IT IS ALL ABOUT GRACE

Most people love the hymn “Amazing Grace.” The lyrics are profound and the music is soul stirring. It appears from all of various beliefs held by so many people in so many churches few stop and think about this subject of grace. The term “grace” is thrown around as something similar to “luck.” We want it, we think of it as more or less random, and we really do not think is will last. The greatest misunderstanding about grace is that in some way it is dependent upon something we do. We are taught to think like this. It is common to assume that grace comes to us because we have faith. It is widely understood that grace results from our faith. Yet, the Bible clearly tells us that grace comes only from God and not because of our choice, our thoughts, or our beliefs.

   “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” [Galatians 1:3, 4]. Some pass this verse off as a religious formal greeting, which is perfunctory and need not be taken too seriously. Then there is, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” [Ephesians 2:4-9]. Some read or hear this verse and argue that this verse proves their position that faith is the necessary ingredient in obtaining grace. It does not seem to matter that the primary theme in this verse is God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s gift. It does not matter to these people, whose minds are set on a fixation about the power of the human “will” or the belief that we conjure up faith from some internal good.

Even when this Ephesians verse states very clearly the God’s act of salvation is “by grace” there is specetism. Even though the phrase specifies, “not from yourselves” and then emphasizes that grace and faith is the result of “the gift of God” seems to pass their reading and hearing without registering these words in their minds. It seems to be too esoteric to attempt to offer the fact that “by grace” and “though faith” are two separate concepts in both the English and the Greek languages. In English, the preposition “by” in this context is referring to the product “grace,” as a noun signifying the means of salvation. The preposition “though” means something entirely different. This word is used when we refer to going in one side and going out another side. These two words cannot be meaningfully exchanged. The Greek meanings for these words are even more extremely different. The Greek for the word “by” is “gar,” which means to conclude, to answer the question why, and to emphasize the noun as the reason for the statement. The Greek for the word “though” is “dia,” which means to pass from one to the other an idea, as in the word “therefore,” or the transfer of a product. Using these definitions, we could re-state this concept as, “Because of grace we therefore have faith.” An analogy could be use when thinking about the relationship between these words. For instance, starting with a power source, such as a battery, connected to a light bulb using a wire is an example of this concept. The power source is grace. The light bulb is faith. When the power is turn on the electrical charge flows “though” the wire to the light bulb and we then have enlightenment. Without grace, there is no faith, no enlightenment.

Grace is fundamental to the Gospel. We are told, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” [Romans 11:5, 6]. This verse emphasizes the basic importance of grace. This is very different from the plea we hear about the importance of faith. We hear, take the “leap of faith” as a call for a personal decision. Such motivation as this is without scriptural foundation and is made because the subject of free grace is not politically expedient or marketable. It seems there is widespread confusion about the significance of faith. If we read the Bible carefully, we can see that faith is but the means of communicating the gift of grace. When we hear, “It is all about faith” we are hearing evidence of this fundamental misunderstanding. The truth, according to the scriptures, is --- “It is all about grace.”

The reason there is confusion about faith and the misunderstanding about grace can be traced back to the desire to be in control, this goes back to the beginning [Genesis 3:6]. The delusion at the center of this desire is the assumption we control the ability of accept or deny faith. It is claimed we have this ability because we can believe and disbelieve anything we wish. In essence, using the light bulb analogy, we turn the light on and off according to our will, independent of the power source. We can ignore God’s grace because we believe “by” faith! This attitude ignores the scriptural concept of God’s calling and then in the absence of grace we substitute the concept of personal choice, which is non-scriptural. Being “chosen by grace” is something God does. We can do nothing to qualify for this gift of grace; if we could do something --- then there would no longer be a need for grace.

This grace is given to the degree or measure God allocates it. “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” [Ephesians 4:7]. Our light bulb is turned up to a higher intensity when we grow in our appreciation and understanding of His ways. If we are hung up on our interpretation of how we generate faith then we can expect a dim light. Since our resource about His ways is primarily found in His word, it should behoove us to study and search His word for greater enlightenment. As we become more familiar with Christ and His word, we can expect to see clearer through the fog that surrounds us in this world. The wisdom found in the titillating presentations we hear about our “rights” to choose is designed to dim the light available in Christ’s word.

As we look and focus on Christ, God’s Sprit guides us into a greater appreciation of His will at the expense of our own will. We then begin to mature in His grace. “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” [Ephesians 4:14-16]. This maturing starts with the gift of grace and develops with the guidance of Christ’s Spirit who builds in grace as God’s has planned.