Grace is Amazing
Grace. What does it mean? It’s surprising, but did you know Jesus never used the word itself. He just taught it and lived it. Matter of fact, the Bible doesn’t even give us a one-statement definition of grace, though it appears throughout its pages. So, in order for us to understand this word that holds so many implications for us, we must go back to the old Hebrew term that meant “to bend, to stoop.” From it we gain the idea of “condescending favor.”
Most simply stated, to show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and could never earn it. Every time the thought of grace appears in the Scriptures, it comes with the idea of its being undeserved.
There’s one other thing about grace that we must not forget: it is absolutely and totally free. You will never be asked to pay it back. Truth is, you couldn’t, even if you tried. Some have a hard time understanding that because they work for everything they get. But it’s not so with grace, it comes free and clear with no strings attached.
So, you might be asking yourself, “Ok, but what does all this mean for me?” It’s vital to our understanding and appreciating what God has done for us. Whether you like it or not, you were born at odds with God. The same sin that Adam introduced to the human race has infected the heart of every person. No one is immune to sin and disease. Paul reminds us in Romans that because Adam sinned, all have sinned (Rom. 5:12).
The good news for us is that God made a way for us out of this mess. Read what Paul writes in Romans 5:18-19:
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
Salvation is a gift of God, offered by divine grace, not by human works. We read in Romans 5:20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” The truth is that when the law was revealed we stood guilty before the righteous Ruler of all the earth. The law identified our transgression and our guilt was intensified.
The best thing the law did, and still does, is to make us painfully aware that we are wrong. There’s no amount of doing right and being good that eradicates and rids us of our sin and guilt. The law simply reminds us repeatedly, there is nothing we can do to meet God’s holy standards.
Thankfully that’s not the end of the story, because that verse goes on to tell us that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Where sin overflowed, grace flooded in. It was with Jesus’ death on the cross that the payment for sin was satisfied and grace was put into action.
So, if you know the redeeming work of the grace of Christ, what does this mean for you? It means that God counts you justified based on the work of Christ. This justification doesn’t mean “just as if you’d never sinned,” rather it means, “Even though you sin periodically, and find yourself unable to stop sinning on a permanent basis, God declared you righteous when you believed.” That is God’s grace in action.
How does this apply to our everyday living? Why do we struggle so much to exhibit to others the grace that has been shown to us? The answer is simple: it’s because grace is risky. Some people will take advantage of it and others will misrepresent it.
One of the best illustrations I have read concerning grace comes from Chuck Swindoll’s book, The Grace Awakening:
Let’s imagine you have a six-year-old son whom you love dearly. Tragically, one day you discover that your son was horribly murdered. After a lengthy search the investigators of the crime find the killer. You have a choice. If you used every means in your power to kill the murderer for his crime, that would be vengeance. If, however, you’re content to sit back and let the legal authorities take over and execute on him what is proper—a fair trial, a plea of guilty, capital punishment—that is justice. But if you should plead for the pardon of the murderer, forgive him completely, invite him into your home, and adopt him as your son, that is grace.
When we consider that illustration, it’s no wonder why grace is so hard to grasp and accept. I don’t know of anyone who would do that, do you? But God does it every day. He takes the guilty, believing sinner who says, “I’m lost, unworthy, and guilty as charged” and extends to them the gift of eternal life.
Might we as God’s children, strive to live lives of grace. May His work of grace in us, produce a desire to exhibit that kind of grace to others. It’s not easy, and It’s definitely risky. If we are to grow to be more like Him, we must be willing to follow in the pattern that He has given us.
(Adapted from The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll. Word Publishing. Dallas, TX. 1990.)