"Believe and Receive! " -TO

 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12 KJV)

  "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

  Just in case you might have not been paying attention, this is not about anything we can do, because we can never do anything to earn our salvation. This is about walking in that which we have been made: we are made sons of God by the power of Christ Jesus! We are adopted into the family of God by the life-changing blood of Jesus Christ; the transformation has been complete, the moment that we received Christ into our hearts, He preformed a spiritual metamorphose within us, and we which were spiritually dead, became alive with His Spirit! 

  As to the walk, and whether or not it is important: we must move, as the dry bones grew skin and came to life in Ezekiel 37; where life is manifested in God, there is the breath of Life! Matthew Henry shows us two actions that take place in the mighty work of God, which is the result of those that believe on His name: 

  "First, To be a Christian indeed is to believe on Christ's name; it is to assent to the gospel discovery, and consent to the gospel proposal, concerning him." This is the result of the Holy Spirit revealing His true nature, power, and authority over our lives. Something that the Holy Spirit will do, as He is witness to that change which has come over us, He becomes our Helper. 

 "Secondly, Believing in Christ's name is receiving him as a gift from God. We must receive his doctrine as true and good; receive his law as just and holy; receive his offers as kind and advantageous; and we must receive the image of his grace, and impressions of his love, as the governing principle of our affections and actions." These are those goals, if you will, that I was referring to: they are goals because they are put into work, not because they are something we try and achieve.

  This is not about works, as if we must work to achieve favor with God: this is about living governed by and for the LORD! There is a new life that is manifested, and this new life must live because it is alive in us! Believing is receiving, when your belief is real and changes you from the inside out! Did it? Does it? Will it always? You had better believe it! You are a new creature in Christ; not that you hope to become one: you are one! 

  To the point of what is grace: Grace is God giving you what you do not deserve! This is so important as we try and figure out our standing with God, especially when we might not be standing at all. This is when we must not count upon anything else but the saving blood of Christ, because it is only by His blood that we are saved! When you might feel strange, like a rebel, and disconnected from God, cling to the cross and believe: receive His washing with all your might! 

  He will never ever refuse your plea for mercy, because His grace is never-ending...

"But God commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:8-11 KJV)