Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
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3 Days
God has given all of us a gift so amazing and so incredible that most people don’t know what to do with it. This gift is grace, and in this plan, Dr. Tony Evans teaches about the grace of God and how all encompassing it truly is.
In this plan we will read through the "king" passages of grace. We will memorize 6 words: You Were, But God, So That. We were dead, but God rescued us, so that we will have grace for ages to come. God wants us to follow Him, and grace is the seed that makes spiritual growth and maturity possible. Grace is ever growing, deeper and bigger than we know. With grace, discipleship is possible.
Our new song called “The Power of the Cross” depicts two realizations. The first realization is that God has rescued believers from the power of sin. Sin doesn’t control us anymore. God has rescued us from the wages of sin. We no longer face the eternal punishment we deserve for willingly rebelling against a holy God. The second...
In this world, we war against three main enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The most difficult and personal enemy we face is what the Bible calls our flesh. The flesh cannot be conquered in any other way except by denying the wrong desires that entice us. Surrendering our lives to Christ gives us a new nature, and our old nature is to live in subjection to it.
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