Important words: grace

Over the next few weeks, I want to use the newsletter to help us understand some important Biblical words. My desire is that when we’ve grasped the significance of these words, our hearts will be warmed and our lives changed. I can’t cover everything in a 500 word article – so I warmly recommend the books ‘18 words’ and ‘Concise Theology’ by J.I. Packer, on which I’ll be basing these newsletters.

Our first word is GRACE! Grace is what the gospel of Jesus is all about (Acts 20:24). Paul’s understanding of grace was so strong that he always starts & ends his letters with that word: ‘grace’. Even a quick summary of the NT highlights that salvation is all of grace, from first to last (Eph 2:5, 8). Grace has come to us in and through Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11) and we are called to receive this grace (Rom 5:17), know it (Col 1:6), and continue in it (Acts 13:43). Grace is the ‘key that unlocks the New Testament’.

So what is grace? Grace is God’s undeserved favour, his unmerited love. The word is ‘charis’ – it’s free, the person who shows it is in no way obligated to. So ‘nothing impressed Paul more than the fact that God’s love for men was a free gift from God, entirely undeserved on men’s part, depending only upon God’s own will’. Grace in the NT is closely linked to ‘steadfast love’ – it’s God acting in spontaneous goodness to save sinners, pardon our sin, accept us, lead us to knowledge & enjoyment of Him – all unmerited, all flowing from his love! Grace, then, is an amazing wonder! Our world is full of wonders – wonders of nature, science, craftsman – but they are nothing compared to the wonder of God’s grace!

Grace in the NT is always connected with the person and work of Jesus Christ, our mediator & Saviour (John 1:17, 2 Tim 2:1, Rom 5:20). So we know the grace of God when we are united with the crucified and risen Jesus. The cross is seen as the reality of God’s grace and the final measure of it (Rom 5:8, Eph 1:7). And those of us who have been gripped by grace enjoy all the benefits of God’s election-love, God’s redeeming-love, God’s preserving-love.

Friends, if we understand grace, we’ll avoid two things:

1) Legalism (see Rom 4, Gal 2-5): how can we seek righteousness through works and religion and good deeds? To trust our own work alongside the work of Jesus dishonours him and frustrates grace.

2) Antinomianism (see Rom 6, 2 Pet 2): this is when we turn grace into licentiousness! It’s the false idea that since it’s all about grace, it no longer matters how I live! This, my friends, is turning grace into cheap grace! But according to Paul is Titus 2:11f, it is grace that trains us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions! Instead of giving us liberty to break the law, grace sets us free from sin so we strive to keep it.

Once we understand that the life of grace is a life of freedom, it’s the most liberating thing! On the website I’ve listed six things that grace frees us from. I encourage you to have a read, and be liberated by the grace that God has shown you.

Grasp grace, my friends, and you’ll find yourself singing with John Newtown “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved, how precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come; Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home’

In God’s grace
Paul Dale