“Grace,” in Scripture, means a present, a free gift, a kindness that is neither earned nor deserved. We deserve God’s anger, but He gives us mercy.
[We] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:3-5,8-9).
[God] who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began… (2 Timothy 1:9). M25
We need grace because our “works” simply don’t work. A lifetime of good deeds has no power to erase a single sin from our past record. Indeed, that lifetime just keeps piling sin upon sin, for “none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10,12). We are too polluted by sin for our works to earn us any merit with God. If we depend on what we earn, then we must die, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).26
Paul understands this very well. While still called Saul, he works extremely hard in religion. He already has many advantages as “a Hebrew of Hebrews.” He joins the strictest law-keepers, the Pharisees, and stands out as “extremely zealous” (Galatians 1:14). His record is so good that in terms of “legalistic righteousness” he claims to be “blameless” (Philippians 3:6). In other words, Saul believes he deserves God’s favor. God must accept him.
There is just one problem: God does not agree! A human may feel good about himself, but that says nothing about how God feels. God sees the reality, that Saul is “the worst of sinners.” God should destroy Saul, especially when Saul destroys God’s family.27 Yet, at that very time, when Saul is most deluded, most hateful, most hurtful, God proves Himself to be most merciful. God gives the present of His own Son!28
…though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:13-16).