WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF GRACE?The following is a very feeble human attempt to answer this question that touches who God is. Being mindful that God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent and that God is love, let us briefly look at God's amazing grace.Grace, at its core, is God’s unearned favor given to the undeserving human being—but that definition is only the doorway to the room, not the room itself.The essence of grace is this:God gives Himself to us before we even attempt to fix ourselves.Grace is not primarily a thing God gives (forgiveness, power, heaven), but a relationship God initiates. It’s His decisive move toward humanity while we are still broken, resistant, or unaware.A few layers of the onion that sharpen the picture: Grace precedes worthGrace comes before repentance is polished, before obedience is consistent, before understanding is complete.“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”Grace doesn’t respond to change; it creates it. Grace is costly to God, free to usIt is free because it is costly—not cheap. The cross reveals that grace is not God ignoring sin, but absorbing it. Justice is not bypassed; it is fulfilled in self-giving love. Grace restores, not merely excusesGrace does not say, “It doesn’t matter.”Grace says, “It matters so much that I will heal you.”It doesn’t lower the moral bar; it lifts the sinner. Grace empowers what it forgivesBiblically, grace is active. It teaches, trains, and transforms- "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11–12).Forgiveness is the entrance (door); transformation is the trajectory (room). Grace is God’s yes before our yes.Our obedience is a response, not a prerequisite. Faith doesn’t activate grace; it receives what is already given.Grace compressed into one sentence:Grace is God’s self-giving love that meets us where we are, forgives us as we are, and transforms us into who we were meant to be, created in the image of God—without being earned at any point.Let’s look at Jesus’ parables, White comments, Hebrews and Sanctuary Theology.This is really a four-lens gospel, all converging on one center: grace as God’s initiative that restores relationship and transforms lives. Now we will dig deep into the same essence of grace through Jesus’ parables, Ellen G. White, Hebrews, and sanctuary theology—so you can see the harmony rather than tension. Grace in the Parables of JesusGrace = the Father running toward the undeservingJesus doesn’t define grace abstractly; He dramatizes it.The Prodigal Son (Luke 15)The son rehearses repentance.The father interrupts it with embrace.Restoration comes before reform.Grace here is preemptive. The robe, ring, and feast come before the son proves anything. Repentance is real—but it is evoked bSend us your questions to be featured on the next podcast!Thank you for being part of the AskGod365 podcast community. We value you and appreciate greatly the time you are spending with us today. Please share your comments and questions at AskGod365.com Listen. Learn. Think. Grow. Together. AskGod365. Answers to life’s difficult questions.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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