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The articles posted in this section are sample chapters from the book, Grace Plus Nothing by Jeff Harkin. © Copyright 2004 Applied Grace Publications. Used by permission. Click book to purchase.

Most Christians say grace before meals. I must regretfully admit that for many years about all grace meant to me was prayers before meals.

Hopefully, having read even the first few pages of Grace plus Nothing, grace already means a lot more to you than that.

The grace of God is essentially the gift of righteousness (right standing before God) and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not only are these gifts, but they are also unmerited gifts. We will speak much more concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit later, but for now we must understand that Paul tied grace to the gift of righteousness.

Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17 .)

This understanding is foundational to Christianity. Further more grace alone has the power to free you from sin:

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace (Romans 6:14 ).

Remember that the Lord imprisoned the entire world under the penalty and power of sin in order to induce all of us to receive his mercy (see Romans 11:32). Therefore the only way you will ever get free from sin is t get under grace and stay there. Paul said sin shall not be master over you because you are not under law but under grace. It makes sense, then, that the opposite is also true: To put a Christian under legalism is to bind him under sin! Remember that legalism has the power to actually arouse sinful passions.

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