Contributor: Tony
Scriptures
Romans 3:23
Colossians 3:25
Romans 1:18
John 3:16
1 Cor 15:10
Philippians 2:13
Titus 3:3-5
Romans 6:20-23
John 14:15-17
Romans 8:26
2 Peter 3:18
Acts 4:33 and 11:23
“Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith, essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs. We are saved 'through faith,' but salvation is 'by grace'.” Charles H. Spurgeon
The Grace of God causes us to focus on His undeserved favour, love, kindness, and Spiritual enablement. We need to receive all this into our lives by making a response to God’s gracious offer - and that response we call faith. Grace and faith together give us understanding of our Salvation through the sacrificial blood of Christ.
In the Old Testament God revealed Himself as the God of grace and mercy who showed love to His people, not because they deserved it, but because His own desire was to have a personal relationship with them. He made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob which he has faithfully kept.
Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; Colossians 3:25 warns, “But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done...” God is Holy and one day He will bring justice to all mankind. Romans 1:18 warns of the coming wrath of God upon the ungodly. God’s justice can be described as getting what we deserve; His mercy as not getting what we do deserve; and His grace reveals God pouring more blessing upon us than we ever deserve through the life, sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus who is the ultimate experience of God’s grace. Christians experience this grace through the indwelling Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy, acceptance and forgiveness to all believers, filling them with the desire and power to do God’s will. (John 3:16, 1 Cor 15:10). The Christian experience is entirely dependent on God’s grace.
In Titus 3:3-5 we see that God offers a degree of grace to unbelievers to encourage them to respond to the Gospel by turning to Jesus. He bestows grace upon believers by setting us free from sin (Romans 6:20-23) and he enables us to work out His purpose in our lives (Philippians 2:13).
In His sermon on the mount Jesus taught, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father…..” Obedience is a gift of God’s grace, born out of our love for Him. (John 14:15-17). His grace helps us to pray (Romans 8:26), to grow in relationship with Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and to share the Good News of Jesus with others. (Acts 4:33 and 11:23).
Our response to God’s grace must be to pursue and accept it. This we do by reading and obeying Scripture (John 15:1-11, John 20:31), hearing and responding to the preaching of the Gospel (Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8, Romans 1:16 and 1 Corinthians 1:17-18) and by prayer (Jude1:20)
Free will gives us the choice to receive His Grace or to turn from it.
Prayer: Lord, when I consider my sin which deserves Your Justice and wrath, my heart fills with gratitude that in repentance I can know Your Mercy and Grace through the precious sacrificial blood of Jesus. I thank You for Holy Spirit who enables me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps day by day. Amen