The Unmerited Favor of God's Grace

First let me say that I am truly thankful to the Lord Jesus for His grace.  I love the Bible passage found in Ephesians 2:8-9. It is a wonderful passage of scripture. It says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."  I did nothing to deserve His unmerited favor. Everyone who professes Christianity should rejoice in this Bible verse and others like it. 

2nd Timothy 2:19 says, "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." It is not good enough for you or I to say we know the Lord Jesus. But when we can have the blessed assurance that the Lord Jesus knows us, that is "unmerited favor!" The verse goes on to say. "And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." There can be no question that this means that our post conversion lives should reflect a different lifestyle. 

The Apostle Paul had some interesting things to say about the grace of God in Titus 2:1-15. I won't take time to put it all here. You can turn there in your own Bibles and read it for yourself. But in Titus 2:11-12 the Bible says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world..." So the grace of God is a teacher. Do you claim the grace of God and yet live an ungodly lifestyle? If we claim God's grace in our lives, we ought to let it teach us to deny "ungodliness and worldly lusts," and "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world..."

The Apostle Peter said in 1st Peter 2:9, "...ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light..." If we have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light we should live in such a manner that shows the world His praises! Do you think living a sinful lifestyle while claiming the grace of God is OK? I don't! Let me conclude by saying, just because we have been blessed with the unmerited favor of God's grace doesn't mean we should live in a manner that is not pleasing to the Lord. Rather we should live as much as possible in a way that is worthy of God's unmerited favor and grace all the while not trusting in our own righteousness but in the unmerited favor of God's grace.