What is Grace? - Grace and our salvation

Introduction:

• The word "Grace" is very important word in our lives as Christians
• "Grace" generally refers to a free gift or courteous goodwill
• The word "Grace" comes from being "graced" with something, or something being bestowed on you or given to you  
  • i.e. The teacher graced me by allowing me to re-take my exam 
• In Christianity, "Grace" refers to a free divine gift or divine contribution (The divine role in the life of man)
• "Grace" simply means a divine help that is sent to us 
• "Grace" is a free gift we received from God, It is like a magnetic field that surrounds us
• Any gifts or talents we have are considered "grace" that we received from God
  • "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: " Romans 12:6
• Everything we do in our lives and even our salvation is connected with God's grace.

Examples of "graces" in our life:

• The first grace we received is the grace of "being" ... existence 
• Another grace is being created in the image and likeness of God
• Having a family is a grace from God
• The food on table and the drink in our cup are considered from God's grace
• Therefore whenever something good happens in our lives we say by "God's grace"
  • I arrived from my travel
  • I passed the exam
  • I was sick and now I am healed 
• Even in our greetings we say "peace and grace"
• We are surrounded by God's grace every second of our lives 
  
• We live in the covenant of grace 

Grace and our Salvation

• In the beginning 
  •  When God created Adam and Eve, He surrounded them by His grace.
    • Describe their initial state, being like children 
  • God's grace covered them 
  • As a result of Adam's sin, Adam and Eve lost God's grace, hence they felt naked 
    • Describe their state after the sin being exposed to corruption and sin
  • This state continued throughout the Old Testament
  • People longed and desired for God's grace and they could not find it 
    • The righteous people wanted to live righteously and overcome sin but they were not capable of doing so without God's grace
  • Then the Lord gave the law through Moses
  • The Law did not help but on the contrary showed that the individuals are even more transgressors "sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful" Romans 7:13
  • Even though the law was good, it revealed how sinful man is. 
  • Therefore, people needed divine intervention - righteousness became impossible to achieve without an aid
• In the New Testament
  • Now comes the new testament - St John in his gospel says "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
  • The beginning of the grace of the new testament is the incarnation 
  • Because we needed a divine intervention - the Lord was incarnate
  • Following the incarnation, the whole economy of salvation is a grace from our Lord Jesus, His Crucifixion, His Resurrections, His Ascension, blessing and renewing our nature
  • Righteousness is now attainable - However, not by ourselves but with God's grace
  • We live in the covenant of grace 

How are we saved? (Grace and works)

• The points under this title can be found in these two articles:
  • https://www.suscopts.org/messages/lectures/soterlecture4.pdf
  • https://www.suscopts.org/messages/lectures/soterlecture11.pdf
  • Some people thought that God did everything for us to be saved so we do not need to work 
  • Some people thought that man can attain righteousness without depending on God in anything (Pelagianism)
  • In Orthodoxy, salvation is a collaboration between God and man. God gives grace and man responds to this grace and does good works
  • St Augustine said “God created us without us: but He did not will to save us without us”

Biblical examples:

• The War with Amalek 
• The Miracle of Feeding the Multitudes