Why I need Grace
There is one very simple reason why I do need grace; I don’t have the power. I am powerless, unable to do what I know is right or unable to do the right I wish to do. “Do the right thing” is a slogan so often used around us. But I do not have the power to permanently do the right thing, maybe once in a while, but usually less and less as we get older. Why are we that way? For one it is the futile ways we inherited from our “father” in the flesh; ADAM. Second it is our own lusts; we lust after things and lust starts to get the better of us. “It will make me happy!” we reason with ourselves, or “just this one time” Soon we learn that chasing our lusts makes us feel happy, at least temporarily, or it makes us "forget" about our troubles and problems in life. But we sooner or later get “addicted” to our lusts and we get trapped by them. We know we shouldn’t do it but we do it anyway. It is because we are powerless, we don’t have the power over our lusts, whatever they may be (a few examples; food, sex, compulsive behavior, career, alcohol, drugs and many more things). The world calls it “guilty pleasures”. God’s word says; corruption in the world by lust. (2 Peter 1:4) and; but each one is tempted by his own lusts, being drawn out and being seduced by them. Then having conceived lust brings forth sin. And sin being fully formed brings forth death. (James 1:14&15) So now we see, the result of my lusts is sin, the result of my sins is death, eternal perishing. Growing up in this world we become enslaved to all kinds of lusts which cause us to do what we know is wrong (sin) and therefore as we grow older we come to live in the fear of death, whether we know it or not, we are scared to die. Deep down inside of us we know that judgement is coming, I’m not going to get away with this forever. We know that we will have to give account. Nobody can save themselves from this condition or from this predicament. And nobody is exempt; we all fall in this category, whether we admit it or not. All our efforts and attempts at do gooding are not able to make up or cover up all our shortcomings.
God’s Grace changes all that, and permanently changes us. And only God's Grace can change our condition.
God coming down to us, us who are heading toward perishing and by his Grace snatching some away from sure condemnation and changing them to be his beloved sons and daughters.