Grace
Grace is defined
as unmerited favor.
“Unmerited” implies guilt on our part and not deserving of
good. We have all sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Justice alone would require that we be destroyed. Therefore, this “favor” tells us
that we have a free gift from God; a gift we did not earn. It is like charity, helping one
in need when they are in no position to pay you back. We have guilt. God has a gift for us
anyway. That is the essence
of grace.
God’s grace is
demonstrated to us through His Son.
We are guilty and God’s justice demands that a price be paid. The price for sin is death,
literally our blood. In
Bible vernacular, life is in the blood. So, shedding one’s blood is in
essence giving up life. God
gave His Son to pay the price of blood for us. Not because we are righteous, or even good, but solely
because He loved us when we were neither righteous nor good (Romans 5:
6-8). God’s love for us
produced His Son as the gift to pay the price of life on our behalf.
We need to
understand the difference between being saved by grace and saved by
works. At times in history
people have worried if they were working hard enough for the Lord. While self- examination is good,
this attitude reflects a misunderstanding concerning our salvation. Salvation is not a balanced
business transaction where there is a fair exchange. It is a free gift. We are not earning, as with a
wage, our heavenly home.
Nothing that we can do will put us in position to justly demand
salvation from God. We can
never pay the price with good deeds. We will only be saved because of God’s gift.
Our response to
grace should be our love, obedience and good works. While our salvation is a free
gift, it still must be accepted on God’s terms. God did not provide a free gift with out requiring our
obedience. While we can
never earn our salvation, we must embrace it through obedience. Once in Christ, and
therefore receiving the benefits of God’s grace, we should be overcome
with gratitude. Our love for
God alone should cause us to work diligently all of our lives in His
service. Not because we need
to work to earn our salvation, but rather because our love and gratitude
compels us. Only God’s grace
can save us.
“For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
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