Describing grace can be a daunting task.  Descriptions like, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense," or "getting what we don't deserve" are true but not so helpful.  Other descriptions may be good yet they leave grace untouchable; they keep grace as a theological expression rather than connecting the rubber with the road, as it were.

In essence, the grace of God guides, directs, draws, conforms, transforms, and renews its recipients in, through, and toward the Gospel.  The Gospel itself is grace to its hearers, and the Gospel is a new kind of law; not that we must take hold of the law but that the law may take hold of us.  The Gospel establishes a new kind of law within our hearts, and its fruit flourishes within and out of us (Romans 8:2, 1 Corinthians 9:21, Galatians 5).

Law and grace are not the same but two sides of the same coin.  The relationship is reciprocal- one always leading to the other.  Without both, you move into error (Romans 5-6).  On the one hand, law is a task master without grace.  It says, do this and live!  But law is weak to save because of sin (Romans 8:3).

This is why the law leads us to grace and grace leads us to a new law- a law which was fulfilled by Christ and those who are Christ's reap righteousness.  And this leads us to the means of grace.