What Is Grace?
Millions of professing Christians have undoubtedly heard
about grace, but how many understand the significance
and importance of what grace means?
the Greek word charis, which means favor, blessing, or kindness.
Just what is grace anyway, and how is it related to mans salvation? The Bible
explicitly says that grace is a gift from God. It is the unmerited, loving favor
and graciousness of our Creator.
God is gracious
These are the words that the Lord proclaimed to Moses: The LORD, the
LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness
and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin (Exodus 34:6-7).
King David also wrote that God is gracious: The LORD is gracious and full of
compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The LORD is good to all, and
His tender mercies are over all His works (Psalm 145:8-9).
The apostle Peter called God the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10).
What is grace? Grace is the very character of Gods nature, abounding and
overflowing outwardly in acts of pity, mercy, compassion and liberal giving.
Why does God give us His grace?
First, we have to realize that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God (Romans 3:23). Those sins carry the death penalty. Romans 6:23 says,
For the wages of sin is death.
Sin, which is lawlessness (1 John 3:4), earns a wageand that wage is death.
But Christ has paid that penalty for us through His sacrifice.
It is through Christs sacrifice, His shed blood, that God gives us His grace.
Notice Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It is through Christ that we receive Gods
grace; and if we didnt receive that grace, we would die in our sins and never
have an opportunity to live forever.
Ephesians 1:5-6 shows that it was Gods plan all along to be gracious to
mankind in forgiving them of sins and predestining humans for adoption and
acceptance by Him: Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of
the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
To whom does God give His grace?
Grace is a free gift. It cannot be earned, but neither can one automatically
receive it. Notice some examples of those who receive Gods grace.
Those who have faith: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also
we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-2).
Those who are humble: 1 Peter 5:5 says, God resists the proud, but
gives grace to the humble. James also confirmed this: But He gives
more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace
to the humble (James 4:6).
Those who are forgiven: In Him we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
(Ephesians 1:7).
Of course, it is God who always determines who will receive His grace: What
shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He
says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will
have compassion on whomever I will have compassion (Romans 9:14-15).
What then is mans responsibility?
Christ died in our stead by paying the death penalty for us, and through His
grace He forgave us. Acts 15:11 says, But we believe that through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.
God, through His grace, gives us the blessing of having our sins forgiven and
eventually receiving eternal life. But we now have to change direction in our
walk of life, leaving behind our old and sinful ways of life.God, through His
grace, gives us the blessing of having our sins forgiven and eventually
receiving eternal life. But we now have to change direction in our walk of life,
leaving behind our old and sinful ways of life.
We can never earn Gods grace, as Ephesians 2:8-9 points out: For by grace
you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
With that in mind, notice verse 10: For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.
After a person repents of sin and is baptized and receives the Holy Spirit, he
or she must begin to live by those good works as a new creature, whose
mind is now focused on serving God and fellow man. Ones outlook and
lifestyle must be different from what it had been.
Law and grace
There is often misunderstanding concerning the law of God and the grace of
God. The two are actually interconnected. It is not a matter of law or grace,
but rather law and grace.
This is how the apostle Paul explains this subject in Romans 6:1-2: What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly
not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
In verses 14-15, he further explains: For sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin
because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
Notice James 2:17, 20: Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is
dead. But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is
dead?
So, just as the grace of God is necessary for salvation, so, too, are the good
works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them
(Ephesians 2:10).
What is grace and what will be its result?
As weve seen, grace is the unmerited, loving favor and graciousness of our
Creator. It is a wonderful gift that should motivate us to live in the way that
pleases our gracious God.
What will become of those who live by Gods grace? They will be saved, and
they will be in Gods coming Kingdom! In due time, Christ will return and will
establish the Kingdom of God on this earth. The world will then learn of the
mercy and grace of God, and they will accept His ways.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us
have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear (Hebrews 12:28).
Part 2
Definition of God's Grace
QUESTION: What is a definition of God's grace?
ANSWER:
To learn the definition of God's grace, it is wise to understand the Greek and Hebrew words behind
this term.
A prominent Old Testament word describing God's grace is chesed. This word speaks of deliverance
from enemies, affliction, or adversity. It also denotes enablement, daily guidance, forgiveness, and
preservation.
The New Testament word is Charis. It focuses on the provision of salvation.
Definition of God's Grace How do theologians define it?
"What is grace? In the New Testament grace means Gods love in action towards men who merited
the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a
finger to save themselves. Grace means God sending His only Son to descend into hell on the cross
so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven. (God) hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2
Corinthians 5:21).1
"Grace may be defined as the unmerited or undeserving favor of God to those who are under
condemnation." Enns2
Definition of God's Grace What does the Bible say?
"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference
between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:22-24).
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches
of Gods grace" (Ephesians 1:7).
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this is not from yourselves, it is the gift
of Godnot by works, so that no one can boast. For we are Gods handiwork, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will
those who receive Gods abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ!" (Romans 5:17).
Part 3
Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It is where God shows us mercy, kindness, and
patience instead of the judgment that we deserve for sinning against Him. God's grace
cannot be earned by our actions or sincerity. It cannot be lost by our rebellion or sin.
Grace is based on the character of God and not on our sincerity, performance, or ability
to keep the law of God. Otherwise, grace would not be grace.
But God wants us to know that when someone falls into sin, he does not fall from gracehe actually
fallsinto grace! Thank God His grace is there to put the person back on his feet.
