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