I’ve heard it said many times before that mercy is not receiving the punishment we deserve for our sin and that grace is receiving salvation… which we do not deserve.  Those definitions are definitely distinguishable but they still seem pretty similiar.  So, I decided to do a little research.  Here’s what I found on grace.  We’ll cover mercy, tomorrow.

Most Christians (I’m generalizing, here) believe that humankind is born with a sin nature.  We are then only saved by grace, when God sent His son, Jesus to die on the cross and make atonement for our sins.  God’s grace is given freely to all men on the condition that we put our faith in Jesus, believing that He is our Savior, the Son of God and the Messiah.  We must believe that His death on the cross has the power to take away all of our sins.

In this respect, it sounds pretty accurate that grace is getting something positive that we don’t deserve.  Grace is God’s initiative and choice to make a path to salvation for all mankind.

I love the way Wikipedia puts it:

Grace is an attitude of God towards mankind by which He provides a benefit, without consideration of merit. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.