“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8–9

If we likened Scripture passages to mountain ranges, I think “by grace are you saved” would be the Himalayas. This passage towers above all others because it contains the highest Biblical truth—by God’s grace we are saved. The apostle Paul said that among faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. If Paul had included grace in the list, I have a feeling grace would have topped the list. But Paul didn’t include grace because he was comparing things which “abide.” Grace does not abide. It did not exist before Adam’s fall because it was not necessary, and it will not exist after the Final Judgment. There will be no grace for those in Hell, and those in glory will have no more need of it. Today is the “age of grace.”

We can best understand the concept of grace through illustration. This one, limited as it is, still brings part of the point home. About 125 years ago in czarist Russia, a Russian nobleman and his faithful servant traveled by dog sled across a vast expanse of frozen wasteland. They had traveled for several hundred miles, and their home lay only twenty miles ahead. After such a long and treacherous journey, they looked forward to a warm bed and hot food. Suddenly a pack of hungry wolves appeared behind them, apparently having caught their scent. Despite the dogs’ efforts to pull the dog sled as fast as they could, the wolves started closing in. The situation was hopeless—they had no place to hide and no chance of outrunning the wolves. Suddenly, the old servant threw himself backward, off the dog sled. The wolf pack stopped and attacked the servant, sparing the nobleman’s life.

Grace involves sacrifice. The greatest grace of all was God’s sacrifice of His own Son on the cross. Have you accepted His grace so that you may live with Him eternally?

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
John Newton
(former slave trader)