Jennifer Rothnie Supporter Housewife, Artist, Perpetually Curious

Scripture has a lot to say about grace, the favor which God gives to man in various ways. Even the very first line of the Bible is full of grace:

"In the beginning,  God created the Heavens and the Earth." Gen 1:1

It would be impossible to list all of the many ways scripture describes God's grace, but for the most part grace plays out in these six ways:

1.  God's general blessings to man, such as creation (Gen 1,) lifespan (Ecc 8:15), history (Acts 17:26-27,) the sun/rain blessing the good and bad (Matt 5:45,) rule of the Earth (Gen 1:26,) etc.

2. God's spiritual blessings to all men, such as ability to see God's glory in nature (Rom 1:20,) giving man a conscience to understand God's law (Rom 2:15,) the Holy Spirit convicting of sin (Jn 16:8,) the capacity to reason (Isa 1:8,) love (Luke 17:27,) invent (II Chron 26:15,) etc.

3. God's specific blessings to the Israelites, such as the law, the patriarchs, historical intervention and blessings, interfering in history to free them (II Sam 7:23,) that they would be the nation from whom the redeemer would come (Gen 49:10, Rom 9:2-5)

4. God's revelation of Christ, the greatest unmerited gift to man that God has given, hinted in scripture as far back as Gen 1:2, "Let there be Light."
(Heb 1:3, I Cor 1:4-5, John 4:10, John 1:9-10)

This grace shows in the salvation offered to all people in Christ (Titus 2:11, John 12:3-33, Matt 4:12-17, Psalm 67:1-3.) This salvation is not by merited works of the law, but by God's grace through faith. (Eph 2:8-10, Rom 5:1-2, Joel 2:32) Christ died for all, even though all were sinners undeserving of this grace (Rom 5:6-8, I John 2:1-2,) and through His death draws all men to Himself (Jn 12:32.) This grace continues as the gospel is spread throughout the whole world. 

5. God's spiritual blessings to those in Christ, such as:

- eternal life granted to those who believe: (John 3:16-17, Rom 6:23, John 1:1-3, Rom 4:24-25, Gal 2:20-21)
- the Holy Spirit dwelling with us: (Acts 19:2, Eph 4:30, I Cor 6:19)
- our transformation as the Holy Spirit regenerates us to be a New Creation, growing up into the headship of Christ: (Gal 6:16, II Cor 5:17, Col 3:5-11)
- our adoption as sons: (Gal 4:4-6, Rom 8:15)
- our justification; being declared righteous due to the imputed righteousness of Christ: (Rom 5:12-19)
- reconciliation with God: (Rom 5:6-11)
- spiritual growth (II Pet 1:3-11, Gal 5:16-22)
- the mind of Christ (I Cor 2:15-16, Rom 7:25)
- teaching by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13, I Cor 2:6-16)
- prayer (Phil 4:6, Matt 6:10-13)
- grace to resist the devil (James 4:6)
- future rewards in heaven (James 1:12, Rev 22:12)
- Jesus' empathy with our trials Heb 4:15-16

6. Grace to those in Christ corporately
- spiritual gifts for the common good (I Cor 12:7-31)
- unity in the spirit (Eph 4:4)
- taught by God to love each other (I Thess 4:9)
- made a royal priesthood to declare God's praises (I Pet 2:9)
- set apart as a holy people (Eph 4:1-5, Col 3:12)


The above is not exhaustive - it just scratches the surface of the grace that God pours out!

"Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard not to be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." II Pet 3:18

February 06 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Kraft 74 year old retired pipeline worker

The bible has much to say about grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

We see in that verse that faith is not a work, Because we are saved by faith, not by works. So faith is not a work.

Romans 11:6 IT is all grace, not works, if it was by works it is no more grace, and if by grace it is no more by works.

We can only be saved by grace, What Jesus did for us, not by anything we do or do not do.

Matthew 7:21-23 Shows us that no one can be saved by works or what we do, we can only be saved by what Jesus has already done. Grace is done, not do. Salvation is not do, it is done. Grace. 

John 3:16 is grace. For God so loved the world, (everybody) that He gave His only begotten Son, (Jesus,) that whosoever, (anybody) that believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.

First John 2:2 Jesus died for our sins, but not ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Everyone who believes their sins are all paid for, and God would have all men to be saved. Second Timothy 2:4 

Grace is the free gift of God to everyone that has ever believed it one time. Once we have accepted Jesus free offer of salvation by grace, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and can never be cast out. John 6:37 

Grace is what God bestows on the believer at the time we believe. Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after ye believed ye were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. 

Romans 4:6-8 is probably the greatest declaration of grace anywhere in the bible. When we believe John 6:47 God's righteousness is imputed to us, and our sins can no longer be imputed to our account. That is AMAZING GRACE and it is a free gift from God just for believing the gospel. 

Grace is not limited to anyone and is given to every believer.. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew First, and also to the Greek.

We are not to use grace for a license to sin, but when we sin grace abounds. Romans 5:20. Grace has to abound because we all sin. First John 1:8 and 1:10

How do we know we have grace. Because we have believed. How long does grace last? Forever. Grace is eternal life to every one the believeth. 

First Corinthians 15:1-4 That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that he was buried and rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures.

There are many places all through the new testament that show us we are saved by grace without works. The Gospel of John is all about grace by just believing on Jesus to receive the gift of eternal life through His grace.

Grace is what Jesus did for us that we did nothing for. Grace is the free gift of God. Grace means all of our sins are paid for and we can no longer be condemned to hell. John 3:18 We have eternal life now and are saved for ever because of grace. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, and we all sin, but the gift of God is eternal life. That is grace. Grace is the only way sinners could be saved. 

AMAZING GRACE, JESUS PAID IT ALL, AND WE PAID 0. We all deserve to go to hell to pay for our sins, but Jesus paid for them all so we would not have to go to hell to pay for them. God's grace is sufficient for all our sin.

Galatians 2:21 Paul said, For I do not void the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If we could have been saved by keeping Gods law's and commandments, then Jesus died for no reason. But we could not keep his laws and commandments and we are saved by grace. Not by our performance or obedience, or our merit, but by His grace He saved us.

Under grace we have nothing to boast in. If we were under the law we would have something to boast in. The law could not save us. Jesus saved us by grace.

January 31 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report