Have we missed grace?

 1 Corinthians 15:10-11

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But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”

Could grace be the most misunderstood part of what Jesus did for mankind?  As one who was reared in the church, this is often how grace is explained: “(in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.” (Dictionary) Grace if unmerited, does that not mean it cannot be obtained by any action on our part; it cannot be earned, it is not a reward for good we have done, it is not something one can produce.

Grace has much to say and many have read past the three letter word “All” and longer word “whoever”; and both words are a big part of grace. In Romans 3:24-25a, we come to grips with how grace and all come together, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”  And what about the word “whoever” spoken by Jesus Christ; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

As I look into the mirror, the question comes clear grace is scandalous, and it does not honor my goodness, my mercy, as a pass, as a way to earn God’s favor.  In truth, grace is open to all, the dirty, the vile, the prostitute, the murderer, the drug addict, and the one who sells him his drugs.  It is even open to the most religious of people, such as those who kill in the name of Allah, or the Baptist, Catholic, the Church of Christ, who never miss a church service, and believe all the above deserve hell for being so evil.

Have we missed grace?  Not referring to by grace you are saved, for it is the gift of God, and I’m not talking about Salvation found in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Have you and I as a follower of Christ allowed performance to replace grace?  Is grace a desire of your heart, does it drive you, and if not, why?  We have experienced God’s grace as we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; John the Baptist witnessed to this in the gospel of John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

Maybe we only use the term follower of Christ when we are more like a hearer of the Word, but not followers of the Word.  Grace has no part of fear, it goes out of its way to show love to all, it has no social circle or privilege, and it may be a starting point for my mirror to agree with the Father that we got contaminated by the world, that we have foolishly believed He was correct in extending grace to us but not to the list above.  Now that is called confession, it has a requirement of leaving pride and arrogance at the place of confession, and agreeing with God that we are messed up saints who long to walk in fellowship with the LORD.

Titus 3:1-9 is a good place to ask the Holy Spirit to help us, for without Him you and I cannot do one thing of value.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice