158. What is Grace?

The gospel message is the good news of God’s grace, so it is important to know what grace is and to constantly seek to get a better view of what grace does in our lives.

Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s benevolence, love and mercy. Grace can be variously defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.

To fully understand grace, we need to consider who we were without Christ and who we become with Christ.

But then came GRACE. God extended His favour to us through Jesus Christ, offering forgiveness, reconciliation and new life.

The Bible repeatedly calls grace a “gift” (e.g., Ephesians 4:7). This is an important analogy because it teaches us some key things about grace.

First, anyone who has ever received a gift understands that a gift is different from a loan, which requires repayment by the recipient. The fact that grace is a gift means that we cannot earn it or place God in our debt. Our response to grace is not a payment for salvation but a response of faith, gratitude, love and obedience.

Second, there is no cost that the recipient must pay to purchase a gift. A gift is freely given to the recipient, although it may come at a great cost to the giver. The gift of salvation cannot be earned by us sinners. But the price of this extraordinary gift came at a great cost to our Lord Jesus, who gave Himself for us and died for our salvation.

Third, when a gift is given, it is truly received by the recipient and is not a loan that must be repaid. Yet the analogy of a gift should not be taken to mean that a person can never turn away from God or that perseverance in faith is unnecessary. God's grace is abundant and His faithfulness is steadfast, but Scripture also calls believers to abide in Christ, repent when they fall and persevere in faith. We can have confidence in God's mercy without treating His gift as permission to live apart from Him.

Fourth, in the giving of a gift, the giver voluntarily gives something for the benefit of the recipient. In the case of our salvation, Christ humbled Himself and gave Himself for us so that we might share in the riches of His life. This generous and voluntary gift is expressed in 2 Corinthians 8:9:

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Finally, the Bible teaches that grace is completely unmerited. The gift and the act of giving do not arise from our merits or our innate goodness (Romans 4:4; 11:5–6; 2 Timothy 1:9–10). We cannot earn God's saving grace or claim that He owes us salvation. Romans 5:8–10 says:

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.”

Grace does not stop once we are saved; God continues to be gracious to us throughout our lives, working within us and helping us grow in holiness. His grace does not merely forgive us but also heals, renews and transforms us. Through the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to respond to God, turn away from sin and grow in the likeness of Christ. The Bible encourages us with many additional benefits that grace brings to the life of the believer:

Grace is actively and continually working in the lives of God’s people. Paul credited the success of his ministry not to his own substantial labours but to “the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Grace is the ongoing, benevolent work of God within us, without whom we can do nothing (John 15:5). Even our ability to do good works depends upon God's help and every good work should lead to gratitude rather than pride. Grace is greater than our sin (Romans 5:20), more abundant than we expect (1 Timothy 1:14) and too wonderful for words (2 Corinthians 9:15).

As the recipients of God’s grace, Christians are called to be gracious to others. Grace is given to us so that we may serve others and exercise our spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church (Romans 12:6; Ephesians 3:2, 7; 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10).

You are saved freely through the precious Blood of the Lamb, yet people sometimes try to attain salvation through their own efforts and merits. It is understandable that people may struggle to receive a gift freely, because doing so requires humility. Pride can lead people to believe that they can make themselves worthy of salvation through their own deeds, religious observances or adherence to particular traditions/customs. But no human achievement can purchase God's grace or make salvation a debt that God owes us.

This does not mean that good works, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, the sacraments or other Christian practices are opposed to grace. Properly understood, these are ways of responding to God, growing in holiness and living out the faith that His grace makes possible. The problem arises when people rely on outward observances as a substitute for genuine repentance, love and trust in God.

To refuse God's grace through pride and self-reliance is to act as though human beings can save themselves. It is to say, in effect, “I do not need the gift God offers; I will establish my own righteousness.” But can human effort purchase the salvation that Christ has won for us? Can good works performed apart from God's grace place Him in our debt? Certainly not.

This verse closes the chapter. Pause at every comma and meditate on the few words you read:

“For by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH [in Christ and His saving work], and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

And remember the very next verse:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Salvation is God's gift, not our achievement. Yet the grace that saves us also calls us to a transformed life. All glory belongs to God, whose grace forgives, heals, strengthens and enables us to walk in holiness and love.