Saved by Grace

Good point Psalms109.

 

You didn't save yourself: Jesus did. All you did was accept His gift of giving Himself on the Cross. When Jesus said "not by works..." he meant by actually doing something such as giving money to the church, attending church every week, helping a neighbor, etc.

 

I have always liked this definition of grace (which was coined by a friend's dad, who is a pastor). Grace is God doing for man what He requires of man and then giving him credit as if he did it himself.

God requires death and shed blood for eternal salvation. So God's grace is God sending His Son, Who lived a perfect life allowing Him to be the perfect Sacrifice, the Son died and shed His blood. When we receive that substitutionary death and shed blood by faith God gives us credit as if we died and had blood shed, but it was the blood of the Lamb and the death of the Lamb.

God's grace is also invovled in living the Christian life. In our own power we can do nothing for God that is worthy, but when we die to self and allow the Holy Spirit to live out the manifested life of Christ in us God's grace appears again because God is actually doing the work in us, which is the work that He requires of us, but then He credits it to our account as if we did it ourself.

God is truly amazing!!!