We are a little more than half way through the summer and that means that we are closing in on the last six messages for our Relationships series. Remember that we are meeting at our regular time at Silver Lake this Sunday. Bring out the food, the water guns and stick around afterward for a great time!
I also want to ask you to bring one more item to the park - Stories of Grace. This Sunday will look a bit different than others in that there won’t be an extended teaching time. Instead, I’d like for us to hear from, learn from, and be encouraged by one another. How is God changing the way you “see people”? Where has God been at work in your relationships? How has your heart softened in unexpected ways as Christ has become more real in your relationships? Where is the smoke becoming more evident in the space between us?
This stuff is rich! I was reading Ephesians 4:1-6 this morning with a group of men and was blown away by the what the Apostle Paul was teaching as the central core of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Maybe it is what he doesn’t say that is astonishing. He does not list any of the “BIG” sins. He does not give a list doctrinal statement that we all need to adhere to. It seems as if he wants the Ephesians to understand that the primary way in which we respond to the gospel is how we respond to one another. (That’s a great concept - we ought to talk about that!)
Last week’s conversation surrounding forgiveness was phenomenal! It illustrates just how important it is AND how difficult it is. How are you seeing God at work in the “Space Between Us”?
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Peggy and I just returned from four great weeks in Africa. The churches there are growing stronger and reaching out.
I read with interest all the comments on “forgiveness” from last week’s blog. I was surprised a few weeks ago when I reread the original “love your neighbor” passage from Leviticus 19:18 - Jesus only quoted the last half of the verse. The entire verse reads, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
This week we turn our thoughts toward “grace” which this the foundation for “forgiveness.” We cannot forgive without some measure of grace. Grace is “uncommon love” - a love that takes us back to God’s way of thinking and acting. It is love that goes beyond what makes sense (or, as the Proverbs describe it - “what seems right” (14:12,16:25) . When we follow His prescribed course people will claim, “that’s surely isn’t common.” Which, shows us how far we have strayed from God’s ideal.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 pm
In Christianity, divine grace refers to the sovereign favour of God for humankind — especially in regard to salvation — irrespective of actions (”deeds”), earned worth, or proven goodness.
More broadly, divine grace refers to God’s gifts to humankind, including life, creation, and salvation. More narrowly but more commonly, grace describes the means by which humans are saved from original sin and granted salvation. This latter concept of grace is of central importance in the theology of Christianity, as well as one of the most contentious issues in Christian sectarianism.
Grace is often distinguished from mercy in that mercy is seen as not receiving punishment that one deserves to receive, whereas grace is receiving a positive benefit that one does not deserve to receive.
Most Christians believe that people receive salvation through the grace of God.
Most Christians of any of the major Western denominations agree that humankind is born in a state of sin. This is a consequence of original sin; a sinful nature is inherited; it is part of man’s condition. Traditionally, original sin is explained as a result of the fall of man through the first sins of Adam and Eve in Eden. Some would now reject the story from Genesis as history. But even those who reject it still agree that men are born in sin. The original state of grace enjoyed by the once-good people God created has been lost, for them and for their descendants. We are born having forfeited any claim to salvation. (By contrast, Eastern Orthodoxy does not subscribe to this particular doctrine of original sin.)
God’s grace responds to this otherwise hopeless situation. God, at His initiative, sent prophets and other teachers to reveal His existence to mankind. He gave the Torah, the Law of Moses, to the Jews, and made them his chosen people to provide a moral example to the rest of mankind.
It was also through the Jews that God’s grace sent his Son, Jesus Christ, who sought to make atonement for the sins of mankind through his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. God’s grace is freely given, on behalf of the men He has called to salvation. God is not obliged to save anyone; men cannot make themselves good enough to earn their way into Heaven on their own initiative, or give rise to a duty on God’s part to save them. It is only through the redemption bought by Christ’s sacrifice that anyone is saved, and the path of salvation for men lies in participating in that redemption. Indeed, some denominations of Christianity paraphrase grace as “God’s Rewards At Christ’s Expense” to represent this.
The apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians makes this teaching clear, “For by Grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (ESV).
It is by God’s Grace (unmerited favor), therefore, that salvation is granted to man, on the condition that we put our faith (pi_stiv, meaning belief or confidence, in other words, trust) in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that is, belief that Jesus is from God, Jesus is the Messiah (Messi_av, anointed one, also the Hebrew word for Christ) and that his death on the cross has the power to take away our sins, thus making us blameless in the sight of God.
Grace, then, is God’s initiative and choice to make a path of salvation available for men. On this, almost all Christians agree, though they may disagree on the meaning of some terms, or on which parts of the narrative of grace to emphasize. But from here out, it gets more contentious.
Grace is an attitude of God towards mankind by which He provides a benefit, without consideration of merit. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in the fact that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4.
From the nontheist perspective grace appears to be the same thing as luck.
In Christianity, divine grace refers to the sovereign favour of God for humankind — especially in regard to salvation — irrespective of actions (”deeds”), earned worth, or proven goodness.
Biblical concepts of grace
Ideas of grace in the Hebrew Bible
While a single word rendered into English as grace is not strictly speaking present in the Hebrew Bible, a number of concepts used to describe God in Biblical-era Judaism are forerunners to the Christian concept of grace.
One such concept is named by the Hebrew word chesed, which in one of William Tyndale translated as loving-kindness, a word of his own coinage. The core concept here centers on the faithfulness and forbearance needed to make the covenant relationship continue, despite the several incidents of backsliding by the covenant people to which the Hebrew Bible bears witness.
Other Hebrew concepts used to describe the grace of God include a group of words whose basic element is hen or hanam (pronounced like the ch in Bach), which means the spontaneous gift of affection; and raham, which implies mercy and compassion, including the merciful restoration of a broken relationship. All of these concepts are used especially by the Hebrew prophets to describe God’s choice of Israel as his chosen people, and His refusal to abandon them despite their violations of the covenant.
The Psalms are a good example of use of the concept of Grace in the Hebrew Bible. In the Psalms we often read the psalmist, traditionally seen to be King David, calling out to God to intercede in both his personal affairs as well as the concerns of the nation.
New Testament ideas of grace
The New Testament word that is usually translated “grace” is in Greek charis, which literally means “gift”. The word was not often used by Jesus himself; in the canonical Gospels it is attributed to him only in the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John. However, the parables attributed to Jesus in the Gospels make clear that Jesus did in fact teach the concept of grace. More importantly, He told stories that underlined that grace was God’s to give, God’s sole prerogative, and that it was freely offered.
Parables such as the Workers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16, tell of an employer (who in the traditional Christian understanding, represents God) who hires some workers early in the day, some later, and some an hour before quitting time, then pays each of them the same amount. When the workers who worked all day balk, the employer’s explanation is, Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? … So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many are called, but few are chosen. Matt. 20:15-16 (KJV).
Similarly, the well known parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11 is traditionally understood by most Christians as containing the teachings of Jesus on grace. A son demands the family fortune and wastes it, then returns home expecting little in the way of good treatment. The father welcomes him handsomely, over the objections of his other son who stayed at home and served dutifully.
Many throughout Christian history have perceived a common thread in these parables of Jesus: the grace of God is something that upsets settled human notions about merit, about what is deserved, and what is due as recompense.
The Church of Christ
The church of Christ believes that the grace of God that saves is the plan of salvation, rather than salvation itself. This plan includes two parts, 1) the perfect life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, 2) the gospel/New Testament/the faith.
Concerning Ephesians 2:8 which states: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” it is noted that the word “it” is a pronoun and refers back to a noun. As the word “saved” is a verb, “it” does not refer to “saved” but to Grace, giving the definition of grace as “the gift of God”. Furthermore, as the book of James distinguishes between a dead faith (a faith without works) and a living faith(a faith accompanied by works of obedience), it is believed that by God’s gift operates through an individuals living faith resulting in that individual being saved.
The church of Christ believes that since according to Titus 2:11 God’s grace had (at the writing of that letter) appeared unto all men and that God wants all men to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9), and recognizing that not all men will be saved (Matt. 7:13-14), grace can not be salvation according to scripture.
The church of Christ believe that by examining the specific properties of Grace as described in the Bible, especially the New Testament, what this unearned gift of God that saves actually is.
1. Grace is contrasted with the Law of Moses (Romans 6:14; Hebrews 10:4; John 1:17) and the church of Christ believes that Paul’s contrast between work and faith is as described under the Efforts to resolve the tension section, a contrast between works of the Old Covenant and obedient faith under the New Covenant.
2. Grace saves (Eph. 2:5); justifies (Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7).
3. Grace can be fallen from (Gal. 5:4).
4. Grace teaches (Titus 2:11); can be preached (Eph. 3:8).
5. Grace calls us (2 Tim. 1:9; Gal. 1:15).
6. Grace is brought by revelation (1 Pet. 1:13).
These properties are all accredited to the gospel/New Testament itself:
1. The New Testament is contrasted with the Old Testament (Hebrews).
2. The gospel saves (Rom. 1:16); engrafted word saves (James 1:21); the faith (Gal. 2:16).
3. Can be fallen from (1 John 3:4).
4. Teaches (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Col. 3:16) - the very essence of doctrine is teaching.
5. Calls us (2 Thess. 2:14).
6. Is brought by revelation (Rom. 1:16-17; Gal. 3:23; and many more).
Continuing this comparison between the gospel and divine saving grace is Gal. 1:6 which states
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:”
The Galatians were removed from the calling of the gospel (Gal. 1:15; 2 Thess. 2:14) unto another gospel (another message) which verse 7 says is not a gospel at all but a perversion.
In that they believe that grace is not salvation, but the plan of salvation, the church of Christ believes that the difficulties supposed between God not having respect towards any individuals (Acts 10:34) yet the truth that not all men are saved (Matt. 7:13-14) is resolved. God has presented His gift to all men just as Titus 2:10 teaches. Christ died for all men (2 Cor. 5:14-15) and the gospel is available to all men and in fact was preached to them all in the life time of the Apostles (Col. 1:6,23; Rom. 10:18), but not all men respond to the gospel in obedient/living faith which is also required for salvation (Heb. 11:6; Eph. 2:8), therefore not all men are saved.
Divine grace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia online
August 5th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I’m not one to stand up in front of a crowd and be center of attention, but I will share here. I come from a place where I was taught that sharing my emotions was not acceptable. I have been told that it is wrong to love deeply, and that the space between us should not include openly giving of my heart, but instead it should be defined by boundaries that keep us carefully separated from each other. God is changing that, and challenging me to love, care, and give of myself. He is moving me from a place of just caring about people, to a place where I see the person and listen to the story. I’m learning that love wins, but I am also learning it can cause your heart to break, and I have had to ask myself, “Will I allow the things that break God’s heart to break my heart?” For love to win I have to be vulnerable and allow myself to love even when it means being hurt. There are people in my life that I don’t pray for. It isn’t because I don’t care for them, or because I don’t believe in the power of prayer. Honestly, it is because it is just too painful. To pray for them means I have to allow myself to think about them and their story, to seek to understand their point of view, and to open my heart and allow myself to care, allow my heart to break. In a recent conflict allowing love to win has meant choosing to care for and forgive the other person which has resulted in walking in humility and honesty and taking risks to restore things even when I haven’t felt safe and didn’t want to care or pray. God challenges us not only to love, but to love deeply even when the relationships are tough and painful. Moving toward that is how God has been at work for me.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Sherie,
Hello I hope this finds you in good health and spirit.
Thanks for sharing your inner most thoughts with us. I thought I would respond and hope you understand this is only my opinion, but I, as you, have had the same influence from rearing that it is not acceptable to expose your heart, feelings, and or emotions. That it is all right to harbor resentments or unforgiveness to others.
Sometimes in a building up process there must be a tearing down prior for the new to take its place. Just down the road there was a vast wooded area of which now is mostly clear, after many days of knocking down, chewing up, and clearing away, and the results will be a place where many new dwellings for many families will reside. Point here is, of course, the process of clearing, a preparing of one for the other.
In matters of the heart, scripture states God will take that hardened heart out (clear it away) and replace it (build up) a new heart of flesh. In the breaking of your heart you are experiencing an important step. This part is allowing God in this restoration process to rebuild a new heart of flesh, one that is pliable to the sadness of disobedience to God’s words and ways.
In the Garden Jesus sweated blood for the world as it was to be after He ascended into heaven and placed His continued ministry in the hands of believers. He will not give you more than you can handle and he will be right by your side in all phases of growth and life. It is truly an honor, as scripture states, to share in the sufferings (pains) of Christ. But in doing so a new set of eyes become apparent to the changed—these eyes are the eyes of Christ and allow one to see through His compassion, His love, and His devotion of doing the will of His father, God of creation. Thus the pain felt, as Christ so loves the world He gave, and is still giving of Himself.
It may not make sense, it may hurt like there is no tomorrow, but it will lead you to the place God wishes for you to be. Humble and honest seeking genuine loving lasting relationships built for the long haul of life and what is thrown at it. And in the transformation of your heart, God finds joy.
May we all bring joy, in our shared sufferings with Christ, to God, and reach the mark of His will, that all shall come to everlasting life and none should parish. For the glory of God!!!