Living Out God’s Grace

This article is a continuation of my previous one entitled, “God’s Amazing Grace.” I will discuss what a person’s response needs to be in reference to grace, in four key areas.

One, I sometimes wonder when secular (as well as some religious) people sing the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” do they think that God’s grace is both automatic and universal? That is to say that every person is saved regardless of how he or she lives. Romans 6:1-2 addresses this issue. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” Just the opposite should be true. Titus 2:11-12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives…” So, we should strive to live a life that glorifies God in response to his grace. And to receive God’s grace is not universal; it is an individual decision based on accepting Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior. God’s amazing and saving grace is made possible only through that personal decision. If that decision is not made, people are living in deception, believing they are saved when they’re not.

The second area is that of living according to some law. Galatians 5:4 says, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” According to one Bible commentator, this verse does not mean that one loses their salvation, but they will not experience spiritual growth and God’s blessing.

A third element is earning salvation by righteous living. Take heed to this powerful verse in Galatians 2:21. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Did you catch that? If one can earn their salvation there was no point in Jesus dying on the cross! It is only possible as a free gift labeled, “Grace,” to those who open the present. The content of the present includes forgiveness, justification, redemption, and being declared righteous by God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”(Romans 3:23-24).

Fourth, be thankful for God’s grace, because none of us would be saved without it. It also determines our response to other people who have hurts, struggles, addictions, or are in very unfortunate situations of being destitute without hope. Have you heard the saying, “there but by the grace of God go I?” It is a declaration of humility and recognizing that you could be in the same circumstance if not for G0d’s grace. But we all have things in our lives that make us a dysfunctional child of God. A former pastor of mine said in a sermon, “God has a lot of dysfunctional children.” However, God’s grace has a lot of patience in helping us grow in his grace toward Christian obedience and maturity.

How are you responding to God’s grace?