Humility, Faith, and Grace: Qualities of Victorious Living, Part 3

Humility, Faith, and grace: Qualities of Victorious Living, Part 3

2 Corinthians 12:9: "And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Grace
In the two previous parts of this series we have examined humility and faith as important qualities in victorious Christian living. In this third part, we will examine the role of grace in victorious Christian living.

Humility and faith lead to the grace of God. The grace of God is always available in abundance. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God’s grace is available unconditionally. It cannot be earned, deserved, or produced by man. For God’s help to be by grace it must be freely given by God and freely received by man. “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work” (Romans 11:6).

Thus, grace being what it is, humility and faith provide the right basis for accepting the grace of God offered to us because by these qualities we turn to God with nothing to earn or deserve His help and with a sense of absolute reliance on Him. Through pride and self-reliance, we may reject the grace of God. We may try to deal with the challenges that confront us by our own efforts. And the obvious result is failure. But God gives grace to the humble because the humble through faith relies absolutely on God. "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).

By humility and faith, one acknowledges his helplessness, turns to God relying fully upon His help, and receives the grace to help in times of need. We read in Romans 5:1-2: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

We will conclude in the next and final part.