Romans 4–5
Faith, Works, and Grace
In his letter to the Romans, Paul sought to help the Roman Saints understand Christ’s grace by teaching about its connection to faith and works. Paul’s teachings can help us deepen our understanding about our need for forgiveness and salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ. This lesson will help you increase your understanding of and appreciation for the grace of Jesus Christ.
What will save you?
Imagine that you are dying of thirst in a desert and that there is a bottle of water on top of a nearby hill. How important is each of the following to your survival?
1. Write the following text and draw a picture similar to this one in your study journal.
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Your belief that the water can save you
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Your effort to get to the water
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The water itself
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Why is the water itself the only thing that will keep you from dying of thirst?
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Why are belief in the water and an effort to get the water not enough?
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How do your belief, your effort, and the water all work together?
This scenario can help you understand Paul’s teachings about how faith, works, and grace relate to justification.
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How would you define the words faith, works, and grace?
It may be helpful to review the definitions of these words in the lesson on Romans 2–3 or in the Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
In Paul’s time, some Jewish Christians believed they were saved by their works in obeying the law of Moses. Paul tried to correct this misunderstanding. Read the Joseph Smith Translation of Romans 4:16 [in Romans 4:16, footnote a].
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What does this verse teach about how we are justified, or forgiven of our sins?
In this verse, Paul teaches that we are justified by faith and works through the grace of Jesus Christ.
2. Label the picture you drew in the following way and write the answers to the two following questions below the picture:
Write the words faith, works, and grace next to the phrase from your picture that each word matches.
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What can you learn from this analogy about faith and works?
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What can you learn from the analogy about the Savior’s grace?
Understanding more about the grace of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ’s grace enables us to be justified, or forgiven of our sins, and it blesses us in other ways too. Jesus Christ not only provides the life-saving water, but He also strengthens our faith and efforts so we can obtain the water. We can be blessed by His grace before, while, and after we exercise faith in Him and perform good works.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, taught:
Throughout our lives, God’s grace bestows temporal blessings and spiritual gifts that magnify our abilities and enrich our lives. His grace refines us. His grace helps us become our best selves.
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Gift of Grace,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 108)
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How can the Savior’s grace help you become your best self?
Read the following scripture passages and look for other blessings associated with the Savior’s grace.
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What additional blessings can come from Jesus Christ through His grace?
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When have you experienced the Savior’s grace in your life?
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How does this influence your feelings toward the Savior?
Inviting the Savior’s grace into your life
President Uchtdorf gave this insight about how you can more fully receive the grace of Jesus Christ:
Grace is a gift of God, and our desire to be obedient to each of God’s commandments is the reaching out of our mortal hand to receive this sacred gift from our Heavenly Father.
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Gift of Grace,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 110)
3. Respond to the following questions in your study journal:
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What thoughts and feelings come to you when you think about the effects of Jesus Christ’s grace in your life?
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What could you do to more fully invite the grace of Jesus Christ into your life?
Optional: Want to Learn More?
How can we acknowledge our need for grace?
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, asked the following questions about our need for grace:
Do we understand our indebtedness to Heavenly Father and plead with all our souls for the grace of God?
When we kneel to pray, is it to replay the greatest hits of our own righteousness, or is it to confess our faults, plead for God’s mercy, and shed tears of gratitude for the amazing plan of redemption?
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Gift of Grace,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 109)
What is an example of grace working in someone’s life?
The video “Faith Journey: When Parents Get Divorced” (3:05), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, illustrates the experience of a woman who found that the grace of Jesus Christ helped her respond to her parents’ divorce.
Romans 4:16. Why was Abraham used as an example of being justified?
To correct the idea that only those who had been circumcised and were keeping the law of Moses could be saved, Paul taught that Abraham had received blessings before he was circumcised and centuries before the law of Moses was given. Abraham then continued to be faithful after covenanting with God and being circumcised. Thus, Paul was able to show that individuals were not justified through obedience to the law of Moses but by faith and works through the grace of Jesus Christ.
How does the grace of God relate to the Fall of Adam?
In Romans 5:12–21 Paul taught that Jesus Christ helps us overcome the effects of the Fall. Because of the transgression of Adam, sin and death entered the world. However, because of “the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:15), all can overcome the effects of sin and death and receive eternal life. Paul’s reference to the Fall helps us understand the far-reaching power of the Savior’s grace to overcome all things.