Question 1

What is grace?

Accepted Answer

Romans 6:23The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.Ephesians 2:8-9God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.Grace is a favor we do for someone else without expecting anything in return. The Bible’s statement that we are saved by grace means that God has done us the greatest favor of all. He has pardoned us from the death sentence we deserve for rebelling against him. We do not have to earn God’s grace or work our own way to have eternal life, nor can we. By grace and grace alone we are forgiven from our sins and restored to full fellowship with God. Like the gift of life itself, we cannot take any credit for it, any more than a baby can brag about being born. The fact that this is God’s gift and not the product of our own efforts gives great comfort, security, and hope.

Question 2

Where does grace come from? How can I receive it?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 84:11The Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.Ephesians 2:8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.By God’s grace he decided to offer us the gift of salvation. We can do nothing to earn it, but simply receive it with faith and thanks. Grace begins with God and is given freely by God. His graciousness to us is our example for extending grace and mercy to others.Leviticus 17:11“I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.”Leviticus 22:19-20“You will be accepted only if your offering is a male animal with no defects. It may be a bull, a ram, or a male goat. Do not present an animal with defects, because the Lord will not accept it on your behalf.”Deuteronomy 6:17“You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you.”Hebrews 10:1-4The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.God is holy. This means he is perfectly good and hates sin. In order for us to have a relationship with God, sin had to be addressed. In Old Testament times, God gave a code of laws to show his people how to live in obedience to him and atone for their sins. But no matter how hard Israel followed the Law, they always fell short; and no matter how many animals they sacrificed, they could never remove their sins. God intended for the laws and sacrifices of the Old Testament to show us our need for grace—and to foreshadow Jesus’s perfect sacrifice.Isaiah 53:5He [the Messiah] was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healedMatthew 5:17“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”John 1:16-17From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”Hebrews 10:11-14Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.1 Peter 1:18-19You know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.Sacrificial laws were very important in the Old Testament. When the Israelites sinned, God told them to kill an animal and offer it as a sacrifice in payment. The animals couldn’t have defects—they had to be worthy sacrifices (Leviticus 20:20). But animals could never truly remove sin. Only Jesus—perfect and sinless—could be a sacrifice great enough to remove our sins. When Jesus died on the Cross, he became our perfect sacrificial lamb—the Lamb of God—taking away the sins of the world. This was the cost of God’s gift of grace.Hebrews 4:16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.We may freely approach God at any time, and he will freely give his mercy and grace.

Question 3

How does grace affect my daily life?

Accepted Answer

Romans 6:1-4Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.Romans 6:14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.When we truly believe in Christ as our savior, God’s grace removes the penalty of sin and breaks the power of sin over our lives. While sin will always try to hinder us in our walk with God, it is fighting a losing battle. The Holy Spirit gives us a desire to want to please God and the spiritual wisdom to be able to discern the truth and pursue it.Romans 12:1-2And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.1 Corinthians 6:20God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.Ephesians 4:21-24Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.Ephesians 5:2Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.Philippians 1:6I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.God freed us from sin at a great price—the Cross. In response to God’s love and sacrifice, he longs for our love and sacrifice in return: the sacrifice of dying to sin and living like him. This is not a task we do to earn salvation, but God’s continuation of the salvation process. After Jesus freed us from the penalty of sin, he longs to free us from its corruption and control. This process of becoming like him—sanctification—leads to the fulfilling life we were made to live.Galatians 3:3How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?Ephesians 2:8-10God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.We need to remind ourselves continually that God approves of us because of his grace alone. God approves of us not because of what we do or don’t do, but because he loves us and has forgiven all our sins. God created us to do good works by his grace at work within us.

Question 4

How does grace affect my view of God?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 103:8The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.What we believe about God is the most important belief we can have. If we believe God is always angry with us, we will be defensive, fearful, or antagonistic toward him. When we believe the depth of his love and grace toward us, we live with the joy of being forgiven and knowing we will live forever in heaven. We no longer fear God’s retribution but seek him out in relationship.

Question 5

How should I respond to God’s grace?

Accepted Answer

Philippians 1:6I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.When we understand God’s grace, we will desire to become more like Jesus in response.Daniel 9:18“O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.”Recognizing and requesting God’s grace takes humility as we realize our need for it. The more we realize how much we need God’s grace, the more we realize we don’t deserve it—which is exactly why we need it!