The Grace of God
by Terry SlackHaving grown tired of the restrictions at home, the young man demanded what was due and headed off for a world of excitement. While away he sought to squeeze from life all that had been previously forbidden. Times were good. Friends plentiful. Before long however, the money, companions, and frivolity were gone. Hungry and alone, he came to his senses. As he began the long, humiliating walk home, he resigned himself to surrender his sonship. As his silhouette appeared on the horizon, the father caught sight of him and ran to meet him. While his dad embraced and kissed him, the son attempted to communicate his intention to return only as an ""employee."" The father however, would have none of it. Upon their reunion, a great celebration ensued.
Who among us hasn't read with fascination the parable of the prodigal? Is there a more powerful story to underscore the abundance of God's grace? An ungrateful son stakes his claim to the family fortune only to squander it and find himself completely destitute. His own stubbornness and stupidity have gotten him where he is. He is reaping what he has sown. He is getting what he deserves. Prior to his return home, he recognizes he has no right, nor reason to expect to be welcomed back into the family. He has been unappreciative, irresponsible and reckless, yet upon his arrival he receives nothing of what he deserves and everything that he doesn't.
The biblical idea of grace is often misunderstood. A succinct definition of the term is doesn't come easily. Among the most familiar is the three words, ""God's unmerited favor."" Though this definition is true, it is hardly all-encompassing.
In scripture, the words rendered ""grace"" primarily revolve around the idea of favor and goodness bestowed on one undeserving. That which is extended comes solely on the basis of a good-hearted giver, rather than any inherent goodness on the part of the recipient. Though the word itself is never found in any of Jesus' recorded words, John reveals that He was ""full of grace"" (John 1:14). The principle of unmerited favor is seen often in the life and ministry of Jesus.
In numerous parables spoken by our Lord we find Him communicating the truths in regard to God's abundant grace. We read of the unmerciful slave (Matt. 18:22-35), the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-15), the wicked farmers (Matt. 21:33-40), and the prodigal son (Luke 15:12-32).
But Jesus did more than talk about grace-He constantly demonstrated it! It's seen in His dealings with a paralytic (Matt. 9), a tax-gatherer named Zaccheus (Luke 19), a Samaritan woman (John 4), a guilty adulteress (John 8), a crucified thief (Luke 24), and even a zealous persecutor of Christians from the town of Tarsus (Acts 9).
Following Jesus' ascension, the inspired message of His apostles continued to revolve around this same magnificent theme. The Greek word, charis (usually translated ""grace""), is found close to 150 times in the New Testament, and almost 100 of those occurrences appear in the writings of Paul alone (can you think of a man who would have appreciated grace more than he?).
God, in His infinite grace, responded to sinful humanity not as they deserved, but in the manner His merciful nature required. Due to our iniquities, justice demanded condemnation. But then God's grace intervened. He sent His Son to die on a Roman cross in order to provide pardon to the condemned, life to the dying, redemption for the enslaved, and heaven to the hell-bound. In the work of Jesus, grace was not dormant and abstract, but dynamic and active.
Yet where you find God's goodness, you will also find Satan attempting to pervert that good for his own evil purposes; even grace is not without it's adversaries.
One enemy of grace is seen throughout the New Testament and that enemy is legalism. It proclaims the possibility of a sinful person performing in such a way so as to actually earn God's forgiveness. It emphasizes externals. It focuses on meticulous rule-keeping. Its message is one of meritorious conduct.
In Jesus' day, the Pharisees were its most vocal proponents. In their minds, law-keeping alone was the pathway to righteousness. It mattered little what attitudes you held, so long as your actions paralleled the established and accepted standard. Justification could be enjoyed and the reward received solely on the basis of a person's ability to live up to God's revealed instructions. As a result, when Jesus came proclaiming and demonstrating a message of grace, they quickly labeled Him a heretic. The religious leaders refused to see that no amount of good behavior (unless it be flawless) can result in a man's justification.
God's condemnation of legalism is clear and concise, particularly in the words of Paul (himself an ex-legalist). ""A man is not justified by the works of the Law...since by works of the Law shall no flesh be justified"" (Gal. 2:16). ""You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace"" (Gal. 5:4). ""For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast"" (Eph. 2:8-9).
Legalism provides a list of ""do's and don'ts."" and results in an attitude of self-righteousness on the part of those who ""follow"" the rules and harsh condemnation for those who do not. It stresses a person's own ability to live up to God's standard and leads to an arrogant self-confidence on those occasions where they might succeed. Guilt becomes a tool of manipulation and external conduct is its sole means of measurement. And, as is obvious from the example of the Pharisees, it is highly toxic to the human soul.
The second enemy is located at the opposite end of the spectrum, yet is equally lethal to the life of grace. License is its name and what it says is this: If I am saved by God's undeserved favor, then seeking to adhere to His standards must not play any role at all in my salvation; that is, since a person's justification doesn't hinge on perfect law-keeping, any element of keeping God's law must surely be irrelevant. It is a no-strings-attached approach to discipleship, an open-ended package of approval completely divorced from any moral demands. Where legalism nullifies God's grace, license corrupts it.
Paul deals with this line of reasoning in his letter to the Romans. After several verses extolling the abundance of God's grace (Rom. 5:12-21), Paul answers what many might perceive to be the logical conclusion: ""Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?"" (Rom. 6:1-2). To the licentious person, grace becomes a cheap gift that holds very little genuine value.
The strategy for defeating grace's enemies is found in Christians attaining a balance. Great care must be exercised to bind only where God Himself has bound. Caution must be utilized so as to prevent the establishment of man-made lists of ""do's and don'ts"" which ultimately become the sole measurement of ""faithfulness."" We must maintain our grasp on the truth that no matter how much we do for God, it will never be enough to erase the first sin! Without grace, we will never perform in such a way so as to deserve anything but hell.
To suggest however, that because grace is undeserved it is also undemanding is equally erroneous. Though we could never perform in such a way so as to remove one transgression from our record, the extension of grace certainly requires our fervent attempts to live pleasingly to the One who provided such a precious gift. In his letter to Titus, Paul remarks, ""For the grace of God has appeared...instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age..."" (2:11-12).
The reason legalism and license are so dangerous to grace is due to the fact they destroy one thing it is designed to accomplish: the encouragement of heart-felt obedience! The licentious man imagines his behavior doesn't matter; the legalist imagines it matters too much. The person of balance however, comprehends the greatness of God's grace, and because of that marvelous gift is compelled to strive even harder to please the merciful One who extended it. Obedience becomes a joyful response of love rather than a drudgery of duty.
Can you think of anyone who stood in greater need of God's unmerited favor than Paul? Yet notice what he says in I Corinthians 15:10-""But 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.""
May we be a balanced people who have a clear comprehension of just how amazing His grace truly is, and then allow that awareness to drive us to an even deeper level of devotion to the One who lavished upon us the riches of His undeserved favor (Eph. 1:7-8).