SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON - SEPT 19TH

God’s Power Changes People

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
1. The Depth of Our Sin (Eph. 2:1-3)
2. The Power of God’s Grace (Eph. 2:4-7)
3. The Place of Our Works (Eph. 2:8-10)

BIBLICAL TRUTH - Believers experience the power of God in salvation.

Bible Commentary - by Kendell Easley, Professor of Christian Studies at the Germantown, TN, campus of Union University.

When I graduated from college in the early 1970s, I worked full time for two years with a Christian ministry on an urban university campus. Our team was involved in planning evangelistic strategies. As we interacted with students, we often asked if they had reached a place in their spiritual journey in which they were certain they were on their way to heaven when they died. We would get various responses, including: Yes, because I’ve done more good than bad; or No, but I’m thinking about it; or Yes, because I’ve always gone to church and followed the church’s teachings. Only rarely would a student brush our question aside. Most students showed an interest in understanding salvation.

A generation later now, one of my friends works for a Christian ministry on the university campus in my city. He and I were recently talking about his work. “Ken, today’s students are different. Most of them never think about salvation or eternal issues. When I ask anything about being saved, they look at me with a blank stare. They think this life is the only thing there is.”

 How would you begin talking about salvation to a young adult with no concept of God’s power to save?

Many complicated, confusing, and contradictory ideas about salvation abound in the world today. Different religions teach various approaches to salvation and eternal life. Increasing numbers of people proudly claim to have no religion at all. They doubt whether salvation is worth talking about.

As “people of the Book,” however, Jesus’ followers have realized that God has a plan of salvation, and it’s not that difficult to understand. He has provided salvation by His power, and He will use His power to save all who respond in faith to Jesus. No person deserves to be saved, but God has invited persons to experience salvation. It all comes out of His grace.