What is the solution to frustrating the grace of God in our lives?

Grace!

If you want to avoid the perils of perfectionism as you follow Jesus, then you need to know what God’s grace actually is. When we understand how it operates in our lives, we can cooperate with its work in and through us. That is the goal of our study.

The word grace is prevalent in the New Testament. It is used over 150 times. For example, Paul’s letters typically begin with a greeting such as “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And virtually every epistle concludes with Paul encouraging and exhorting the saints to live in that grace and peace.

We find God’s grace at the beginning and the end of our lives—and at all points in between.

The New Testament word translated as grace is the Greek word charis. Charisma is a loan word that originated from the Greek word charis. Quite simply, it means favor. Favor that is freely given, undeserved, unmerited, and unrepayable. Are you listening? Grace (charis) is something that is freely given.

In Romans 5:6, Paul writes, For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. And again, in verse 8, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is grace in action; God’s unmerited, undeserved, unrepayable, freely given favor to us. You do not deserve it, and you cannot earn it. It is a gift from the Father through the death of His Son, freely given and freely received by those who believe.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:9-11).

There is no way to grasp the despicable nature of sin apart from the cost of Christ’s cross. And there is no way to ever repay him for the price he paid. Let me caution you against the feeling-forward, sentimentally-oriented view of love prevalent in our culture. “Jesus died because he loved me.” You were unlovely in your disobedience when Jesus died in obedience to the will of God. You were dead in your trespasses and sins, having no hope and without God in the world. We all were, as Paul puts it, enemies of God. That is when Love bid him to lay down his life.

The Grace of the One, true God is a gift to be received. It is unmerited. Unexplainable. Unrepayable.

What about grace in the Old Testament? Better known as the First Testament, the Hebrew Bible, from which Jesus and the early church drew, translates the concept of grace into the New (or Second) Testament using several Hebrew words. Studied together, they provide a necessary foundation and a depth of understanding to the concept of God’s grace.

The most common Hebrew word for grace is hen or chen. The letter H has a dot underneath, giving it a guttural sound. You say the H at the back of your throat, or you can put a C in front of it if you want. The word features prominently in the priestly benediction found in Numbers 6. By the way, notice the heart of YHWH in verse 22: The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel.” Our Father is the author and source of all blessing.

No doubt you are familiar with this priestly benediction: The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you […]. The word gracious is the Hebrew word chen. The meaning essentially parallels the Greek word “charis.” It means to be inclined toward another person, to be favorably disposed toward or find one acceptable. The idea is that of someone stronger coming to the aid or assistance of someone who is weaker or weakened. The stronger party gives voluntarily, without compensation.

Grace is the face God wears when He looks upon us in our need.

The Holy One of Israel makes His face shine on His people. The imagery stirs our hearts because that is what we seek, the favor of our God. The face God wears when He looks upon us is favorably disposed to us. Beautiful. Humbling. Thirst-quenching.

Here is an important point. The voluntary action of grace is taken in response to a specific need or request. Are you following this? I know it is a bit academic, but the idea is crucial to laying a proper foundation. God’s grace is the voluntary action of the stronger coming to the aid of the weaker in response to their request for help.

In light of this, what I am about to say may seem obvious, but it is often obscured in the minds of Christians due to theological confusion. The God of the Old Testament is the same God as the God of the New Testament. For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed (Malachi 3:6). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, my dear friends, is who Jesus taught us to call “our Father.”

The grace we see in the New Testament is the same grace we see in the Hebrew Bible of Jesus and his disciples.

God desires to bless. He is favorably disposed to give good gifts to his children. He takes the initiative in providing for their care and welfare. Again, the concept of grace is so deep and expansive that it requires several Hebrew words to express it adequately. Here is another one that powerfully conveys the concept of grace in the First Testament. I can argue that it is one of the most essential words in the Bible.

In English, it is spelled H-E-S-E-D. The H, like in the word “chen,” has a dot underneath, denoting the guttural sound. The E’s are a short vowel sound, as in egg, with emphasis on the first syllable. The Hebrew word is chesed. Can you say that? Just open your mouth and your throat when you say the H. Chesed.

We would call it grace, but our understanding of God’s grace desperately needs to be nurtured by this covenant root. Bible translators translate chesed with several terms, including mercy, loving kindness, steadfast love, and faithfulness. That gives a taste of the profound richness of the word. The depth of the term works like an onion; we discover more meaning in every layer. Chesed is the subject of our study going forward.