Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see. (John Newton)
Despite what you might think, God’s grace is not an entirely “New Testament” concept. God has continually shown His gracious side to His people throughout their history. He describes Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7 when He declares, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
The psalmist David says in Psalm 86:15, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (cf. Psalm 103:8).
But what, exactly, is grace? No doubt you’ve heard it described as “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” However, how many of us really recognize just what that means? We begin with quotes from a few people who explain what grace means to them (all emphases added):
The first point that should be clear is that we do not deserve grace. God does not extend grace to us on the basis of anything we are, anything we have, or anything we can or will do. It is extended solely on the basis of His graciousness.
Second, and briefly, all people benefit from what has been called “common grace,” that is, benefits that God bestows on all men and women on earth. Some examples of common grace are found in these verses:
But, going back to our initial definition of grace as “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense,” the area in which we experience God’s grace the most deeply is in relationship to our salvation. Because it is ONLY by grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). David Horton explains, “In mercy God withholds or modifies deserved judgment, and in grace God freely gives undeserved benefits to whom he chooses.”[6]
Undeserved. That’s the key to our understanding of God’s grace. Because God does not owe us anything: “Grace means God does not have to do anything.”[7] God is not obligated, except by His own will, to graciously extend salvation to us. Extraordinarily, though, we are told by the apostle Peter that God is “not willing for any to perish” (2 Peter 3:9). So, even though He will not force salvation upon us, in His graciousness He has provided a way of salvation for all who will come to Him. (See John 1:12; Acts 4:12; 10:43; Romans 10:13; etc.)
But this gracious gift, although it is freely offered to us, cost God a great deal. It cost the death of His own Son! You can catch just a glimpse what this precious gift demanded by reading Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:39-44. But, in spite of that:
“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18)
God cannot, because of His nature, not deal with sin. It must be dealt with, and sin must be punished. If it is not, if God overlooks our sin, then it would negate His own holiness. He would cease to be God!
But even as far back as the Garden of Eden when the death penalty for sin was first imposed (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12), God graciously offered a substitute—animals that were sacrificed instead. Throughout Israel’s history the people had to continually offer sacrifices, thus acknowledging their own sinfulness, and expressing appreciation for God’s graciousness in allowing the substitute to take their place.
But in the fullness of time, God sent His own Son to earth. That Son lived the sinless life that no man before or since has been able to achieve. Then, that sinless man went to the cross. The one who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). And in a move no one could have fathomed, the one who demanded the sacrifices became the sacrifice, dying “once for all” (Romans 6:10), breaking the power of sin, and extending God’s gracious free gift of salvation to all who would believe.
Paul reminds us, “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (Romans 5:15)
So, now that the gracious gift of salvation has been extended to you, have you received it? Have you reached out to take what was so freely and sacrificially offered? If so, how then should you live? Titus 2:11-14 tells us:
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
Are you living in appreciation of God’s grace?