christ, when He should come to the earth, that the Israelites were to look in faith. They must consent for GOD to write them upon their hearts. As they did this, the Holy Spirit wrote the principles of God s law upon their hearts, and then they were there in verity. 8 / 16

PP 371-372. God brought them to Sinai; He manifested His glory; He gave them His law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. Exod 19:5,6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. Exod 24:7 Yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. Acts 15:11. through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved Acts 20:32. the word of his grace (God s grace), which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. *Praise God! His grace is able to build us up, so that we have characters like that of our Saviour. Rom. 3:24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 9 / 16

* Freely a gift, an offering, gratuitously, voluntarily. Rom. 4:4. to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. *worketh toil, as an effort Rom 4:7,8,16. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (v7). Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.(v8) * Paul then asks, (v9), Cometh this blessedness by faith, or through the law? Rom. 4:16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace. Rom. 6:1,2. Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (v1). God forbid, How shall we, 10 / 16

that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (v2) *Note the effect of grace upon the heart, through the righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (5:21). Grace, which spreads abroad the righteousness of Jesus Christ in our hearts, ceases sin in that heart. It is often assumed by those who are yet ignorant of this power of God, that by dwelling upon the grace of God we give room for the passions and evils of the natural heart to be cultivated; these people feel that the law must be sufficiently dwelt upon so as to safe-guard themselves from the evil of their natural nature. To these I would say What saith the Scriptures? For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.(6:14) This shows grace as of sufficient power to both cleanse and keep one from sin. This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:11,12). He that committeth sin is of the devil For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8). Let us believe the Scriptures, that the Son of God has life in Himself wherewith to keep us from the evil one, and that God has sent Him into the world, upon whom we may believe. See also ST Mar.26, 1896, par.1, and MB 46, par 3. Rom. 11:6. If by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise, grace is no more grace * Note the absolute contrast, either one or the other. 11 / 16

1 Cor. 15:10. By the grace of God I am what I am *Paul s personal testimony. 2 Cor. 9:8. God is able to make all grace abound toward you 2 Cor. 12:9. And he (the Lord) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. *Perfect complete, finished, fulfilled. Gal. 1:6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. * This verse tells me two things God establishes us in the grace of Christ. See also 1 Cor.1:30 Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus. * The second thing is that the gospel of God is that of grace through Jesus Christ unto salvation. Any other than this is another gospel. See also Acts 20:24. Paul s ministry, which I 12 / 16

have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Gal. 5:4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. *Notice being fallen from grace is to be under the law. By the law is the knowledge of sin, rather than freedom from it. The scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law. Gal. 3:22, 23. If any of us feel that we must work before Christ will come to our aid, we are working under the law. If we feel we must perform an important work, and then Christ will add His finishing touch to it, we are working under the law. How can we say this? Because you do not believe you are justified by Christ alone. You feel that your obedience to the law must have a part in saving you. Christ is not to you your only hope of eternal life, your only Saviour. Christ is made of no effect to you, if you believe that you are justified by the law. If by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise, grace is no more grace. Rom. 11:6. Eph. 2:5. Even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved). V8. For by grace are ye saved through faith it is the gift of God. SC 18. Education, culture, the exercise of the will, all have their proper sphere, but here [in the saving the soul] they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behaviour, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must 13 / 16

be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness. Eph. 4:7. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 2 Tim. 1:9. Who (God) hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. 2 Tim. 2:1. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Titus 2:11. The grace of God that bringeth salvation 14 / 16

Titus 3:5-7. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (v5) which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour (v6); that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs. Heb 13:9. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace 1 Pet. 1:10. the prophets.who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. 1 Pet. 5:10. But the God of all grace 2 Pet. 3:18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Finally, brethren, 15 / 16

but now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. (Rom. 7:6). Let us then standfast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled with the yoke of bondage. (Gal.5:1). God is our Saviour, and His grace is sufficient. 16 / 16