What in the World Is Grace?
What in the World Is Grace?
When you think about the grace of God, what comes to mind?
Do you think of God’s forgiveness, or of being given a second chance?
Do you think of grace as a “get out of jail free” card, giving you the freedom to live your life however you please?
When someone has wronged us, we will sometimes use a phrase like, “I’m going to show that person grace,” to mean that we’re going to let them off the hook or give them a second chance even though they don’t deserve it. But would it surprise you to know that that’s actually more akin to what mercy is than grace?
Biblical grace is such a supernatural concept that it’s difficult to define in human terms. So instead of defining it ourselves, let’s look at what the Bible has to say about what grace actually is.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. – Titus 2:11-14 (ESV)
Notice in this passage that, when grace is mentioned, it’s actively accomplishing something (e.g. bringing salvation, training us). This is because grace, by nature, is something that makes something else possible.
Regarding salvation, it was the grace of God that made it possible for us to have faith to believe in the finished work of Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (Titus 2:11; Ephesians 2:8-9).
And for our sanctification, it is the grace of God that equips us with everything we need, making it possible for us both to know and to live out God’s will for our lives (Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:13).
Not to mention, each Christian is gifted in certain ways by God’s grace to serve others within the Church (1 Peter 4:10-11), making it possible for us to do the good works that God has prepared in advance for each of us to do.
It’s interesting that the Bible tells us that God gives grace to the humble, but He withholds it from the proud (James 4:6).
At the point of salvation, we must humble ourselves to confess that we are a sinner in need of a savior, and that Jesus is Lord (and that we are not). And in response to that humility, God pours out His grace, empowering us with the faith required to believe.
Likewise, as we continue to live out our Christian faith, we must remain humble, remembering that the strength to live as God calls us to live comes from God alone (2 Corinthians 12:8-10); and we must continue receiving the grace that He pours out on our lives to believe God for the strength to accomplish everything He’s called us to (Ephesians 2:10).
God’s grace truly is amazing!
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