by Trisha Bridges Smith
Grace is one of those terms you always here churchy people talking about. Many people don’t have a clue as to what it is though. This short article is designed to give you an idea of what grace is all about.
What is grace?
Grace if a free and undeserved gift from God. He loves us and doesn’t want to see us suffer so He offers us His grace. It is favor or kindness shown without regard to worth or merit of the one who receives it, in spite of whether or not they deserve it. It is pure, unrecompensed kindness.
Background
The story of grace goes way back to the beginning. In the beginning God created man. Man was given a free will to choose. Man chose to rebel against God by eating from the tree which God instructed him not to eat. Therefore sin entered the world. Man was separated from God through His own actions. But God did not want this. He had a plan to redeem man. It came through Jesus Christ.
The Solution
Jesus is the embodiment of grace. By His death and resurrection He restored the broken fellowship between God and His people. The only way of salvation for any person is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 15:11 says that We believe through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved.
It is by our faith that we are saved. We cannot earn our salvation. God is offering us heaven and eternity with Jesus through His love for us. He loves us enough to give us eternity just by accepting His Son as our Savior. His grace is beyond our comprehension. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to earth, to live among men, becoming their friend, their teacher. Jesus came and dwelt with men, giving us an example of how we should live. He then gave His life for us, that we might live. His blood saves us. That is the grace of God. Hebrews 9:22 states The law requires that everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Jesus shed His blood, cleansing us, taking our sins upon Himself, so that we might be freed. By His blood we are set free from eternal punishment and separation from Jesus. By His grace we are given the chance to be made blameless in His sight.
What will you do with His gracious offer?
Jesus died for you. God’s grace if given to you, but you must believe in Jesus. Reading through the book of Romans might be a good place to learn more about God’s grace as this book compares grace with the law of Moses. A few key verses have been taken out for your examination here.
Romans 3:23-24 For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Regarding Adam’s rebelling and causing sin to enter the world:
Romans 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ overflow to the many?
Or better said:
Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, also through the obedience of one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:20-21 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
So now that you have seen these verses and have some basic knowledge of what grace is, what next? Will you deny the fact that you are a sinner and in need of His grace? Or will you accept His grace, undeserving as you are?
If you want to accept His free gift then you can do so by simply praying this prayer or by making up your own.
“Lord, I have sinned against you and against your word. I am undeserving of your free gift, but I want You to be in my life. Please forgive me for my sins. Wash me and make me clean. I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. Come into my heart Lord Jesus. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Make me the person you want me to be and I will live for you forever. Amen.“
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