Bible Studies

---

LESSON 6

BE FRUITFUL THROUGH GRACE

We worship a God who knows our weaknesses but we don’t have a valid excuse when we sin, because He has already provided us with all we will ever need to overcome our weaknesses - in Christ Jesus. This is why God commands us to be perfect just as Christ is perfect. The commandment is certainly not intended to produce hopelessness, as this is certainly not in God’s perfect, loving and gracious nature. Again, it is to drive us into the arms of Christ, the Source of all we need to become perfect. Perfection is a process, not a happening. Faith is so important that it is, in fact, counted as our righteousness (or perfection).

· Rom. 4:20-24 – Yet (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him as righteousness” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

The sooner that we realize our failures are due to our own efforts to ‘be good’, and turn in faith to Christ instead, the sooner we begin to bear the fruit of His Spirit - love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
STOP AND ASK THE GROUP TO HUMBLY PRAY TO THE FATHER FOR HIS WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING BEFORE GOING ON………

v When you cannot love enough – search the Bible to see how much God loves you - ask Him and those you have hurt for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit to teach you to love the same way.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
1 John 3:16-18 – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
1 Cor. 13:4-7 – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

v When pride reigns and we put ourselves before God or others – search the Bible to see what God’s views on pride are - repent and ask God to break you and make you in Christ’s image.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Rev. 3:17 – You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Isaiah 5:21 – Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
Luke 1:50-52 – His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

v When you do not know how to pray – search the Bible to understand what prayer really is - ask Him to forgive you for ignoring Him and teach you how to speak openly and honestly to Him without ceasing.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Psalm 51 and Psalm 150
1 Thess. 5:16-18 – Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 59:1,2 – Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Prov. 28:9 – If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.
Isaiah 29:13 – “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”
Luke 18:11-14 - “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Heb. 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
James 4:3 – When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 5:16 – Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Luke 23:33,34 – When they came to the place of the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”

v When you cannot be thankful and praise Him in ALL THINGS and in ALL SITUATIONS – search the Bible to see why men and women were able to do so - repent and ask Him to strengthen you and reveal more of Himself.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
2 Cor. 12:8-10 - Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it (a thorn in the flesh) away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Job 5:17-27 – Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you.
In famine he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, you need not fear when destruction comes.
You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth ………… You will come to the grave in full vigour, like sheaves gathered in season. We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.
Psalm 119:67-72 – Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees …… It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Heb. 12:11 – No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Job 23:10 - But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

v When you struggle to overcome sin in your life – search the Bible to find out what sin really is, how it affects us and why it grieves God so much - ask Him (and anyone you have wronged) for forgiveness and the pray for strength to overcome by His power, not yours.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Isaiah 53:6 – We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him (Christ) the iniquity of us all.
1 John 1:9,10 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Psalm 51:3,5 – For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Rom. 5:12 – Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
1 Peter 2:24 – (Christ) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

v When you are inclined to judge the weaknesses and sins of others – search the Bible to see what the outcome is for those who judge - ask God and those you have judged to forgive you. Pray for the Holy Spirit to constantly remind you of the weaknesses and sins you have been forgiven at such great cost to Christ.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Rom. 2:1-4 – You (sinners), therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgement against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgement on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
Matt. 6:12,14 – “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors …… For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Prov. 20:22 – Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
Rom. 14:4 - Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
1 Peter 3:9-12 – Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

SHARE OPENLY ABOUT ANY PARTICULAR SINS YOU WOULD CLASSIFY AS LESS SERIOUS THAN OTHERS AND WHY.

HOW DO YOU THINK GOD SEES THIS?

Sin has no degrees, even though the consequences of certain sins are less serious than that of others. All sin is rebellion and disobedience to God’s will and has only one degree – and is so abhorrent to God that Christ suffered unbelievable agony of heart, mind, body and spirit and then died - to pay for our sin. He chose to pay the price we were unable to BECAUSE HE LOVES US SO PASSIONATELY! Yes! We will fail, especially when we first begin - but an understanding of Christ’s sacrifice of love should cause us to run to the One who has already paid the price for us and who continues to forgive us each time we truly repent. Maturity does not come overnight but is the ongoing process of Christ’s work in us as we learn to trust Him more and more for our righteousness.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE