Bible Study Lesson 9

Coming Boldly before the Throne of Grace

from www.ocfellowship.org


The Bible uses the word grace quite often, and sometimes people use it where it does not apply because it is not properly understood. This lesson explores grace.


1. What does it mean to walk with God? I John 2:4-6; Eph 2:10.


2. Were the only survivors of the great flood Noah and those with him? Gen 7:17-23.


3. Why was Noah a survivor of this flood? Gen 6:5-9; Ezek 14:13-14, 19-20; Heb 11:7.


Comment: There are two reasons that Noah survived. Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Gen 6:8). Noah walked with God, which means that he practiced righteousness (see question 1 above). These two reasons are certainly related to one another as Ezek 14:13-14 indicates. By the grace of God toward Noah, he survived death in the flood, but God showed that grace to him as a response to Noah’s submission to God. This does not mean that Noah earned this deliverance from the flood by his good behavior. Here and elsewhere if we substitute the word favor for grace, the meaning makes good sense.


4. Does God show grace to people who are humble? Prov 3:34; James 4:6-10; I Pet 5:5-12.


Comment: In the last lesson we learned that humility toward God is seen in the expression “to walk humbly with your God” (read Micah 6:8). This includes the person’s submission to the will of God. Notice the association between submitting to the will of God and being humble in James 4:6-8 and I Peter 5:5. Submission to God implies obeying Him. The fact that God shows grace (His favor) to humble (submissive) people is in harmony with what we learned about Noah’s finding grace in the eyes of God. We previously learned that humility also includes thinking of others as better than oneself (Phil 2:3; Rom 12:16).


5. Can a person fall short of the grace of God by neglecting to pursue holiness? Heb 12:14-15.


Comment: Falling short of the grace of God means to fail to be given the grace of God. Pursuing holiness is striving to live a holy life, as we saw in lesson 7. This means that a person can fail to receive the grace of God by ceasing to be motivated by faith, which includes throwing away love toward God (I John 5:3-4).


6. Will God treat you with grace as He treated Noah with grace? Ps 84:11-12.


Comment: Noah walked uprightly and received grace, and this makes it a general principle.


7. Can a person earn grace from God by doing good works? Rom 11:1-6.


Comment: Rom 11:6 is not very easy to understand from a literal translation. The following loose translation makes the sense clear. “And if [God is responsible for choosing you] by grace, then [grace is] no longer [based upon what you] earn, otherwise [the meaning of] grace is no longer grace. But if [grace] can be earned, it no longer [means] grace; otherwise earnings [loses its meaning of] earnings.” The answer to the question is no! If I do you a favor and then you pay me for the favor, it is no longer a favor. God’s favor (grace) is worth so much that no one is able to give Him payment for it. God’s grace to you is His favor to you in response to your humility in submitting to Him.


8. Is God’s throne called a throne of grace to which we are told to come boldly and find grace? Heb 4:15-16; I John 5:14-15.


Comment: Here, just as in Heb 10:19, boldness refers to courage and confidence. We are told to come to God’s throne boldly (in courage and confidence), and I John 5:14-15 shows that this means to come to God in prayer with boldness, knowing that faith includes a belief that God will perform His promises (Rom 4:20-21).


Comment: The remaining questions all have the purpose of showing the various ways that God shows us grace.


9. Does God’s grace include the favor of more than meeting our needs? II Cor 8:9; 9:8; Mat 6:31-33.


10. Does God’s grace include the favor of salvation to eternal life? Acts 20:32; Eph 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-12; Heb 2:9.


Comment: Notice Heb 5:9 in relation to salvation and obedience to God. Yet Rom 6:23 makes it clear that eternal life is a gift, so that it cannot be earned by what a person does.


11. Does God’s grace include the favor of being chosen by God to arrange situations in a person’s life so that the person will develop faith and become a child of God? Rom 8:28-30; 9:9-24; 11:5-6.


12. Does God’s grace include the favor of His giving the gift of faith? Acts 18:27.


13. Does God’s grace include the favor of being justified from sin? Rom 3:24; Titus 3:7.


Comment: Recall that justification means to be declared innocent from sin (Mat 12:34-37; Rom 8:33-34; 6:7).


14. Does God’s grace include the favor of receiving mercy from God? Heb 4:16.


15. Does God’s grace include the favor of receiving the Holy Spirit? Gal 3:5; Acts 2:38.


Comment: Notice Acts 5:32 in relation to receiving the Holy Spirit and obedience to God. Yet Rom 6:23 makes it clear that eternal life is a gift, so that it cannot be earned by what a person does. The Holy Spirit is more valuable than all earthly possessions. Read Acts 8:17-23.


16. Does God’s grace include the favor of receiving the gifts from the Holy Spirit? Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:7-8; Heb 13:9.


17. Does God’s grace include the favor of receiving knowledge from God? I Cor 1:4-5; Titus 2:11-13.


18. Does God’s grace include the favor of having hope for good things that will occur later? II Thes 2:16-17.


Conclusion: It is certainly true that the grace of God toward you cannot be earned because it is too valuable to be paid for. Nevertheless, God gives grace to people who show humility toward Him. This humility means submitting to the will of God as expressed in the Bible and by direct inspiration that does not contradict the Bible. God’s grace to you is His favor to you in response to your humility in submitting to Him.