What Is Grace?

What is grace?

The word "grace" comes to us from the Latin gratus meaning "pleasing". We could say that we will secure salvation as an act of God’s pleasure and, as far as those who adhere to the doctrine of “saved by grace alone” are concerned, this is as accurate as it gets. God’s good pleasure is to extend grace to the righteous; that is, those who have been numbered among the elect, who were to be chosen in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. However, the number of the elect was predestined before the foundation of the world, not the actual individuals. That the actual number of people to be saved was designated before the foundation of the world is, nevertheless, still a matter of grace (God’s good pleasure).

Grace not only refers to the free and unmerited favor of God, but also to the divine power imparted to people who experience spiritual rebirth. Grace also refers to the assistance that God gives and the gifts that He bestows on His creatures. At the heart of grace resonates the idea of everything that pertains to life being imparted to human beings, who were originally created in God’s image. This reflects an Earthly perspective when we consider the following verses:

• Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17)

• Neither do they say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear Yahweh our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest.’ (Jeremiah 5:24)

Some argue that this is natural phenomena and God has no role to play. Others may suggest that the idea of God is based on fear, and because people in ages past did not possess the science that is available today, they did not realize this was natural phenomena at play. To support the contention that God has nothing to do with the seasons and man’s ability to farm crops and raise livestock, the issue of droughts and natural disasters has been raised. Even though insurance companies might refer to these as acts of God, the philosophic, scientifically, indoctrinated person today will claim that God is not really a loving, provident, Creator. If God provides benefits to the inhabitants of the planet, the evidence appears to be lacking. Instead of a benevolent God, as far as the naysayers are concerned, the supernatural ruler of Earth is more like a capricious tyrant who causes plagues, drought, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning storms, fires, frost and other disastrous acts that turn what otherwise would be a plentiful paradise into a battlefield for survival. Yet we see the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts appealing to the fact the seasons are a yearly phenomenon that provide evidence of the Divine One’s goodness. The prophet Jeremiah also asserts that the seasons are obvious evidence of God’s benevolence.  The book of Genesis informs us that the physical Universe was created to provide intelligence (signs) to the inhabitants on Earth (Genesis 1:14). The Psalmist (possibly reflecting upon what he read in Genesis, while looking at the night sky when upon the apex of one of Israel’s mounts) concludes that night to night declares knowledge of the glory of God (Psalm 19:1-2).

God Is Reliable

God’s grace extends to everyone who lives, by virtue of that we have access to all that pertains to life. This is the case, even though as far as we are concerned today, we are all born to die.  God’s unmerited favor extends to us all. The Apostle Paul asserts that God is impartial (Romans 2:11) and treats everyone the same. If God displayed partiality then He could not be righteous. Instead, unlike the capricious god that many fear, the Lord God who wrote the Ten Commandments has a standard by which He judges and upholds righteousness. For as James, the Lord’s brother in the flesh, has stated:

• Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. (James 1:17)

God is not a capricious despot. He does not change His mind, as humans do at the drop of a hat, because they have a different thought or a new preference. Unlike humans who possess limited knowledge and intelligence, the Lord God, our Heavenly Father, possesses omniscience that transcends the marvel of the Universe. He has no need to be capricious or show partiality. Because of this, we can be assured that God is righteous and extends grace to all of Creation’s inhabitants. Moreover, there is no need for anybody to impress God, because we are created by Him, even if we are procreated though the reproductive functions endowed to humans. God, nevertheless, implants within us our spirits, which enable us to possess knowledge, the ability to reason and appreciate life. Our Heavenly Father’s expectation for each one of us is the same, even though matters may not have turned out as originally intended. Some say to suggest that God has not got complete control over His Creation is heresy and an insult to His integrity and holiness. Contrary to this view, many claim the idea that God has complete control over everything is proof that He does not exist because it demonstrates He is not omniscient and almighty, as we are not robots. The truth is this demonstrates that God has given us freewill. For without having been given the ability to choose and without having been presented with the option of the knowledge of good and evil, we could not have been made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:22). Freewill means that we have been given the right to make our own decisions, and the grace of God is such that each one of us has been given the same right. This right we cannot barter, or improve, or change in anyway. The privilege to exercise this right, so that we can discover the Eternal One for ourselves, has been given to everyone by the grace of God. In fact, when the Apostle Paul was addressing those who possessed the wisdom of the Greek triumvirate of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle (whom philosophers today herald as great contributors to modern methods of thinking), he stated this:

• The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things. He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ (Acts 17:24-28)

The Apostle argues for the impartiality of God towards everyone (including Greeks). No human is any different to another in the sight of God. Each has the right to seek God, in the hope that they might reach out and find Him. The onus is on the individual to reach out to the Lord God. We cannot do this with our hands, as we would when reaching out to take fruit off a tree, because God cannot be seen and He is greater than the finite Universe, which He encompasses within His infinity. Maybe we can call out to God with our voice and He will hear us. But reaching out suggests being able to feel something, and this is what the words in the original language indicate. Therefore, some translations read along the lines of “feeling after God in the hope”, given the possibility, that He will respond to us. If God were partial, then the Apostle Paul would not speak of us having all descended from the one individual—having been made from one blood—with the aim that everyone should seek out God. If God were unjust, then partiality would prevail. Evidently, boundaries and seasons have been predetermined, but not the individuals who were to find God. The Apostle infers God has no control over who will seek Him out; for each one exercises his or her own freewill to seek God.

The logic is there for all to see, ponder and apprehend. Nobody asks to be born. Nobody asks to die. Yet nobody knows why we exist from appealing to human philosophies—especially those that exclude the knowledge of the Divine. The Apostle Paul says to the Greeks, who claim to delight in wisdom, that we exist to seek out God.

Making The Most Of God’s Grace

There is no suggestion here that because grace extends to all men, all men are saved. There is no suggestion here that we are saved by grace alone. Neither is there any suggestion that works of merit will help us find favor with God. There is only the truth that unless we seek God, we will not find Him. The way to finding God comes by grace. We do not have to perform any work of merit to discover the way to God. God is not far from each one of us.  By God’s grace, we are given freewill to choose life or death, blessing or curse. This is clearly stated in the written word of God:

• I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants; (Deuteronomy 30:19)

The doctrine that we are saved by grace is partly true, but we are not saved by grace alone. Nonetheless, it is by the grace of God that we have been given the right to choose. By God’s grace, we possess freewill. Not all creatures possess freewill. The Bible teaches that animals are irrational creatures of instinct—incapable of reasoning (2 Peter 2:12; Jude 1:10). Yet we learn that we have been given the power to reason. We are even invited to reason with God (Isaiah 1:18; note: Is. 43:26). This is the result of God’s immeasurable gift of grace towards us. This is not because, when it comes to being creatures, we are better than other animals; rather, God chose to create humans in His Own image.  God could have given spirits to any one of the creatures, but he chose Adam and Eve, and their descendants. About this, we had no choice. As humans, we are born, and God gives a spirit to each one of us that enables us to reason and make choices. This we receive by the grace of God. What we do with our gift is up to us. We choose either life or death—blessing or curse. The decision is ours to make. This decision has not been made on our behalf by anyone else. If we love evil, we will hate the truth. If we love truth, we will choose the fear of the Lord; which is the hatred of evil. In the book of Proverbs, we learn:

• The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

• Because they hated knowledge, and didn’t choose the fear of Yahweh. (Proverbs 1:29)

• If you seek her [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures: then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and find the knowledge of God. For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:4-6)

• The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. (Proverbs 8:13)

• The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

• The fear of Yahweh prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. (Proverbs 10:27)

• In the fear of Yahweh is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children. (Proverbs 14:26)

• The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)

• Better is little, with the fear of Yahweh, than great treasure with trouble. (Proverbs 15:16)

• The fear of Yahweh teaches wisdom. Before honor is humility. (Proverbs 15:33)

• By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil. (Proverbs 16:6)

• The fear of Yahweh leads to life, then contentment; he rests and will not be touched by trouble. (Proverbs 19:23)

• The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh is wealth, honor, and life. (Proverbs 22:4)

The fear of Yahweh, or the fear of the Lord, does not mean to fear God. Many claim that fearing God is what is meant by the expression “the fear of the Lord” in the Bible. This is because they do not understand the hatred of evil and the desire to be wise.  Maybe they would have a different view if they comprehended that when we understand the fear of the Lord, then we find the knowledge of God. But if we do not hate sin, we cannot possess the fear of the Lord and learn the knowledge of God. Yet God, according to His grace, has given us this ability to discern the fear of the Lord. We did nothing to deserve this ability, but the gift of reason enables us to choose life rather than death, recognize the dangers and futility of sin, acknowledge God for Who He is and seek Him out.

The Gentiles were to receive the Holy Spirit. When the Lord God revealed this to the Apostle Peter, he made the following admission:

• Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35)

This passage provides fuel for fire for some, and for others, water to hose down erroneous beliefs. First, the Apostle informs us God does not show favoritism. Second, we learn there are two criteria for acceptance: one, fearing God and, two, works of righteousness. Those who qualify for selection are acceptable; thus, this enables God to be unbiased and just in His dealings with men. If there were no standard, then God could not be righteous, execute justice and display impartiality; but we will keep in mind that God is impartial and shows no favoritism, while we consider the two criteria that the Apostle Peter mentions.

These two criteria of fearing God and doing works of righteousness appear to be the standard that God uses to select people who are to receive the Holy Spirit. We could infer that these are the criteria for salvation—many do. Indeed, from this, it is easy to draw the inference that works of merit are required as well as a fear of the awesome power of the terrifying God Almighty. To suggest that this does not imply some qualifying process for salvation is to deny what this Scripture actually states. Very clearly, we are being informed that criteria are used to qualify individuals to be recipients of the Holy Spirit and, similarly, this implies criteria are used for assessing those who are to be saved. To suggest that this is not to case is to assert that God is partial and shows favoritism, whereas, if God uses the same criteria for all, then there is no favoritism or impartiality, and He reigns in righteousness.

When we (readers of the Bible) are introduced to Cornelius in the book of Acts, the Scripture says:

• Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,  a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God. (Acts 10:1-2)

We read Cornelius is a devout man; a person who is God-fearing, law-abiding; someone who is genuinely aware of the futility of life without God and human frailties and shortcomings. At some stage in his life, Cornelius has repented from following the ways of the world and recognized the greatness of God and the poverty of the unfortunate. Essentially, here is a Gentile who acknowledges the Ten Commandments and has turned to God to help him keep them. Cornelius has previously repented from performing dead works, which is breaking the Ten Commandments, because he wants to express faith towards God (Hebrews 6:1). This is the beginning of salvation. The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil, which is the beginning of knowledge. Except we repent from our wicked ways, not one of us can be saved. Cornelius appears to have qualified for recognition by God because he had exercised faith towards God. Therefore, God’s grace was not abused by Cornelius, because he recognized right from wrong, and chose to do what is right. In fact, many versions of the Bible, in the translation of what Peter said, use the words “do what is right” rather than “works righteousness” (as above).

If we were to suggest that Cornelius obtained his righteousness because of his own efforts alone, then we would be making the declaration that salvation is attainable without the need of God. However, we need to acknowledge that Cornelius qualified for the gift of the Holy Spirit because he fulfilled two requirements: (1) he revered God; (2) he had compassion on the less fortunate. For many, this contradicts their understanding of the Scripture which says that all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  These people do not understand that the grace of God has been extended to us because of sin, not because of salvation. There is nobody who has been saved by grace alone. There is no partiality with God.  Grace is extended to all through the knowledge of the law—and by reason that we possess a conscience (Romans 2:11-15). Unfortunately, this is overlooked and a view is taken that some are saved by grace alone, while the others are condemned to eternal punishment through no fault of their own, in that they never asked to be born, but were brought into existence in a world that knows only unrighteousness and sin. This is made very clear by the Apostle Paul, when he writes:

• What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin. As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”  “Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips”; “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”“Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. The way of peace, they haven’t known.”“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:9-20)

Yet, while we read what the Apostle writes, having read the book of Acts, we know that there are people who seek after God. Cornelius proves this point. The contradictory elements that are found within the above text from Romans suggests that while all of us have sinned, we also have the ability to obtain a righteousness based on works, for we read:

• For it isn’t the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified (Romans 2:13)

This idea of being doers of the law and finding salvation before God is not limited to just one or two texts in the Bible. In fact, even though many people believe these texts do not even exist in the Bible at all, we find them in the Old Testament and in the Gospels. Here are four such texts:

• But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. (Luke 6:35)

• But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:44-45)

• This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

• Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” House of Israel, aren’t my ways fair? Aren’t your ways unfair? (Ezekiel 18:27-29)

God could not extend grace to people if He were partial and had selected who would be saved before the foundation of the world, as some would have us believe. Where is the grace in being born just to live a life that will end in death and after that eternal torment? What is the point of creating people and casting them into a world governed by sin, so they can sin, and then rescuing them so they can know they are saved by grace alone?

It is difficult to accept the idea that God is partial, creating some people without free will for damnation while choosing others for salvation as an act of His grace. This belief is rooted in the doctrine that everyone’s free will is in bondage until God sets them free on the day salvation is granted. Some interpret this idea as implicit in the doctrine of 'double imputation,' which occurs when an individual's salvation is realized. In this process, the individual's sin is transferred to the Son of God, and His righteousness is credited to the sinner. As a result, the person's free will is liberated from bondage to the Devil, allowing the sinner, now a saint, to make choices. Before this transformation, sinners are claimed to be unable to exercise their volition.

Those who believe God is partial may think that when they do gain free will, they will understand not to challenge God, especially after witnessing the unjust torment of the rest of mankind. Unlike Adam, who did not know sin until he defied God, they will have a constant reminder of the consequences of sin. This idea would have merit only if God were prone to being unrighteous, unjust, or partial, and if He desired to play favorites. Fortunately, God is righteous and not like the god of this world, despite some expositors' efforts to portray Him that way.

However, those who teach the false doctrine that we are saved by grace alone may find themselves on the wrong side of the equation when it comes to salvation. Unless they are like Cornelius and understand the fear of the Lord—which is the hatred of evil—they will not be saved. The requirement that we do good to those who hate us, and be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, means that we ought to extend grace to others.

God extends grace to all. Jesus says that this is evident in the fact He sends the rain upon the just and unjust, and allows the sun to shine on the good and the evil. When there is partiality, there is no grace extended to all. Grace can only be extended to everyone when no favoritism is shown. Whoever plays favorites and shows partiality is guilty of not keeping the Law of God. Just to stumble at one point is sufficient to be guilty of not fulfilling the law and therefore having to bear the guilt of it all. This is what the book of James states:

• But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:9-10)

The grace of God is extended to all; so that we might repent of our ways and return to Him. One of the texts of Scripture that people frequently misquote, to justify their evil thoughts and wicked ways, we find in the book of Isaiah. In context it reads:

• Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will freely pardon.     “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.     For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it grow and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.     For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills will break out before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:6-12)

If our thoughts and ways are not those of the Lord God, Isaiah informs us they ought to be. We learn that we need to seek the Lord, to call out to Him and forsake our own thoughts and ways that are not in accordance with those of our Heavenly Father. The idea is for us to repent and turn away from sin, and to allow transformation to occur within us by the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2), while God’s grace enables us to do so. But, unfortunately, for too many who swallow the doctrine of total depravity, unlimited election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints, along with double predestination and saved by grace alone, this is an impossibility; so they either persist in their sins or develop a self-righteousness based on special selection before the foundation of the world. If any are saved from among them, they will have had to either disregard these false teachings, or be like all who scrape through the gates of salvation only to have just survived as through fire. To quote the Apostle Paul:

According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Fortunately, the grace of God is such that whoever believes in Jesus Christ and confesses that the Son of God has come in the flesh has salvation (1 John 4:2, 15); but confession is defined as different to profession, and the truth itself is different to doctrines based on the concocted propositional truths of men. When Jesus said that He is the Way, this is not the same as saying that we have already attained life. Neither does knowing that Jesus is the way to life mean we have come to the full knowledge of the truth. Acknowledging Jesus is the Way is only the beginning of realizing truth; for salvation is not possible through any other person other than the Son of God. While we are looking to our Lord and Savior, we are being saved by grace; but not until we confess the truth, and act upon it, do we secure our salvation. This distinction between walking in the grace that is extended to all and walking in the truth is lost by many who reject the moral law as imperative for salvation, for unless they become doers of what the law requires, there is no salvation secured—because they produce no fruit. The Lord’s brother, James, is clear about upholding the law as evidence of salvation. Likewise, the Apostle Paul is very clear about ceasing sin and establishing the legitimacy of the law; for we read:

• What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2)

• For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be! (Romans. 6:14-15)

• The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly; that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

• Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law. (Romans 3:31)

The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about grace. Grace abounds in the same way as the goodness, kindness, forbearance and patience of God are meant to lead people to repentance (Romans 2:4). Instead of recognizing the truth about grace, many prefer to see it as the very means that provides salvation—regardless of how much a person willfully sins. This is because the righteousness of God is not seen as something that has to be appropriated by faith; but as a gift of God that was given to the elect by means of grace sometime before the foundation of the world.

The fact remains that a gift is not a gift if there is no choice in the matter. If a gift cannot be rejected, then it ceases to be a gift. Those who claim that salvation is not something that we choose but what God chooses for us, say it is still a gift, because it was not earned. Indeed, salvation is freely bestowed upon the elect and even though they have no say in the matter. But if they continue in their sin and they think they are members of the elect, there are questions as to whether they are still saved by the grace of God.

 While the grace of God is not inherently tied to anything we might do, it can still be rejected by us and even nullified by disobedience. This is what the Apostle to the Gentiles takes pains in stating; as we have seen in the above texts from the book of Romans. Sin has to cease for grace to be effective, otherwise we are under law and condemned as sinners—not worthy of God’s grace. The righteousness of God is extended to us through grace, but it has to be appropriated through faith; since we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8)—we are not saved by grace alone. The law of God has to be established in our hearts; as other versions of the Bible say, we uphold the law, once saved. About this, James, the Lord’s brother writes:

• Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith..... You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.  (James 2:17-18; 22-26)

Grace is the unmerited favor of God that is extended to all of us at birth “in the hope that we might seek God out and find Him”, as stated in Acts 17:27.[i] Grace enables us to find the way to the truth, but only the truth sets us free. Having discovered the truth and entered into the rest of God, we are then free to walk in the additional grace that we have now obtained, to do deeds of righteousness and demonstrate that our faith is complete with works of salvation commensurate with our new nature (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). We are justified in our faith, when the grace of God extends to others through us because we uphold the law that is established in our hearts. Instead of being in bondage to the Devil to do His will, even though we might have shown kindness and goodness towards others in our actions, we are now set free to do these same deeds to the glory of God and bring forth fruit for eternal life. Once we have acknowledged God, and receive the word of salvation, then we discover more grace is extended to us, in the hope that we might secure our salvation. Once we have received the word of truth, God is at work in us to bring us to the realization of our complete need for Him (James 1:18-21; Titus 3:5), if we are to overcome sin and its effects. Thereby God’s grace becomes more a part of our lives, and enables us to understand and know our Father in Heaven more. As this happens, to others looking on, it would appear that we are growing in the favor of God—experiencing God’s grace—and we are thereby favored by our Heavenly Father; but this is not of works, least anyone should boast. This occurs because we demonstrate obedience of faith in what has been wrought through our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of our Father in Heaven.

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[i] Variations in what different versions state regarding why humans exist:

KJV21:  if perhaps they might feel after Him and find Him;

ASV:  if haply they might feel after him and find him;

AMP:  if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him;

AMPC:  in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him;

CSV:  if perhaps they might reach out and find him;

Darby: if indeed they might feel after him and find him;

ERV:  if perhaps in searching all around for him, they would find him;

ESV: if perhaps feel their way toward him and find him;

EXB: if perhaps •search all around for [grope for; reach out to; feel their way towards] him and find him;

JUB: if in any manner they might reach out to touch him and find him

KJV: if haply they might feel after him, and find him.