“God’s grace is not a static attribute whereby he passively accepts hardened, unrepentant sinners. Grace does not change a person’s standing before God yet leave his character untouched. Real grace does not include, as Chafer claimed, “the Christian’s liberty to do precisely as he chooses.” True grace, according to scripture, teaches us to “deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age”(Titus 2:12). Grace is the power of God to fulfill our new covenant duties, however inconsistently we obey at times. Clearly, grace does not grant permission to live in the flesh; it supplies power to live in the Spirit.
Faith, like grace, is not static. Saving faith is more than just understanding the facts and mental acquiescing. It is inseparable from repentance, surrender, and a supernatural longing to obey. None of those responses can be classified exclusively as a human work, any more than believing itself is solely a human effort.”
-John MaCarthur, The Gospel According to Jesus
