Grace

​“Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!”
There isn’t a more beautiful gift from God than grace. Grace has been generally defined as “generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. It is an attribute of God that is most manifest in the salvation of sinners.”
Each of us knows what grace is. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Our salvation has come by grace. God has pardoned us, covering every single one of our sins with His grace.
But why? Why has God covered us with His grace? Some would try to teach us (incorrectly) that His grace is so great that it will cover everything you do, so go do what you want. We call that “hyper-grace” and it is a terrible lie of the devil. You don’t get to sin and get away with it. You don’t get to abuse the grace of God. Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-2
          “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
Either we have died to sin, and the old human nature- and are alive in Christ, living by the Spirit, and partakers of the divine nature- or we have not died to sin, and still live by the carnal nature. There are a lot of Christians that live carnally, as they feed their soul and cater to their fleshly senses. That is why Paul was so focused on teaching about God’s grace. God’s grace is intended to do something for us. In Romans 3, Paul introduces God’s grace, and then teaches about it in Romans 4. In Romans 5, he explains that we are actually supposed to stand on Grace (Romans 5:2).
In Galatians 5, Paul wrote that if we are led by the Spirit, we will not gratify the sinful nature. However, if we are led by our flesh, then the old sinful nature will abound.
Even with all of Paul’s teachings, we still struggle with Grace. Many Christians are fixated on “hyper-grace” when in reality they are teaching a limited grace. Somewhere in the middle, Grace abounds for both. The Pharisees hated grace. They were such sticklers of the Law that they ended up killing Jesus, and then hunting down anyone who followed Him. And Peter got caught up in that mindset, which is why Paul wrote about the whole situation in Galatians 2 (starts in verse 11).
Many people get lost in the confusion surrounding grace… The truth is Grace covers all of your sins- past, and future. Romans 3:23-24 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus’ blood. But don’t use that truth to try to sin and get away with it.
And one more thing: extend grace to people who don’t deserve it- just as God has given you grace even though you don’t deserve it. Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” So the truth is that if you live by the Spirit, you are no longer under the Law, you are under grace. And if you are under grace, then give that grace to all, forgiving them for every wrong they have done, just as you have been forgiven. Freely you have been given, so freely give. Bless you.

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