Grace

It is not uncommon for God’s grace to be defined as ‘unmerited favor’.  And while I agree with this definition, I believe that there is more to it than that.  For the Greek word here is, ‘charis’; and it not only speaks of what God has done out of love for humanity through Jesus Christ; it alludes to a quality of life that He expects us to conform to. In other words, not only is grace that attribute of God which overshadows our lives; it is a virtue reflective of divine beauty that is meant to be manifested in our words and actions, to make His love known through us.  Jesus actually alluded to this when He had said the following words:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” — John 13:34-35 NKJV

With that said; if no trace of moral change can be seen within a person’s life who claims to be a partaker of the grace of God, should we believe that that person really knows Jesus Christ? I would have to say no.  For the Bible makes it very clear that when we give our lives to Jesus we become a new creation in Christ; “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)  Moreover Jesus stated that only those who do the will of God are known by Him in the sense that they have an intimate relationship with Him (Matthew 7:21-23)

Unfortunately, a number of people believe that all you have to do is agree that Jesus died for your sins and you will be in good standing with God on the Day of Judgment.  This is what some refer to as “cheap grace”, that is, a watered down version of the gospel which ignores the fact that God expects sinners to change the way they think and behave towards Him.  Indeed, following Jesus is more than just simply saying, “I believe.” To really follow Jesus is to love God; and to love God is to seek to do His will above all else, allowing Him to change our hearts and thus bring our lives into harmony with the kind of life that He wants us to have in Him.  Hence grace is affective and effective.

Furthermore, there’s a difference between confessing a belief in what Jesus did for us at Calvary and exercising faith in that belief. It is the difference between knowing Him and merely having information about Him, or being the object of God’s grace and actually accessing it. What I’m getting at here is that a lot of people say that they believe in Jesus Christ; yet their hearts really aren’t converted. Of course, it isn’t for us to judge the hearts of others. However, we do have a responsibility to be honest with God, which means we will examine our own hearts in light of His good will to see if what is coming out of us agrees with what is present in Him. After all, if we aren’t walking in the light as He is in the light then how could we say we’re walking with Him?

And here’s where the rubber meets the road: if we are partakers of the grace of God then we will prove it by being eager to invite the Spirit to enter into our hearts to make changes within our lives where change is needed. And we will rejoice in hope of the glory of God each step of the way, as we walk by faith that is pleasing to Him.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” — Romans 5:1-2 NKJV

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” — Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” — 1 John 1:5-7 NKJV

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” — Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV

• Go to the final part of this lesson: Part 4