10-17-22<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace is something that has a special meaning for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was my mother\u2019s first name, and is my granddaughter\u2019s middle name. More than that, and to be serious for a moment, grace is something we should practice more than we do, and that can be addressed to anyone in the world who has a pulse. Because Christians are the recipients of grace \u2013 as special a gift as any God bestows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For by grace we are saved through faith, the gift of God; and not by works, lest anyone boast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is that passage from Ephesians that hit the monk Martin Luther like a thunderclap, and which understanding \u2013 and expository viewpoint, through sermons and writings \u2013 that changed the course of Western Civilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGrace\u201d routinely and properly is defined as \u201cunmerited favor.\u201d We sin against a holy God, and cannot redeem ourselves or \u201cearn\u201d our way to Heaven, even by good deeds or spiritual merit badges. The only \u201cwork\u201d required of us is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God; that He died to take our punishment on Himself; that He rose from the dead and is One with the Father. If we believe in our hearts, and confess with our words, God\u2019s Grace is upon us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salvation cannot be bought \u2013 it was paid for by Jesus at a great cost \u2013 but therefore is free to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n