Grace seems to be a word thrown around often without really knowing what it means. All sorts of people define grace differently, especially as how it relates to salvation or works. Or how it doesn't relate to either topic.
As a Latter-day Saint, I'd like to add my own understanding of what grace is and how it applies to us.
There's a wonderful definition of grace in True to the Faith, a small glossary-like publication by the LDS Church. It states: "The word grace, as used in the scriptures, refers primarily to the divine help and strength we receive through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter taught that we should 'grow in grace, and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ' (1 Peter 3:18)" (p. 77, emphasis in original). Notice that grace is defined as divine help and strength. I will be focusing on those aspects.
First, divine help.
Several months ago I was riding in the car with a close friend, about to pull out of a parking lot, when the car wouldn't move. We could hear the engine, but the vehicle itself would not move forward nor backward. The engine wasn't catching properly, and we were stuck. Luckily, there were still people where we had just been, and we were at the edge of the parking lot, so I pulled out my cell phone and called one friend who was inside, briefly explaining the situation and asking for help getting the car into a safe place in the parking lot. That friend brought a couple other guys with him, and we sat as they pushed the car back in enough that I could get out of the car. Then I stood out of the way, as directed, while my friend steered the car, thus making it easier to move the car into the nearest parking spot.
Divine help works similarly. We couldn't have gotten out and pushed the car into a parking spot without help; we needed help. Similarly, we cannot return to God on our own, no matter how much good we do. At the same time, we cannot just sit on the sidelines and expect God to make things better for us, nor can we expect God to grant us eternal life without taking action on our part. Some people believe that all we must do to receive eternal life is to believe in God, but that's not all, folks. Can someone say that they believe a chair will support their weight, and then just stand back and stare at it? Or would true belief that the chair will support them be manifest through them actually sitting in the chair?
Yes, I am aware of what the Bible says: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). And that is right: it is by grace that we are saved through faith, but faith isn't passive; it's active. As written later in the New Testament:
"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. ... Was not Abraham...justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believe God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:18, 21-24, emphasis added).
If we have true faith in God, it should show in what we do, say, and take part in. Let us all strive to be examples of our faith--in every aspect of our lives.
*Next week I will focus on the second part: divine strength.
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