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.
Understanding doctrine and principles. As students identify doctrine and principles in the scriptures, guide them through discussions that will help them analyze and better understand the meaning of these truths. When students understand a gospel doctrine or principle, they comprehend its relationship with other doctrinal truths in the Lord’s plan and understand how it might be applied in their lives.
Student preparation: Invite students to read the section “Grace” in either the Bible Dictionary or the Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org) and then identify one way they have received God’s grace in their own lives.
Possible Learning Activities
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?
Consider displaying the following text and picture and inviting students to copy both into their study journals.
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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
Students could discuss the question of what would save them, and the following questions, as a class, in pairs, or in small groups.
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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).
If students read the definition of grace as part of their preparation for this lesson, they could be invited to share what they learned.
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.
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?
If needed, help students understand that the belief in the water is like faith, the effort to get to the water is like our works, or actions, and the water itself represents the grace of God. Help them understand that while faith and works are necessary to receive Jesus Christ’s grace, it is His grace that brings forgiveness, not our faith or works.
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?
If students prepared for the lesson by thinking of ways they have received the Savior’s grace in their lives, they could share their experiences. Consider sharing a personal experience or example as well.
If students have not prepared experiences to share or if another example would be helpful, consider showing the video “Faith Journey: When Parents Get Divorced” (see the “Commentary and Background Information” section).
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)
Consider inviting students to respond to the following questions in their study journals.
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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?
Testify of our need for God’s grace and the strength and gift it can be to our lives before, during, and after our efforts to be faithful and obedient.
Commentary and Background Information
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.
Supplemental Learning Activities
“Tribulation worketh patience”
Ask students if they have ever been grateful for a trial they experienced. Possible discussion questions could be “At what point did you become grateful?” or “What would you say to someone going through a trial that might help them endure it well?” (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8). Explain that Paul went through many difficult trials in his life and wrote about blessings that resulted from what he suffered. Invite students to read Romans 5:3–5, looking for what Paul says can result from trials or tribulations in our lives. Consider asking students to share how they have experienced any of these blessings.
Learning about grace from the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon prophets were inspired to teach and write about Jesus Christ and the grace available to us through Him. Students could read at least three of the following verses, thinking about what these verses teach them about grace.
Another option is to put students into groups and assign each group member one or more of the scripture passages. Have them read their scripture and write the reference and a favorite word or phrase from the scripture passage on a piece of paper. Then have them rotate papers and repeat the process for each of the other group members’ papers. Once the activity is completed, students can look at their original paper and see the words and phrases chosen by group members for all the verses.
Concluding invitation
To help students apply what they have learned in this lesson, consider giving them a notecard or small piece of paper. Invite them to carry it with them for the next 24 hours as they look for God’s grace in their lives and to write down any evidence they find. Invite them to then pray and express gratitude for each instance and ask Heavenly Father to help them have eyes to better see His grace in their lives. Students could report about their experiences in the next class.