One To One Study

Our church just started what is called Small Groups. There are about 5 sets of leaders that have taken a training class. All the leaders are couples so the couples meet in a home of someone in the church. Those who wanted to attend a group signed up with the leaders they wanted or the home that was closes to them. We have a lot of elderly people and it is hard for them to drive at night.

Each group meets at a certain time, has a light meal, then a Bible Study time, and get to know each other a little better time.

One of the leaders of the group preached Sunday night at church and said he had received a blessing from his group. And that gave me the idea of sharing with you the blessings I am receiving from my group.

Here is the first blessing. Ephesians 2:8, 9
For my grace are ye saved through faith and that not yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.

I have been a Christian for a very long time but sometimes even I have not the true understanding of some of the words used in the Bible. So I sat down the other day and tore about these verses and looked up in my Strong's Concordance the words I wanted to know the Greek meeting of.

For my grace. What is grace? Here are some of the definitions I found.

• Favour, 
• That which affords joy
• Pleasure
• Delight
• Sweetness
• Charm
• Loveliness
• Grace of speech
• Good will
• Loving
• Kindness

Kindness of God

• Gives us holy influence on our souls
• God turns us to Christ
• Keeps, strengthens, increases us in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles us to exercise Christian virtues. 

you are saved.  Saved from what?

• Save from danger or destruction
• Keep one from dying
• To be delivered from penalties of God's judgment
• To be saved from evils which obstruct the reception of God's deliverance

through means of, reason by which something is or not done or on account of.

faith 

• Belief
• NT conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things.
• Trust
• Holy Fevour born of faith and joined with it
• Conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things
• The provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
• A strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through when we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. 

Not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Not of works 

• An act, deed, thing done
• Any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, industry, or mind. 

So if we put these verses in a modern day wording without taking away from its meaning it could read like this: 

For by God's favour we are keep safe from danger, destruction, death, and God's judgment  and it is by trust, believing, and having conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things. Salvation is that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God.Not of anything deeds, acts, or things done or think, least any man should boast. 

Summary

This verse comes down to trusting, believing that Christ alone is what gives us salvation. Not by anything we do but what Christ has done. 

Question

How do you know for sure that you are a Christian? 

Answer

Believing in your heart, not just head knowledge, that Jesus is the Son of God, sent down to earth, lived for about 33 years, crucified on the cross and shed His blood, was buried, and rose again so that we can have a relationship with His Father who is God. Without shedding of Christ's blood there is no remission of sin in our life.