God’s Lavish Blessings to the Undeserving

The Doctrine of Grace

Everything God does reflects all that He is. His actions toward humanity reveal His character. By nature, God is gracious—inclined to offer blessings and favor to the undeserving. God’s grace refers to His bestowing of benefits that are not earned or merited by human effort. By God’s grace, the beauty of His creation reveals His creative power and majesty to all humanity. Believers and unbelievers alike experience sunrises, sunsets, and rain that waters dry ground. The most powerful expression of God’s grace is seen in the sacrifice of God’s Son to redeem people enslaved by sin and death. God extends grace to the unworthy by offering salvation and spiritual blessings that cannot be earned.

Salvation in Christ comes by grace through faith.1 If human goodness or works could earn salvation, it would not be by grace. Because God is the author of salvation and provides everything a sinner needs to receive eternal salvation, all the glory goes to Him. Sinners are saved because of God’s unmerited favor toward us in Christ—which cannot be earned.2 God’s grace not only brings sinners salvation, but also sustains them in life and for eternity.3

To fail to understand or appreciate God’s grace means living life trying to earn God’s favor or completely ignoring Him. Because the best we can offer God is flawed and inadequate, attempts to earn His favor will always come up short. We try to feel better by comparing ourselves to others we deem worse than we are. Without seeing God as inherently gracious, we wrongly think He is harsh and punitive rather than kind and welcoming.

God’s posture toward humanity is utterly gracious. He knows the depth of our neediness. He moves toward us to meet us where we are and give us what we need. To relish God’s grace, we must realize we deserve nothing but judgment. When God opens our eyes to recognize His grace, we see His ongoing care and provision in salvation and daily life. Proper understanding of God’s grace regularly moves our hearts toward humility and worship. We experience peace because of God’s grace. We depend on God’s grace and trust Him for all we truly need. By grace, when God looks at a believer, He sees only Christ’s imparted righteousness, which cannot be earned. All praise and glory belong to the God of all grace!

1. Grace in salvation: Romans 3:21-24; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 2:11
2. Salvation cannot be earned: Romans 4:1-8
3. Sustaining grace: John 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Peter 3:18

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 6, The Gospel of John