What is Grace

What is Grace?

The grace of God is a wonderful thing. Without it, Christians cannot live a Godly life, because God ordained grace to be a part of life. What is grace? Grace is the active and favorable power of God that renews our spirit, justifies our sin, influences us not to sin, and is the strength we receive that allows us to fulfill His will. Titus 2:11 tells us that grace is given to everyone: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” Therefore, every individual has the opportunity to receive the grace that is freely given (Ephesians 2:8).

If we accept grace, we will begin to see how God is using it in our lives. We will see the influence that God has on us, and the good will He desires towards us. If we respond to His free gift of grace, He will continue to give us more grace! “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” - 2 Peter 1:2) As He multiplies the grace to us, we can be assured that we will go through rough times, but that is the purpose of God’s grace – to make us stronger and more durable Christians for His work. Each trial we succeed in will be a marked event in our Christian life, given to us by the grace of God.

However, Grace can be resisted. This is a dangerous aspect of grace, as it has the deadly potential to hinder our spiritual growth. Paul warns in Romans 6:15-16,

”What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Finally, grace is only given to those who are humble, and have a desire to receive it. 1 Peter 5:5 reads,

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”

As we humble ourselves, God will reveal to us more areas in our lives that need to be changed. Once these areas have been discovered, we can use God’s grace to turn them completely over Him.

It is important that grace must be explained and defined so that we can understand the periods in our life when we are struggling. These times can be hard if we are proud and resist God’s grace. The result of pride is a springing forth of root problems such as bitterness, temporal values, and moral impurity. These root problems are the cause of attitude problems that we encounter with our selves and authorities. Lastly, attitude problems bring surface problems, such as disrespect, bad habits, dishonesty, and many more visible consequences. However, when we accept the grace that God freely offers, these problems disappear. Why? Because we are using God’s grace to overcome the hard times, trials, and moldings of His hands, and we will overcome these root problems, and reap from the benefits of a closer walk with God.

Works Cited:

1. Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary of American English

2. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

James Orr, M.A., D.D. General Editor

John L. Nuelsen, D.D., LL.D. Assistant Editor

Edgar Y. Mullins, D.D., LL.D. Assistant Editor

Morris O. Evans, D.D., PhD. Managing Editor

Melvin Grove Kyle, D.D., JJ.D. Revising Editor