Do We Deserve God’s Grace?

Categories: AACC BLOG

by AACC Staff

Grace: perhaps the most freeing gift offered to us by God. Without it, we would have no salvation and no hope.

A question that often surfaces in counseling, churches, and hearts is this: Do we deserve God’s grace? The works-based, performance-driven world can lead us to believe that we either must or can earn grace, but Scripture tells a different and deeply humbling story.

No, we don’t deserve God’s grace—and that’s what makes His offer of grace all the more precious.

Why Do We Need Grace from God?

The age-old debate about whether people are naturally good or bad is settled plainly by Scripture: We are all natural-born sinners from the moment of birth. We are unable to save ourselves, pay the price for our sins, or self-atone.

In Psalm 51, a penitent David laments sin’s lifelong grip on him. Though Scripture calls David ” a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22, ESV), David admits that he is not righteous.

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me,” writes David (Psalm 51:5, ESV).

But David isn’t just speaking for himself, here—he’s speaking for all of humanity. There are no righteous people, not even one (Romans 3:23, ESV). We are enemies of God by nature (Romans 5:10), and left to ourselves, we would never seek Him (Romans 3:11). We’re also unable to save ourselves. God, however, is a gracious and merciful God who loves to save and redeem sinners.

At the moment of salvation, God gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17), a living hope (1 Peter 1:3), and a secure eternal destiny that cannot be changed, no matter what (John 10:28-29, ESV). And all of this is by grace, through faith, as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV).
Grace is unmerited yet all-sufficient favor—the very definition of grace expels the idea of deserving it.

Continual Grace and New Mercies

Grace is at the very heart of the Gospel, and not a one-time instance—but an ongoing, overflowing gift. His grace does not run out when we fail, waver when we stumble or weaken with time. In Christ, we are fully covered, fully forgiven, and fully secure.

The grace shown to us by God, however, is not limited to the moment we believe the Gospel. It’s continual and ever-increasing. After all—if Christ showed us immeasurable grace by dying as a propitiation for our sins before we believed in Him, how much more will He show us grace after we’ve believed in Him? The answer is more: much more.

Paul reassures us in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing—not sin, not failure, not even death itself—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Our salvation and standing before God rest on His faithfulness, not ours.

So, no—we absolutely do not deserve God’s grace—but that is precisely the point. Grace is not given to the deserving, because none are deserving. It is freely offered to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord, and it is given lavishly.

God’s Grace is Sufficient

To the believer struggling with the guilt of past failures or the weary Christian who fears they’ve exhausted God’s patience—take heart. His grace is greater than your sin (Romans 5:20). His mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). His love is unshakable.

And that is the good news of grace: we will never deserve it, but through Christ, we will never lack it.

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References

Crossway Bibles. (2001). English Standard Version Bible. Crossway.