Grace

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Titus 2:11-14

When used with salvation in view, grace goes hand-in-hand with mercy. While mercy serves to protect the believer from such things as his sin would merit (e.g. wrath, Hell, death), so grace abundantly provides him with such things which, in view of his spiritual corruption, would be undeserved (e.g. forgiveness, Heaven, life). Because of man’s sin nature, passed down from Adam, he is unable to make himself righteous in the sight of God: his “good” works, according to the Scriptures, are akin to soiled rags. It is for this reason and by virtue of the LORD’s great love and justice, that He provided His Son, Jesus Christ, as the substitutionary atonement for every transgression; both mercy and grace, thus, are direct results of His death and resurrection. Grace is a free gift from God, given in response to an individual’s faith in Christ, alone, for eternal salvation. Just as it cannot be earned, neither can the believer lost this amazing gift, once he has received it—his glorification assured by all three Members of the Trinity.

The doctrine of grace is related to the concepts of “salvation,” “eternal security,” “repentance,” and “glorification.”

See Also: Romans 3:21-26; 4:4-5, 23-25; 5:8, 12-21; 6:23; 8:3-4, 29-30, 38-39; Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:4-9; Titus 3:5-7; John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28-30; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Isaiah 64:6; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Psalm 100:5; 1 John 2:2; 4:9-10; 5:11-13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 5:21; Hebrews 10:10-14; 12:2; Colossians 2:13-15.

“They who truly come to God for mercy, come as beggars, and not as creditors: they come for mere mercy, for sovereign grace, and not for any thing that is due.”

Jonathan Edwards