Sola Gratia

By Grace Alone

Grace is a gift received freely from God, without our merit or worthiness. The most clear passage from Scripture that I can think of in relation to grace comes from Ephesians 2:8-9: 

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." 

This passage of Scripture could not be more clear as to explaining how we receive eternal life and salvation. Grace allows us to live boldly by grace, through faith. In Martin Luther's Preface to the Romans, he discusses how Paul speaks of sin, righteousness, death, and life, as well as the law with regard to our sin, revealing our need for grace. The law can sometimes lead us to become more hostile towards it because of our sinful nature, but Luther emphasizes that:

"Thus the law makes Christ more necessary to us, and increases the need for grace to help our nature..." (Luther, Bondage of the Will, p. 29).

Our faith then battles with our sin, but in the end the winner is clear: 

"The final goal is that we should be entirely liberated from sin, rise again in the body with Christ, and live forever. Paul declares that this is possible because we are not under the law, but under grace... But grace makes us take pleasure in the law; then sin no longer enters in, and the law is no longer against us, but on our side" (Luther, Preface to Romans, p. 29). 

From this conclusion, we are not constrained nor do we feel obligated to do good and live uprightly, but rather, as I mentioned in my previous post, we get to do good because of God's grace, not because of the law.  Our debt is already paid by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, therefore, we do not have to live under the demands and obligations of the law. Rather, we get to, with willingness and love, because we have recognized our sins and come to know God's grace through Christ. 

As sinners, we stand before God, guilty and deserving death, but instead, God looks upon us with mercy and grace. Instead, he sends his son to die, pouring out his blood upon our sins, so that we do not have to. This is grace. This is what we do not deserve. 

Whenever I have been taught about the law, it has been compared to a mirror. Looking at the law in this way shows us our sin and guiltiness, ultimately revealing our desperate need for grace. 

When I think of grace, I think of an image of weary, worn out hands, in a cupped position, waiting to receive something, anything. This is how we stand before God and how our spirituality depends on receiving from God. Some of Martin Luther's final words were:

"We are beggars; this is true."

There is nothing that we can do that will make us worthy of God's grace and mercy, yet he gives it to us freely, without any merit or worthiness on our part. Our sins are removed by God's grace through his son; this is a pure and costly grace that liberates us as sinners.  As Christians, we get to share this good news of the grace of God given for us. We can boldly declare this by proclaiming our own unworthiness compared to Christ's worthiness. Here is a useful acronym that I learned to remember the definition of grace:

God's 

Riches

At 

Christ's

Expense

We all are in desperate need of God's grace. As Christians we can lean into this grace because we all have a collective need for it. This is a beautiful realization because it reveals that we are all in the same boat, in need of forgiveness. It is by grace, through faith, that we are able to receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation. May we share this truth with those around us, because none of us are any better than the other, but all entirely sinful and entirely dependent on the grace of God. 

Let us pray: 

Dear Lord, thank you for sending your son to die for the sake of our sins. May we be reminded of the grace we receive as a gift, not because of anything we do, but because of what you have done for us through sending your son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Help us to receive this grace with thanksgiving and grateful hearts that we may live our lives in service to you. In Jesus' name, Amen.