“By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand” (1 Peter 5:12).
There are lots of teachings in the religious world about grace, but we’re interested in the “true grace of God.” Consider a few aspects about God’s grace.
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26). God’s grace comes to man through the blood of Jesus Christ. Truly we are saved by God’s grace, but not grace alone, for God is the “justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” The letter to the Romans bears out the fact that saving faith is more than mental agreement to truth.
Grace teaches. Grace teaches a response in action is required in us, more than just mental agreement to a fact. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14).
Grace teaches us that we must change our ways in order to be saved. We must “deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.” Any teaching by men that ignores this truth about grace is a teaching that is not the grace of God. Any teaching that says you can continue in sin is plainly false. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:1-3). God’s grace teaches us that Jesus did not die so that you can continue in sin; we are “ignorant” if we don’t know that.
And grace teaches us that we “should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” In other words, grace teaches us to obey God’s commandments. “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9). Having suffered unto death, Jesus accomplished God’s will to save man by His grace. But He’s the source or cause of eternal salvation for those “who obey Him.”
Beware when men talk of some conflict or struggle between grace and obedience. There is absolutely no contradiction between God’s grace and man’s obedience. God’s grace teaches us to obey.
– Larry Jones