For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)

 

Grace and faith are not mutually exclusive from each other but there is a distinction between them.

Grace reveals God's generosity unreservedly, and the faithful receive it undeservedly. Grace is God's choice to freely give you everything in Christ. Faith is your response to God's invitation to receive everything through Christ. Grace is God making you right with Him, whereas faith is believing that you have been made right before God.

The Apostle Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith.

Grace is God's free but precious offer of salvation, and faith is your acceptance of his generous gift to you! Faith flows from grace. Without grace, faith is impossible. Too often, people confuse faith with their own efforts. They want to earn or maintain their salvation through their own actions and traditions. When they do this, they reject the gospel of God's grace by making faith a performance before God. That kind of attitude undermines their relationship with God! Faith is never based on what we have done for God, but rather on what Christ did for us on the Cross.

Grace and faith are both gifts from God.

Imagine grace as a father giving his son or daughter a car, and faith as the same father sitting in the car, teaching his child to drive. Here, the father bestows two gifts: the car and the ability to drive. Similarly, grace is God's gift of salvation, and faith is God's way of getting you saved and ensuring you know you're saved.

Being saved by grace through faith enables you to enjoy the privileges and power of the finished work of the cross. Once you know the truth, you are set for life. If questions of doubt and fear are suffocating your faith and trust in God right now, simply let Him embrace you with His loving-kindness and grace.