God's grace in the life of a child of God

I was pondering on another thread and had a question to ask with 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 in mind.

Paul said, "For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed."

Paul clearly had a humility and clear understanding of God's saving and sustaining grace due to His acts of the utmost evil. He persecuted and directly caused the death of God's church, yet Jesus saved him.

Paul makes it a point to attribute his current standing as a believer to the grace of God. He furthermore said said that he worked the hardest for the kingdom. His fruit of work was also attributed to God's grace working within him.

I wondered how you view life AFTER saved.

One with Calvinistic view points or similar seems to hold that God's grace caused them for believe when they were saved. One with non-Calvinistic views would hold that God leaves it to the believer to choose to believe of not (the Spirit does bring them to that point in common views).

So after we are saved how do we view God's grace? Is it the same grace that saved us or is it different? Do we attribute all of our good works to God's grace or do we make those good decisions on our own? I admit that we are responsible for our life as a Christian. Anyway how do you view your sanctification? does it match Paul's view? how and why?

Personally, I believe that the same grace that saved me is the same grace that sustains. I have always been responsible for my actions, but apart from God's grace I can do nothing. I attribute (or at least theologically) all my good things to God's grace. Now that I am saved, I am regenerated and the way I view life and God's grace differently as I see and care so differently than I used to. I still see how dependent I am on God's grace, yet the more I grow, the more I see how evil I am, seriously. Now that I am a born again child of God I still need God's grace like I did when I was dead in sin. In fact I feel like I need it more as God has revealed to me that I am not able to hold myself, furthermore that I can still fall to the lowest pits without Him. I also want to admit, as one with Calvinistic-like views, that I lean to much on God's grace and do not work hard as I wait for God to do something, which is not so much Biblical. I agree with Paul that all glory goes to God's grace, yet, I must work hard.

How do you view God's grace in your life now in comparison to your coming to Christ at the day of your salvation? How is it the same, how is it different?

 

I did not get into the power of the resurrection given to believer's or the affects of spiritual life on a person. I also didn't intend to make God's grace out to be some kind of power towards weeklings. It is clear that while Christians are humbled by their need for God to deliver them they also are to be like warriors and fight with reliance upon God. It is a difficult balance with many implications, so I wanted to say this and avoid giving off as many wrong notions as I possibly can to kick it off.