How do you grow in grace?

Answer:

Grace refers to the fact that we have been given a gift that we did not earn -- salvation. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But the fact that we have been given a gift does not imply that God doesn't expect anything of us. Receiving the gift involved our faith in Him. And further, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

One aspect of the things expected of us by God is personal growth. Becoming a Christian isn't the end, it is be beginning. So while in grace, while saved, we are to grow. "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 1:10-11). We are to grow so that we are more firmly rooted in the salvation that was richly given to us.

Another aspect, that is related to the first, is growing in what we know. "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9-10). The word of God is the guidebook for our growth. Christians should never feel they have had enough of it or have learned all there is to know. "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (I Peter 2:2-3).