Goodness of Grace

God's grace is the most important thing in all of creation.  Grace refers to how a good, perfect, and just God stepped down into creation through His Son, Jesus, and applied mercy upon an undeserving humanity.  Jesus' sinless, perfect life and atoning death paid the price for the sin of all mankind.  It was the single most important act that has ever occurred.

Before Christ's death and resurrection, every single human being was and would be found guilty of sin and iniquity before the judgment seat in God's holy court.  After Christ's perfect propitiation, believers are now granted mercy that covers all of their sins.  This is grace: it is the application of God's mercy.  Grace is Christ's atonement and justification through expiation and propitiation of sin applied personally to humans.  Mercy, the root of grace, is an undeserved gift given without expectation or requirement of payment.  God's grace, His mercy, is the single basis for our faith in Christ.  Without the grace of God through the work of Christ, we would have no leg to stand on before a righteous and just God.

Ephesians 2:8-10 offers the definitive statement in regards to the primacy of God's grace in the act of salvation: "For by grace you have been saved by faith.  And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no man can boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

It is God's grace alone by which our justification before the Holy Judge is found.  The defense of our faith has nothing to do with the degree of our convictions just as the power and truth of our belief is utterly worthless apart from the grace of God offered freely through belief in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Additionally, there is a distinct connection between the grace apportioned by God and the good works that we are to do. God does will us to do things.  However, we cannot do those things to receive or earn more grace (anyone who says so is teaching heresy).  God did not and does not give us grace once we've earned it.  By no means!  Conversely, while we were sinners, He saved us by grace (Rom. 5:8), and it is through faith that we receive the awesomeness of that gift.  Instead, we do good works as an outpouring of the grace God has given us through His Son as service and praise to Him.

This is a beautiful thing.  It means that any and all of the good deeds that we do in His name can draw no attention to ourselves because they are meant only to point directly to Him who has designed, caused, and equipped us to do the work.  In this way, God is served and glorified in His children.  Therefore, there is no place whatsoever for pride in the Church because anything we have or do that is worth boasting of is only by and in the grace of God.  God alone is deserving of praise in all things. Thanks be to God for His grace that He pours so lavishly upon us through faith!