A good way to begin our study would be to define the word grace. Grace is defined as, “Favor, goodwill for or toward another… to confer a favor on one” (Liddell & Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon page 882). Moulton’s Greek English Lexicon defines grace as “a beneficial opportunity, generous gift, an act of favor, gracious provision” (Page 433). Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon defines grace as “kindness or favor which bestows upon one what he has not deserved” (page 666). The word “favor” is the common denominator in understanding the word grace. God has done a great favor for man. What is this favor all about?
The most reliable way of defining and understanding the grace of God is to examine what the Bible has to say about it. The Bible tells us that God’s favor (grace) is bestowed to man in the form of the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Consider these words that divine inspiration links to grace:
- God’s gift to man (Ephesians 2:8)
- Revelation (the gospel message) (Ephesians 3:2-6)
- Salvation (Ephesians 2:4-5)
- Redemption (Colossians 1:13-14)
- Sanctification and obedience (Romans 6:16-23)
- Forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7)
- Justification (Romans 3:24; 5:1-2).
There are various ideas about grace that man concocts in his own mind. Let us consider a principle before going any further in this study. The apostle Paul writes at 1 Corinthians 12:3, “Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema (cursed); and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.” Do you see the significance in this statement? You and I would know nothing about Jesus, or any other Bible matter, if it were not for the Holy Spirit revealing these things through the word of God. Likewise, you and I can know nothing about the subject of grace without the Bible explaining the matter to us. My point is that you, as the reader of this article, should look to what the Bible has to say about grace rather than a man in this world.
Why Do We Need Grace?
To understand man’s need for God’s grace is to understand the nature of God. God is holy and perfect in every way (see Leviticus 18:4, 30; 20:7-8, 22; 22:31; John 1:5-7 etc.). Our holy and perfect God expects that His creation also be without sin. God expects every man and woman to be just like he is. God does not sin and neither should we (see 1 John 4:17 see also Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15-17; 2 Peter 1:4). Contrary to what some denominations teach there is not one sin that is ok with God (see 1 John 2:1).
The problem with the expectation of human moral perfection is that we all fail and disappoint God (see Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). At some point and time we all sin against God’s laws. This is where God’s grace or favor comes in. Though we sin and disappoint God we can nonetheless be forgiven. Though God demands perfection he does not leave man without hope in obtaining this position.
Is God’s Grace Conditional or Unconditional?
God has given man the choice of whether or not to sin (James 1:13-14). Consider a man who chooses to sin. Will God save that individual? Paul answers our question at Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?” Some people have the idea that the more you sin the more God’s grace covers those sins; however, Paul says that it is not ok to sin. When people do sin; however, there is an advocate (Jesus Christ) to plead their case to the Heavenly Father (see 1 John 2:1-3).
How do we receive the forgiveness of our sins? You have studied above that God’s grace has everything to do with the forgiveness of sins. Some tell us that we must “Say the sinners prayer.” Others tell us that we must, “Accept Jesus into your heart.” Where do these thoughts come from? Do you see any such statement in the Bible? Dear friend, beware of such false doctrine being peddled as the truth. Our Bibles tell us exactly how people receive God’s gracious favor. Consider some examples of people receiving the favor of God only after they complied to His divine will:
- Noah: (Genesis 6:8), “but Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.” Noah, by Godly fear, obeyed the commands of God (Hebrews 11:17). God gave him instructions and he followed them (Genesis 6:13ff). “Thus did Noah: according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Genesis 6:22). Noah received God’s grace, salvation from the flood, by faithfully following his instructions.
- Abraham: (Hebrews 11:8), “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Abraham received that which was promised to him by acting on faith. The favor was the inheritance; however, it was not received until he obeyed the voice of God (see Romans 4:1-2, 13; James 2:21).
- Joshua: (Hebrews 11:30), “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days.” At Joshua 6:1-5, God tells Joshua that He has given Jericho into his hand. God’s favor or grace was the giving of Jericho. Notice that there was something on the part of Israel to do in order to receive God’s favor. When Israel complied with God’s instructions, the walls fell and they took the city by force. They received God’s favor by obedient faith.
- Namaan: (2 Kings 5), God gave Namaan instructions through his prophet Elisha that would show Naaman God’s favor. The grace of God would heal Naaman of his leprosy if he washed in the Jordan seven times. Namaan complied with faithful obedience and he was healed receiving God’s grace.
- The blind man: (John 9:7), Jesus said, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, he went away and washed, and came seeing.” The blind man received the favor or grace of God, his sight, when he complied with the instructions of Jesus. He received grace through faith!
- Three thousand people in Jerusalem at Pentecost: (Acts 2), On the day of Pentecost 3,000 people had access by faith into grace. They wanted forgiveness of sins. They received God’s favor of forgiveness when they complied in obedience by being baptized (see Acts 2:38-44).
The lesson learned by these examples is that we do not earn nor deserve to receive God’s favor. Man is forgiven or justified (acquitted) of sins; however, through an obedient faith. By the grace of God our Lord provides salvation and man must do his part in receiving that gift. The book of Judges reveals a story about a man named Gideon who went to war with the Midianites whose number was as the sand of the sea (Judges 7). Gideon called for God’s people to gather for war and 32,000 Israelites assembled for the cause. To teach Israel a valuable lesson of faith, God whittled down the army of 32,000 to only 300 men. These 300 men defeated the Midianites and learned that salvation came not by their own hand but by God. Likewise, the human effort toward salvation is always clearly removed by God so all will know that salvation comes by favor. God’s favor; however, does not eliminate a conditional response on the part of the one who has faith. Roy E. Cogdill once said, “Obedience nullifies neither grace nor faith, but unites them!” This was the point James made when he said, “Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself” (James 2:17). We earlier defined Bible grace by simply looking at the word of God. If grace is equivalent to forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7), justification (Romans 3:24; 5:1-2), and sanctification (Romans 6:16-23) then the obvious conclusion is that God’s grace is conditioned upon my obedience (please read Romans 6:16-23).
One may explain grace this way. An infomercial offers a product for sale such as a new vacuum cleaner. The appealing thing about this offer is that they tell us that they will throw in a “free” stair vacuum to all who purchase their product. Note that the free gift is yours; however, to receive the free gift you have to pick up the phone and order the original product. Do you not see conditions here?
Consider these Bible passages that mention grace as a free gift and then compare them to Bible passages that mention something we are to do to receive it. The apostle Paul writes of grace and salvation at Romans 6 saying, “The wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Again, Paul writes, “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Whenever people here the term “gift” and “favor” they automatically think “no conditions.” Those who believe that there are no conditions to man’s salvation through God’s grace have a hard time explaining passages such as Revelation 2:10 where John writes, “Be thou faithful till death and I will give you a crown of righteousness.” The condition to God’s gift is being faithful till death.
Grace and Obedience
Paul writes, “For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world;” (Titus 2:11-12). God’s unmerited favor has appeared that all may have salvation. Notice that God’s grace does some instructing as well. To be a recipient of grace, we must deny ungodliness and worldly lust and live soberly, righteously and godly.
Paul told Timothy, “but thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness…I charge thee in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession; that thou keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:” (1 Timothy 6:11-14). Again, notice that there is a manner of living God desires and that is “righteousness.” The word righteousness is defined as “the condition acceptable to God; integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, and correctness in thinking, feeling and acting” (Thayer 149). Remember, God wants us to be just like Him (without sin). When we comply with God’s commands he graciously has promised that we shall have eternal life (Revelation 21:7). Our faith moves us to submissive obedience in confident hope of receiving our end reward, salvation. Only the fatalist would deny the connection of faith and grace with obedience (cf. Hebrews 3:18-19). The Greek lexicons even define faith as it is used in passages such as Romans 5:1-4 as, “used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus, i.e. a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah – the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ” (Thayer 511).
How do People Receive God’s Grace Today?
Again, I ask, what is grace? Your answer is, “God’s favor… the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal salvation.” Let us see what God’s word has to say about receiving God’s grace. A favorite grace passage is Ephesians 2:8 where Paul writes, “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” What many fail to realize is that Paul had already established the identity of grace earlier in the book. Paul writes of the saving blood of Jesus Christ saying, “In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” By God’s grace He forgives us of sins. But how do I gain access into this grace? How am I forgiven of sins. Does it just happen once I realize what grace is? Remember, look only to God’s word for explanations. The Bible tells us that man is forgiven of sins initially when he or she is baptized (PLEASE read Acts 2:38). Baptism is how one comes in contact with the saving blood of Jesus Christ (PLEASE read Hebrews 9:14 and compare it to 1 Peter 3:21). The free gift is forgiveness and if we want that gift we must take that step of faith and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins.
This is not the end of the story however. After baptism people continue to sin (see 1 John 1:8-10). We are not told to be baptized over and over again but rather to acknowledge our sins (Jeremiah 3:13), confess our sins to God (Psalms 32:5; 1 John 1:9), repent of sins (Acts 17:30), and ask for God’s forgiveness through prayer (see Acts 8:14-24; 1 John 1:8-10). The only sin God will not forgive the baptized believer of is the sin a man or woman will not acknowledge, confess, repent of, and ask God to forgive you of (see 1 John 5:16-17). We must understand as we read Bible books like 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and so forth that these letters are being addressed to people who have already been baptized. The apostle Paul does not go through the steps of salvation (i.e., hear the gospel and believe it, confess that Jesus is the Christ, repent of sins, be baptized for forgiveness of sins, and remain faithful all the days of your life) in these books because these people have already learned these elementary truths and obeyed them. The book of Acts is often referred to as the book of conversions because it examines what people did to become Christians. The other New Testament books deal with troubles that were to be worked out among baptized believers.
Conclusion
To understand man’s need for the grace of God is to understand the nature of God and His divine expectations of moral perfection for man (see 1 Peter 1:15-16; 1 John 1:5-7). The first covenant was removed by God because it could not make man perfect (please read Hebrews 7:18-19). Jesus, knowing that his blood covenant would remove sins (see Matthew 26:26), commanded man to be morally perfect (see Matthew 5:48). Man could not achieve what God commands on his own (see Romans 4:1-8; Ephesians 2:8-9). To achieve God’s objective of moral perfection Christ had to be sacrificed on the cross. The all knowing sovereign God knew this before man was even created (see Ephesians 1:3-7). Those of us humble enough to admit that they cannot attain unto a state of moral perfection without the help of God’s grace, through the blood of Jesus Christ, will forever be lost in their sins. Those who refuse to open their Bible and see the direct association between the blood of Christ and baptism will never be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (compare Ephesians 1:7 to Acts 2:38 and then compare Hebrews 9:11-14 with 1 Peter 3:18-22). Those of us who will not strive for moral perfection in this life, through the blood of Jesus Christ, will not see heaven (2 Peter 1:4-11; Revelation 21:6-8). The life of the Christian is about pressing into heaven through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we sin we have an advocate, Jesus, who will forgive us as we confess our faults (1 John 1:9 – 2:2). Through grace we maintain our perfection before the heavenly Father.
