What do you think grace is?
Here's my answer. (Again
)
(IV) What is “grace”?
Greek: χάρις (charis)
A. A gift.
Salvation is a gift. We cannot earn salvation. The idea of earning salvation assumes that it is possible for someone to do sufficient good works to outweigh their evil works as if it were like having more cash than debt so that we could pay the debts and still have money left over.
Such a notion raises the question, how many good works does it take to “pay for” each evil work? This is a “salvation of the market place.” (“Buying a stairway to heaven”?) It assumes that good works have some intrinsic value which can be exchanged to cover the cost of bad works which will then be removed from our “account balance.” Of course there is no good answer to that question because the question is nonsense.
The idea of earning salvation also contains the concept that good works have merits and bad works have demerits. This is a juridical approach to salvation. It is the “salvation of the courtroom.” According to this idea, sufficient meritorious work will satisfy the demands of justice to have the charges against us dismissed and expunged from our record.
Both these notions miss the point. Receiving a gift is not about accumulating enough “spiritual cash” to buy it for yourself. A gift is something that is freely given. The greatest gifts are things which you could not possible purchase for yourself, like eternal life.
B. Gifts of the Spirit. (Gr. Plural: χαρίσματα, “charismata”)
In 1 Cor 12, Paul describes the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are distributed among believers according to the will of the Holy Spirit.
These are enabling gifts. They have the purpose of enabling an individual to perform a function within the body of Christ. They are what Jesus told the disciples they would receive when the Holy Spirit came upon them; they would be empowered to be His witnesses to bring the Gospel to the world. (Acts 1:8)
C. The power to save; God’s power to grant eternal life.
1. Eternal life is a gift. In order to make that gift effective, Jesus had to have the power to destroy the power of death over mankind, which He did by His incarnation, death and resurrection as a man.
2. He also has to have the power to raise all mankind from the grave and to convert their mortal bodies to immortal and incorruptible bodies when He comes again.
3. He has the power to grant eternal life by uniting man to God in Christ.
John 1:14a (RSV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth;
Acts 6:8 (RSV)
And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
D. Unmerited favor.
1. When God forgives sin, when He baptizes a believer in the Holy Spirit, when He raises mankind from the grave and when He gives eternal life, He does none of these things because anyone has earned the right to receive it. God does not owe anyone anything. All that He gives us, He gives us because He operated in Grace toward everyone, the good and the evil.
2. All that God does for the welfare of mankind is done because of His love for mankind. Because of His infinite love for mankind, He is gracious toward us and provides mankind with everything that is necessary for earthy and eternal life.
3. God is under no demand of justice or any demand of necessity to do anything. All that He does, he does graciously out of love.
And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
iakov the fool
