You don't have to be perfect for God to love and accept you. [Spirituality & Religion]
God justifies the ungodly—not people who have done their best and somehow elicited a gracious response from God. God justifies those who do not deserve it. That's GRACE. Second, God justifies people who receive salvation by faith — not people who give it their best effort. If they are justified in any part based on what they do, they are receiving wages, not a gift. If grace is based on works to any degree, then it is not grace (Romans 11:6).
We are saved by grace from beginning to end. Once a person has come to faith in Christ, he will undoubtedly realize that the only reason he was able to have faith, is that God was drawing him even before he knew it (see John 6:44). Left to himself, the sinner would have continued to rebel and flee from God. Even before we believe, the very desire to come to God is God’s grace at work to save us. “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8; Revelation 7:10).
Salvation by grace means that, from first to last, it is undeserved. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Grace is not God doing 95 or even 99.9 percent, with us making up the difference. Grace is God doing 100 percent and our humble acceptance of it, recognizing that we are unworthy and have nothing to contribute.
The following song refers to our spiritual state:
Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
We are saved by grace from beginning to end. Once a person has come to faith in Christ, he will undoubtedly realize that the only reason he was able to have faith, is that God was drawing him even before he knew it (see John 6:44). Left to himself, the sinner would have continued to rebel and flee from God. Even before we believe, the very desire to come to God is God’s grace at work to save us. “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8; Revelation 7:10).
Salvation by grace means that, from first to last, it is undeserved. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Grace is not God doing 95 or even 99.9 percent, with us making up the difference. Grace is God doing 100 percent and our humble acceptance of it, recognizing that we are unworthy and have nothing to contribute.
The following song refers to our spiritual state:
Amazing grace—how sweet the sound—
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
