In the book of 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul extends grace to the believers as he encourages them in their faith, and urges them to lead lives worthy of Christ.

Defined as " that which gives joy, pleasure and delight", grace has various meanings depending on its use in a particular phrase or verse.

Derived from the Greek word "charis," it is used by Christ in reference to speech as outlined by Luke 4:22, "The words of Jesus was spoken with grace." In Ephesians 4: 29 and Colossians 4:6, "the words of the Christians are to impart grace to the hearer." According to Thayer, "charis" contains the idea of kindness bestowed upon one who has neither earned nor deserved it.

The writers of the New Testament used this word preeminently of "that kindness by which God bestows favors upon the ill-deserving, grants sinners full pardon of their offenses, and extends to all an invitation to accept eternal life through Christ. It is this particular definition of grace that prompts us to think of it as his unmerited favor.

If we cannot earn it, why is grace necessary? Grace is first, foremost, and always will be the method by which we received our salvation. People, we are saved by grace.

This may come as a shock to some people, but God "doesn’t" owe us anything. What we deserve is eternal damnation. As the writer of Romans declared, "We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." No matter what God may call upon us to do in order to receive His grace, we are still "unworthy servants" see Luke 17:10. We must never forget it is only by God’s grace that salvation is possible.

Some people reason that since we are saved by grace, we are free to do whatever we wish. My Christian friend, that couldn’t be more wrong.

"It is the grace of God that teaches us" to:

Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts

Live soberly, righteously and godly

Look for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-13.

Christ gave Himself for the express purpose of redeeming us from lawlessness, and purifying His own special people. The unmerited favor of God never has and never will be an excuse to continue sinning.

I agree that living soberly, godly, is an impossible task for man, but with God’s help we can. As the writer of Philippians declares, "He works in us to do His good will." An area where many believers and non-believers alike, miss the mark is that living godly is not an act we can perform alone. God does not expect us to. This is why the writer admonishes us to come boldly before the throne of God’s grace that we might obtain favor and find grace to help in a time when we so desperately need it. (Paraphrased)

Like the development of a young child, we are not born possessing an abundance of grace. It, like faith, requires growth. Peter commands us in his letters to grow in grace. People, it is not enough to just experience the grace of God regarding our sins, but God has so much more to share with us, both in this world, and the world to come see Ephesians 2:7. We grow in grace by heeding God’s Word, and drawing near to Him in prayer.

As we continue to understand grace, there are two fundamental principles we must learn. One has to do with God’s nature, and the other has to do with ours.

The first principle is outlined in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." In other words, sin is real, and so are its effects. As we study the grace of God, we must understand that God cannot overlook sin. It must and will be punished.

The second principle has to do with our fallen nature. According to the writer of Romans 3:23, "Every responsible man and woman (except Christ) has sinned." By our own disobedience we have proved ourselves Adam’s true descendants. In two ways, therefore, we all sinned—representatively in our first forefather, and individually, by our own bad choices.

So as we struggle with trying to do God’s will, neither one of these principles can be ignored. Since we, through Adam, have fallen short and are doomed for death, how do we find redemption? Since it is God’s nature to punish sin and its wages are death, how can we find life?

The answer to these questions is the same, an act of grace given only by the Father. "For by grace are we saved through faith and not of ourselves, it is the gift of God." It is no wonder the songwriter describes grace as amazing.

A dilemma for some Christians is the relationship between grace and good works. Man believe that they can be saved as a result of their prayer life and good deeds. So what does the Bible say on this crucial matter. Is an individual justified on account of the works that grace enables him or her to do? Is he or she justified by grace apart from personal works?

The Bible does not leave us in the dark about this. "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" Romans 4:4-5.

And if they are saved by God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s wonderful kindness would not be what it really is –free and undeserved. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which has given us in Christ Jesus before the world began II Timothy 1:9.

According to the Bible, grace is the very opposite of the debt for someone’s work. Grace is unmerited favor. It is unmerited because it is not granted for any work that a person does. It has and is always the gift of God. As far as justification is concerned, God justifies the ungodly who "worketh not" but "believeth." To such a person "God imputeth (credits to his account) righteousness without works" Romans 4:4-6.

In closing, my prayer is for God to humble us so that our natural pride can see grace for what it truly is and may he open our eyes to see the wonder of his grace and lovingkindness that we may joyfully sing, "Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling." Amazing!! Yes, His grace is truly amazing.

By Travestine J. Wright