Foundations Series — Episode 12 What Grace is - Grace Is the Divine Source Behind Salvation

[00:00:00] Hello, welcome to your daily Grace by Timothy Wilder Foundation Series Episode 12 what Grace Is Grace is the divine source behind salvation. [00:00:14] When Scripture speaks of salvation, it consistently points beyond the gift to its source. The source is grace. Salvation is the result. But grace is the reason it exists at all. Before there was any human response, any spiritual awakening, or any change in us, there was the gracious heart of God moving first. [00:00:33] Many people think of grace as something added after salvation, as though grace is merely support once the real work has begun. But the Bible presents grace as the fountainhead from which salvation flows. [00:00:46] Grace is not the effect of salvation. Salvation is the effect of grace. [00:00:51] Paul states it for by grace you have been saved through faith. [00:00:57] The emphasis is clear. Grace is the cause. Salvation comes because grace initiated it. [00:01:04] Faith receives, but grace originates. This means salvation did not begin with human effort, moral improvement, or religious desire. It began in the loving and merciful nature of God. [00:01:15] Earlier in the same chapter, Paul writes, but God being rich in mercy. Ephesians 2:4 the starting point is not man reaching upward, but God reaching downward. [00:01:26] Titus echoes the same truth not because of works done by us in righteousness. [00:01:33] Human righteousness did not create the source source. Human effort did not trigger divine action. Grace stands behind it all as the initiating power of God's kindness. Understanding this changes how we view our relationship with God. We are not the authors of rescue. We are recipients of grace. The foundation was laid by God long before we understood our need. Grace is the wellspring. Grace is the motive. Grace is the divine initiative from which salvation comes. [00:02:02] Everything that follows begins there. [00:02:06] Thanks for listening. If you are being fed and or uplifted by these messages, we encourage you to like, comment, share and subscribe. [00:02:15] These things help us spread the message of grace.