The Gift of χάρις (Grace)

Scripture: Romans 3:21-31

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? That of works? No, rather through the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of gentiles also? Yes, of gentiles also, 30 since God is one, and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law through this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Questions

  1. How do we define “God’s grace” and how does grace relate to “God’s righteousness”?
  2. What is the relationship between God’s grace and Jesus’ work?
  3. What is the relationship between God’s grace and our actions in relationship to the law and our faith?
  4. How does God’s grace relate to the boasting that Paul discusses?

Background

Related Scriptures: Exodus 4:6-8; Jeremiah 31:1-10; John 1:1-18; Romans 3:1-25; Ephesians 2:1-10

Grace means to have a good disposition toward someone so to say that God is gracious means that God demonstrates good will toward people.

The word grace is often coupled with the word gift as in Romans 3, God being gracious is demonstrated in the good gifts God gives.

“As the law is not made void by faith, so freedom of choice is not made void but established by grace. Freedom of choice is necessary to the fulfillment of the law. But by the law comes the knowledge of sin; by faith comes the obtaining of grace against sin; by grace comes the healing of the soul from sin’s sickness; by the healing of the soul comes freedom of choice; by freedom of choice comes the love of righteousness; by the love of righteousness comes the working of the law. Thus, as the law is not made void but established by faith, since faith obtains the grace whereby the law may be fulfilled, so freedom of choice is not made void but established by grace, since grace heals the will whereby righteousness may freely be loved.” Augustine[1]

Reflection

I frequently think and discuss a survey done of American attitudes about God from the early 2000’s that said 66% of Americans view God as primarily judgmental and angry. This is no surprise to me, American Christianity has been heavily influenced by Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. I remember reading that for the first time in high school and the imagery is haunting for anyone who believes in God. Picturing yourself dangling over hell by a spiderweb is traumatic, and it is no wonder that so many people flocked to altars in repentance when they heard that. Edwards’ vision of grace is that God is angry but is relenting enough to say “I’m giving you one last chance to get things right.” The trouble is that such imagery is in complete contrast with the Bible. This whole passage in Romans 3 is about how God gives grace as a gift, an angry judgmental individual does not give grace. Grace is a voluntary action, something a person decides to do out of the goodness of their heart, grace is a demonstration of kindness. Grace is incompatible with being harsh or judgmental because to demonstrate grace is to respond to another individual out of compassion. When Paul says that God gives us the gift of grace, he is saying that we are freely given a gift of a new relationship with God through Jesus. Grace is God’s demonstration of character; it is kindness on display in our world. Grace is God’s desire to be encountered by humanity on full display. Grace is the fullness of God reaching into this world so that people can know God and relate to God. And though grace has its fullness and most complete expression in the person and work of Jesus it is not the only way in which God demonstrates grace to us. God demonstrates this desire to provide us with rich blessings on a daily basis in all of the ways we have to better relate to God.

When we take of grace in the church, we are talking about God’s desire to show humanity kindness and generosity. This kindness begins with a relationship with God through Jesus and continues in many other aspects of our daily lives. John Wesley repeatedly talks of the means of grace the regular avenues in life where God provides grace to us. This grace often manifests as help with life and a closer relationship with God. Activities like prayer, Bible study, and communion are ordinary practices in our lives that God uses to demonstrate kindness in providing a deeper relationship. God has given special place to these every day and often mundane activities allowing them to be transformative. God’s grace to us, God’s demonstration of kindness, is to be in our world in many every day and common ways. God seeks to meet us in many avenues of life and does not make us go out of our way to find God’s presence. God can be encountered anywhere by anyone, no matter what. Does this sound like an angry or judgmental God? Of course not, A God of grace is not a God who is angry.

Recognizing God’s grace and gifts is important for us on many levels, first we should recognize God’s character demonstrated in God’s grace. In the gifts God gives we see that God is loving, merciful and kind ready to meet us where we are and move us more fully into God’s kingdom. Second, we should recognize how distant we can be from God and how we are dependent on God for growing into the people we want to become. Third, we learn about the variety of ways that God’s grace pervades the world so that we can learn to model God’s gracious character into the world around us.

Understanding that God’s grace is part of Gods character is vital for us, it helps us understand that Jesus’ work was not simply an afterthought or last chance for the world, but part of God’s character. God is continuously working to restore creation and to rebuild the relationship with humanity. We may have caused the problems in this world and continue to cause many, but God’s character is long-suffering and constantly working to see us turn around and find God. This is why we were offered salvation in Jesus and why God continues to work in our world and in us, that we might come to know who we are and find out true selves in God.

[1] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 103–104.

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