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What is "God's Grace"?
Posted : 11 May, 2012 12:42 PM
What is "God's Grace"?
(What is the difference between grace and mercy?)
Grace is much different than Justice and Mercy:
Justice is getting exactly what we deserve (which in this case is death).
Mercy is not getting the bad that we deserve.
Grace is getting the good that we do not deserve.
Simply put, Grace can be defined as God's unmerited favor. God's grace is something God does for the benefit of His people just because He loves them. Grace can never be earned, it's totally free.
God's justice and mercy can be compared to the pardon that a governor of a state can give to a guilty prisoner who is facing execution (the punishment of death) for something that he or she actually did. JUSTICE will be served and they will be killed unless the governor has MERCY and pardons the prisoner. But if the governor goes on and gives that guilty prisoner not only a pardon, but also total freedom, a huge mansion to live in, and unlimited resources he has then given that person both MERCY & GRACE.
If we only received JUSTICE from God we all would be dead because all of us have sinned Romans 3:23, 6:23, and the "wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23, yet God offers us a pardon (MERCY). Jesus died for us so that we could live, but His death can be our "salvation" only if we accept it. Just like the prisoner above, we can turn it down or we can accept this pardon that God offers John 3:16.
If we accept the gift (pardon or MERCY) that Jesus offers us, He not only forgives us, He continues by giving us life that will never end, a heavenly home, unlimited resources, and total freedom. That is God's GRACE.
God's Grace is "the power of God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves". And the fact is, we cannot do anything for ourselves. Jesus says, "...without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5.
The Bible gives us a beautiful example of what grace is and does. When Moses took the Children of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert the people soon became thirsty, but there wasn't any water to be found, especially not for 2,000,000 people, plus their herds of animals. God told Moses to strike a specific rock and He (God) would give the people water. The water that came out of that rock demonstrates the grace of God flowing out to all who would drink. It also caused the parched and barren land to blossom which in turn gave the people and animals something to eat. Without this water, without God's grace supplying the needs of the people, the people would have died. Christ is the Rock, He is also the Living Water.
Without God's grace, without the pardon that God gives us, we will die. We don't deserve the good that we get, but we are supplied daily with the light of the sun, air to breath, something to eat and drink. Without the materials God has provided us with we cannot even supply electricity on our own to make light and oxygen or even create food. God supplies all we need, but we must choose to accept His gifts, or to reject them. We have the option of refusing to eat or drink. We have the option of closing ourselves up in an air tight, waterproof and darkened room, but it will kill us.
And God's grace does not stop with just our physical needs. He has supplied what is needed for our spiritual well-being too. If we will only read and hide it in our hearts God's Holy Word, the Bible, contains all that we need to be happy, gain total freedom and have eternal life. The Bible tells us who God is and what He is like. In addition to the Bible, the Father allowed His Son, Jesus, to come and tell us who He is and what He is like. Jesus gave His life so that you and I do not have to die. God's justice, mercy and grace are all wrapped up in Jesus.
God's grace is all around us. He wants us to live forever and be happy. We can accept some of His grace and live for a few years, or we can accept ALL His grace and live forever! What's your choice, some of God's grace or ALL of it?
Sourced ~ bibletimelines.org
*** I'm in for ALL of God's grace...:bouncy:�xo
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