Sola Fide Series

2. The only way that we can be saved a go to heaven is by faith in Jesus!

a. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT2)

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

b. You cannot be saved simply by being a good person.

c. You cannot be saved based on how much you give to the poor.

d. You cannot be saved by following rules and regulations.

e. You cannot even be saved because you attend church (you can sleep in a garage and that doesn’t make you a car!)

f. The only way that you can be saved is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

g. If you could be saved by your own merits, then Jesus died for nothing.

h. But he died so that by faith in him and receiving his free gift that he purchased for on the cross we could be saved.

i. Have you received Jesus as your Savior?

Transition: Next, Paul talks about…

II. Oneness Of Faith (29-30).

A. Only One God

1. Paul now goes back to something that he discussed earlier in the chapter, the idea that we are all in the same boat. That we are all sinners in the need of grace.

2. In v. 29, he says, “After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.”

a. Since both Jews and Gentiles are in the same boat, as both being sinners in need of grace, and since both are justified by faith, then it just makes sense that God is the God of both.

b. Now if you could earn your salvation through keeping the law, then the Jews could say that God was only their God, but since that is not the case, and we all have to come to God through faith, then we all come to the same God.

c. Certainly, the Jews are the chosen people and blessed with the revelation of God, but in the OT it shows that it was always God's intention to draw the entire world to himself.

d. Genesis 12:3 (NLT2)

3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

3. Paul then, especially for the benefit of the Jews, anchors his argument in something the Jews knew very well, the Shema. In v. 30, he says, “There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.”

a. This, of course, comes from Deut. 6:4, which says,

b. Deuteronomy 6:4 (NLT2)

4 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.

c. So, if the Lord is the Lord "alone," then he is the God of everyone!

d. The belief was that there was one God, but that they had a special relationship with God that no one else had.

e. In their minds, the only way a Gentile could come to God was by becoming a Jew.

f. But now there was a historical, salvation related, change has taken place.

g. Salvation was no longer associated with the law, but rather through faith in Jesus Christ.

h. Therefore, Gentiles now have the same access to God that the Jews did.

i. Christ died for all so Gentiles are just as acceptable to God as the Jews.