Day 3 Multiply

The Lord of Grace

Salvation is all about the grace of God. There is absolutely nothing that you can do to save yourself or earn Godʼs favor. Paul says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). All boasting is excluded because our works are irrelevant. Salvation comes through the grace of God as we place our faith in Jesus Christ. If you want to follow Jesus, you only need to accept His call. All it requires is faith: Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is?

But keep in mind that while this is simple, itʼs not easy. Faith in Jesus Christ means believing that He is Lord (according to Rom. 10:9). Have you ever thought about what that word “Lord” means? We sometimes think of it as another name for God, but itʼs actually a title. It refers

to a master, owner, or a person who is in a position of authority. So take a minute to think this through: Do you really believe that Jesus is your master? Do you believe that He is your owner—that you actually belong to Him?

Paul is so bold as to tell us: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The same Lord who by His grace set us free from sin and death now owns us. We belong to Him, and He calls us to live our lives in obedience to His rule.

The problem is, many in the church want to “confess that Jesus is Lord,” yet they donʼt believe that He is their master. I hope you see the contradiction in this. The call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is open to everyone, but we donʼt get to write our own job description. If Jesus is

Lord, then He sets the agenda. In a very important sense, your dreams for your life are irrelevant.  If Jesus Christ is Lord, then your life belongs to Him. He has a plan, agenda, and calling for you. You donʼt get to tell Him what youʼll be doing today or for the rest of your life.

3. Evaluate your approach to following Jesus. Would you say that you view Jesus as your Lord,

Master, and Owner? Why or why not?

Day 2 Multiply

How Do I Become a Disciple?

To understand how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, it makes most sense to start where Jesus started. While it is true that He said to the disciples, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19), the Bible records one message He proclaimed before that. In Matthew 4:17, He says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

This phrase is not difficult to understand if you take it literally. If someone warned you to be prepared because a king and his army were coming, what would you do? You would make sure you were ready to face them. If you werenʼt prepared to fight this king, then you would do whatever it took to make peace with him.

The word "repent" means “to turn.” It has the idea of changing directions and heading the opposite way. So in this context, Jesus was telling people to prepare themselves—to change whatever needed to be changed—because God's kingdom (the kingdom of heaven) was approaching.

So how do we prepare to face this heavenly kingdom? How do we make sure we are at peace with this coming King?  Jesus says we need to repent. This implies that everyone needs to turn from the way they are currently living. Romans 3:23 explains that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We have all done things that are offensive to this King. Romans later explains that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). Because of our sin, which is an offense to God, we should expect death. But then comes an amazing truth.

"But God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8). The death penalty we should have faced from this King was actually paid for by someone else. The King's Son, Jesus Christ!

The Scriptures then say, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, who He is, and what He has done. Part of our repentance is to turn from believing that there's anything we can do to save ourselves— everything was accomplished by Jesus Christ.

The thought that someone else has paid for our crimes is strange to most of us because it defies our natural way of thinking. And the idea that we need to trust in another personʼs sacrifice on our behalf is even more foreign to us. But understand that while it is strange to us, it is consistent with God's actions throughout the Scriptures.

We get a picture of this when we read the book of Exodus. In this story, Moses warns Pharaoh repeatedly about what God will do if he does not repent. It climaxes when God says He will bring death to the firstborn of every household if they do not repent. Meanwhile, He tells His people that if they put the blood of a lamb over their doorposts, His angel will pass over their homes and not kill the firstborn of that house. So even in the story of the exodus, we see that people had to trust in the blood of a lamb to save them—this was the only way they could be saved.

2. Read Ephesians 2 carefully and take some time to consider the truths it presents. Do you trust in the death of Christ for your salvation? Or do you struggle with believing you need to do something to save yourself?