The very center and core of the whole Bible is the doctrine of the grace of God.

“Grace” is the most important concept in the Bible, Christianity, and the world. It is most clearly expressed in the promises of God revealed in Scripture and embodied in Jesus Christ.

Grace is the love of God shown to the unlovely; the peace of God given to the restless; the unmerited favour of God.

Grace in mentioned 170 times in the Bible. Consider some of the ways it can be defined: Grace is God's unmerited favor. That is, grace is God doing good for us that we do not deserve.

In the Bible, grace and mercy are like two heads of the same coin.

• Mercy is God withholding judgment or evil that I deserve;

• Grace is God giving me blessing or good that I do not deserve.

Because of God's mercy, I do not receive the judgment of God against my sins; because of God's grace, I receive eternal life and a promise of heaven though I do not deserve them. Both mercy and grace come to me though the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace can also be defined as God's sufficiency or God's fullness in the life of the believer. God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). That is, the grace of God in Paul enabled him and empowered him in his weakness. Another verse states, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God's grace working in us supplies the sufficiency whereby we may abound to every good work. I like to call grace "God's enoughness" By this I mean that God is enough for us no matter what the situation we face.

• Grace saves - for salvation. Ephesians 2:8; states, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."

• Grace abounds to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8)

• Grace teaches – Titus 2:14

• Grace justifies - One aspect of salvation is called justification. That is the act by which we are declared just (righteous) before God on the basis of the payment Jesus Christ made for our sin. The Bible clearly teaches that we are justified by the grace of God (Romans 3:24).

• Grace for Living - grace by which we live is 1 Corinthians 15:10

• Grace – (G) God’s (r) riches (a) at (C) Christ (e) expense