Episode 4

A Theology of Grace

God is a grace-giver. He takes initiative in salvation. As we grow in grace we recognize our bankruptcy and need for God. God forgives us on the basis of his grace and not our works or penance (see 2 Tim 1:9). We are told in Romans 11:6, ‘But if it is by grace, then it does not rest on deeds, or grace would cease to be grace’.

God always has the heart to forgive. He is merciful to those who repent. ‘…As I live, says the Lord God, I have no desire for the death of the wicked. I would rather that the wicked should mend their ways and live… (Ezekiel 33:11). God prefers grace to judgment. Judgment is always his last resort. He takes no pleasure in punishment but has to do it because of who he is.  

God forgives our sins and accepts us unconditionally on the basis of the death of Christ on the cross. If forgiveness is by works, then God is obliged to us. If a person works, he/she is entitled to the wages (Rom 4: 4). The employer is obliged to pay him/her. Christ has already paid the price for us at the cross. Paul’s teaching is clear on this. Grace and works can’t mix. You embrace one or the other. Salvation is by grace. The idea of works as the basis of salvation is at variance with the Scripture. Grace and works are like oil and water, light and darkness.

Our salvation, sanctification and service are based on grace. God deals with us on the basis of His grace. Our entire Christian life is to be lived under the reign of God's grace. Grace is given to be received, lived out and not merely analyzed or argued. God never runs out of grace. God's offer of grace is free (cf Isa 55:1).  

Grace is part of the nature of God and He can't change that. The generosity of God is so great that He accepts nothing from us. There is nothing we can do to repay his grace. When He forgives, he forgives completely and irreversibly. Our guilt and shame is adequately dealt with by grace.

Grace however is risky because it can lead to licentiousness.  That is a risk but a calculated risk in the plan of God. If God is willing to take a risk with humanity, should we not do the same? The alternative to grace is legalism. It is an attitude based on pride because by conforming to an artificial standard a person thinks he/she is better than others.  Legalism imprisons the soul and suffocates the heart.

Human nature is contaminated by sin as a result of the fall. As fallen human beings, we have an innate tendency to sin (cf Rom 7:19). Human free will is biased towards evil. We have been contaminated by sin from birth and continue to be dominated by it. Human free will is captivated by the power of sin and can only be freed by grace. Sin is a power that holds us captive and from whose grip we can't break free. We need help. We are like a truck that is stuck in the mud. The more the driver accelerates, the deeper the truck gets stuck. What is needed is someone outside who isn't trapped to get in! 

Christ is the liberator and the source of grace that breaks the power of sin. Sin is a disease which can only be cured by Christ through his death. Christ's death and resurrection break the power of sin and cancel its guilt. ‘The power of cancelled sin’ overcomes the power of sin resulting in the forgiveness of guilt. In the words of Charles Wesley (1740),

He breaks the power of cancelled sin.

He sets the prisoner free

His blood can make the foulest clean

His blood availed for me.

Although our human nature is contaminated, God is changing us from glory to glory. Paul in 2 Cor 3:18 remarks, ‘And because for us there is no veil over the face, we all see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, and we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, through the power of the Lord who is the Spirit’. God changes us not to accept us. He accepts us in order to change us.

Grace doesn’t always make sense from a human perspective. Those whom we think God should not bless, seem to blessed. Others whom we think deserve to be blessed, are not blessed. After all that the prodigal son did, he is not punished but honoured by the father with a new robe, a ring, sandals to wear, and a party. But the elder son who had been good, righteous and hardworking was ignored. The riches of God’s grace are inexhaustible and unexplainable. When ‘sin multiplied, grace immeasurably exceeded it’, says Paul in Romans 5:20. Grace is a mystery.

To give grace, you must first experience grace. You can read books about grace; you can hear from others about grace. But until you experience it, what you know is simply theoretical. For those who insist that you do not need to experience grace to give grace, consider the doctrine of incarnation (God becoming man). Christ became man in order to be our sacrifice. He was tempted but yet without sin (cf Heb 2:18; 4:15).

The grace of God is unconditional. Grace is undeserved favour poured out on us.  It has nothing to do with my condition, perfection or achievement. It is unmerited, undeserved and unearned favour. God’s unconditional grace does not depend on my behaviour. Listen to the very powerful words of Philip Yancey (2000:70):

Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more - no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes.  And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less – no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love (emphasis his).

He is biblically correct and theologically sound. God does not love us less because we sin. He neither holds our sin against us nor condemns us. God is not grieved at us but is grieved by sin.

Grace overcomes shame, not by uncovering an overlooked cache of excellence in ourselves but simply by accepting us, the whole of us, with regard to our beauty or ugliness, our virtue or our vices. We are accepted wholesale. Accepted with no possibility of being rejected. Accepted once and accepted forever. Accepted at the ultimate depth of our being (Lewis Smedes quoted by Barnhill 2004:159)   

If grace is dependent on my goodness, works or performance, then it is no longer grace because I deserve it and I earn it.  If I run and cross the finishing line first, I deserve to get the first prize. I deserve the first prize not because the judges have decided to give it to me or because they like me but because I earn it.

In the outworking of God’s grace, divine provision precedes human problems. He is all-knowing, all-present and all-powerful. Since that is the case, God already knows that humankind will fall one day. Hence, he was not caught off-guard. We are told in Eph 1:4, that before the foundation of the world he has already provided a way to escape. That is to say before the problem arises, the provision has been already made. Long before Adam fell, God already had a plan of salvation as we are told in Eph 1:7.

Another example is the sacrifice of Abraham in Gen 22:1-18. We are told Abraham seized the caught by its horn and offered it as a sacrifice in place of his son.

In the story of Joseph, before the famine, God had already prepared Joseph to be in Egypt to preserve the people. In the story of the bitter waters at Marah in Exodus 15, the log was already there before the waters became sweetened. The provision always precedes the problem.         Remember, everything we receive from God is due to his grace. Gifts and grace are related (Rom 12:6). A spiritual gift or charisma is a gift of God’s grace. Gifts are given not because we deserve them but to edify the body. For Paul, charis is related to charisma/charismata which refers to a concrete expression of God’s gracious activity to his people (1 Pet 4:10). None of us deserve these spiritual gifts given by God’s undeserved favour.  

The theology of the grace of God is important because a) grace means that we are not totally dependent on our own resources. It affirms that God does not leave us alone as we are confronted by life's challenges (2 Cor 12:9); b) grace means that no one is beyond reach of God's love. God is able to work in the life of even the most unlikely people (1 Cor 15:9-10); c) an awareness of the grace of God can help all who have chosen to travel the difficult path of spiritual growth.  It will help us to rely upon grace along the way. It will encourage us and give us a sure sense of direction. Yes. God's grace is indeed amazing.

When I Gaze at His Grace

I am simply amazed;

Therefore, I will praise,

Because of His Amazing Grace

By His Healing Grace

My past is erased;

I will run the Race,

Because of His Unfailing Grace

I will not be in haste

But let Him set the pace;

My present is embraced,

Because of His Transforming  Grace

My plans may be razed

But I remain unfazed;

For I’ll see him face to face,

Because of His Redeeming Grace

---  Johnson T. K. Lim (1653 Words)

Discussion Questions

1. What statement strikes you? Why?
2. What is the opposite of grace?
3. Explain the meaning of the poem “When I Gaze at

His Grace”