If the plan of salvation was made by A Perfect God, who alone possesses omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, and if, in spite of all this, there are loopholes, whereby sinners can fall through the cracks, then folks may well conclude that it is an imperfect plan. But this is absolutely not the case, for God’s plan for our redemption caters to all, and takes into consideration, every variable, and every unexpected circumstance that may arise, so that no one needs be lost, for any reason.
In other words, whatever may be our situation, we are covered by His grace if we believe, and if we are willing to let The Lord reign supremely in our hearts. More than this, even those members of the human family who are mentally disabled, and those who may be physically challenged, or incapacitated, to them too is the grace of God revealed, for the Bible clearly states that whosoever believes on Jesus will be saved. Period!
It is often the case that the grace of God is cluttered by a host of man-made rules and regulations, mired in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and before you know it, the simplicity, and all-encompassing nature of God’s salvation gets buried beneath stipulations, formats, and ceremonies which God never intended. Hence the reason why the Bible study for this afternoon is titled “God’s Grace Made Simple”, for God seeks to remind us of the simplicity of the gospel, especially since He is now on the last leg, of the long running marathon of grace, to save as many who so desire.
Therefore, The Lord desires that we think outside the box, and not limit His power to save, to those rites, ceremonies, symbolic activities, and all ideal circumstances, and requirements which are indeed required by the scriptures, for Jesus has the final say in any person being saved. A person is saved by grace through faith, and not of ourselves, and thus, God’s grace is overarching, and complete, so that no one may feel left out for any reason. Let’s read:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and made higher than the heavens.
The following stipulations are therefore given in the Bible, for anyone desiring to accept Christ as his/her Lord and Savior:
[1] Believe. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
[2] A willingness to follow Christ wherever He may lead us in the Christian experiences and teaching. A knowledge of the Bible is progressive, and therefore it is not necessary for us to know everything before we accept God’s grace. There are millions who have been baptized for many years, who still do not even know, or understand a whole about the scriptures,
yet, if they continue to believe, and submit to God each day, they will be saved in His kingdom.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
[3] Baptism by The Spirit, and by water. Any person who desires to accept of God’s grace through Christ should be baptized by The Spirit, and by water. The baptism by immersion is a symbol representing the new life in Christ, but it is the Spirit of God working upon the heart first, that should lead anyone to the rite of baptism. This could prevent the syndrome
known as “Wet devil”, which so often plagues those evangelizing efforts, where the focus is primarily on numbers, as opposed to quality. Let’s read:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Romans 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
However, there are many believers who are wheel-chair bound, many are now in jail, and others live in places where it is dangerous to be called a Christian. Thus, our concepts of God’s grace should transcend every variable, and non-idealistic situation that may or may not arise. There are many examples of such situations given in the scriptures to demonstrate to us that Christ is not restricted by ideal situations, or any stipulation that is written. Human life is of more value in God’s sight than rites, ceremonies, formats, and stipulations.
Therefore, whenever, and wherever it will become necessary to override these essentials, in order to save a person, God will do it. This understanding of God’s grace is of critical importance for those who look forward to, and are preparing their hearts for the outpouring of the “Latter rain”, which is to be given to earth’s inhabitants just prior to the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. Let’s read:
[L.D.E pp 148] Let those who desire to be refreshed in mind and instructed in the truth study the history of the early church during and immediately following the Day of Pentecost. Study carefully in the book of Acts the experiences of Paul and the other apostles, for God's people in our day must pass through similar experiences.
This leads us to the core of our Bible study today, in which we will unpack one situation which unfolded sometime after the day of Pentecost. Paul has now passed through the coasts of Ephesus, and comes across twelve disciples who believe, and he inquires about their reception of The Holy Ghost. Let’s read:
Acts 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Now, this is very serious stuff, given that one of the stipulations for entry into His kingdom, by Christ, is baptism by The Holy Ghost. So, it is necessary for us to exercise great caution in our understanding of their answer, for their reply does not necessarily mean that they did not have the Holy Ghost. One’s knowledge of who the Holy Spirit is, and His work upon the heart, isn’t an absolute necessity for him, or her to be saved, neither is it a determining factor in whether such a person has a portion of the Holy Ghost.
Indeed, the Holy Spirit is currently working in the hearts, and minds of many millions of people, who as yet, have no clue about who He is, nor the extent of His work. God’s grace made simple reaches much higher than the formal knowledge of the intricacies we so often dwell upon. Let’s read:
John 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
[The Faith I Live By. pp 52] The Holy Spirit is a free, working, independent agency. The God of heaven uses His Spirit as it pleases Him; and human minds, human judgment, and human methods can no more set boundaries to its working, or prescribe the channel through which it shall operate, than they can say to the wind, “I bid you to blow in a certain direction, and to conduct yourself in such and such a manner.”
From the beginning God has been working by His Holy Spirit through human instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose in behalf of the fallen race.... The same power that sustained the patriarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God's faithful children in every succeeding age. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail.
Acts 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
For these disciples to have come this far by faith, in being baptized unto John, who was the forerunner of Christ, it means then that they were being led by The Holy Ghost in the first place, and as such, were granted a portion of God’s Spirit, without their prior knowledge. John was ordained of God, these folks believed, and were baptized, and if for some reason they had died before Paul had met them with this important bit of information, they would absolutely be saved in God’s kingdom, because salvation is not so much “Knowledge-based” as it is faith-based. So let us read of the unrestricted work of The Spirit:
1st Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Numbers 11:25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!
Acts 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night,
and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
In other words, this was only one Bible study, and they were ready for baptism, because The Spirit of God had been working in their hearts, long before Paul and Silas were incarcerated. In fact, if we will receive it, this was the real reason why God caused them to be incarcerated, for there were potential candidates for heaven, working in the Roman prison system.
This work by The Holy Ghost, on the jailor, and his family was being done in a protracted way, without any fanfare or noise, and the jailor and his family had not a clue as to what was taking place silently in their hearts. Let’s read again very slowly so we may learn our lessons well:
[Ye Shall Receive Power. pp 15] The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:8, RSV. The wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. The Spirit can no more be explained than can the movements of the wind.
A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ.
These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the Word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God, a patient, protracted process.
Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
Let’s be very careful again with their speaking in tongues as first proof of the Holy Ghost’s presence, for the Holy Spirit was given in measure to each of the twelve disciples, long before they had spoken with any tongues on the day of Pentecost. When a person speaks with genuine tongues, that’s not a conclusive evidence that this is the first time they may have received a portion of The Holy Ghost. Let’s read:
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
In closing, the time has fully come for us to humble our hearts before God, that we may surrender any preconceived ideas about His grace, and let us not be found clinging tenaciously to written formats, if, and when God is ready to move at lightning speed. Thus, in harmony with this counsel, we close with a critically important passage of scripture:
Romans 9:25 I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and, understanding of His word.
God Bless!