Grace Defined

What is the grace of God? We have heard about it many, many times that we may have become numb to just the mention of the word grace and we miss the true meaning of what this is because this is exactly what the gospel is about. Simply, grace is God giving Himself in full acceptance to someone who does not deserve it, can never earn it, and can NEVER be able to repay. Let me repeat, grace is God giving Himself in full acceptance to someone who does not deserve it, can never earn it, and can NEVER be able to repay. I would dare say that is all of us. There was nothing we could have done to earn or deserve this grace and love from God. Even someone that is living "righteously" by religion's standards, those who have never cursed, never did drugs, never had alcohol, never have been involved with fornication or adultery, they may still do some of the righteous requirements of the law, but they will never be able to totally and completely fulfill the entire law of God's perfect and holy standard. They still doesn't measure up to the perfect standard that God required. That is the reason God sent Jesus, Jesus accepted the call, Jesus fulfilled the law and took upon Himself every sin from every person for all time so that we can have a place with Him for all eternity. That is grace, that is the gospel of grace, and that IS good news. Grace is the inexhaustible supply of God’s goodness whereby He does for us what we could never do for ourselves. This is HIS GIFT to us.

⁸ For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; ⁹ Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] Ephesians 2:8-9 (Amplified Bible)

Contrary to popular opinion, there was NOTHING you could do to save yourself. Jesus is your redemption and your righteousness because no flesh nor any work of the flesh (works of the law) will be able to glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:29-30)

Grace, by definition in the Bible, is God blessing us, accepting us, and favoring us, all because of JESUS CHRIST and NOT because of our obedience, righteousness or goodness. Performance means nothing, it is all about Jesus and what He accomplished and not about what you can try to accomplish. So many people today are trying to make sure their "performance" is right with God, making sure they don't slip and fail God today, always as if they are walking on egg shells with God, hoping that today maybe their performance will be "good enough" to warrant an answered prayer, a blessing, and maybe even God's presence Himself. Let me go ahead and tell you right now, and place your mind at ease, your performance will NEVER be good enough to warrant ANYTHING from God, so stop trying to perform to see God's blessings and rest in what Jesus has done and receive all of God's blessings and favor independent of what you do.

Under the old covenant of the law, the law was to change you from the outside-in. Under this new covenant of grace, grace will change you from the inside out. The law was given for behavior modification; grace is given for heart transformation. I like how Max Lucado put it in that "Grace is God as a heart surgeon, removing your old heart and replacing it with His own." In this New Covenant of grace, rather than telling you to change, God initiates and creates the desire of change within you. You do not have to clean up for God to accept you. He accepts you and He begins the process of cleaning you up.

The opposite of living by God’s grace is living in legalism which is what so many in the Christian church today are trying to live by. Legalism is trying to please God “by the flesh” by attempting to keep a list of laws and rules we think can earn us God’s favor and blessings and keep us in good standing with Him. Legalism tells us that yes, accepting Jesus is important, BUT, you must make sure you pray, go to church, tithe, and many, many more things to make sure that God isn't mad so He can bless you. That is totally against the gospel, as a matter of fact, it is anti-gospel and not even the real gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7). Any gospel that combines works of the Law with grace for justification and blessing is no longer the same Gospel. In other words, Paul was saying that there is no room for additions or corrections to the Gospel of grace that he preached because it is perfect as presented. Any change perverts it. (Romans 11:6).

Analyzing our "mind set" is the simplest way of discerning whether we are operating in true Bible faith or a legalistic counterfeit called religion. If the motive for our actions is to be accepted with God, that's legalism that’s religion. But if we live wholly out of faith and gratefulness for what God has already done and provided, that's grace, that's relationship and THAT is what God is looking for!