“by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Anyone who hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ (I mean really hears the message) will likely wonder why God would do such a thing. Why would a holy and omnipotent God offer any reprieve to His rebellious created things? Why would any disobedience go unpunished? More incredibly, why would the King of glory make His lovingly faithful Son the object of His wrath on behalf of contemptible mutineers?
The Bible gives us no higher answer than to tell us that God has acted out of sheer grace, unparalleled grace, amazing grace. But, what is grace? Grace is neither a substance, nor thing; it is not sprinkled or absorbed. Grace is how we speak of God’s benevolent acts towards utterly undeserving sinners. Grace is the word we use to say that whatever purposes God has in saving a sinner, the motive does not originate in the sinful beneficiary.
God’s gift of salvation, from start to finish, is the result of God’s gracious resolve to love unlovable sinners. That’s it! That’s why sinners can rest assured that God’s love for them will remain faithful… because they had nothing to do with rousing God’s loving affection from the start.
Holding the Line 