Charis is a word we need to know and understand.  It is Greek for grace, graciousness and favor.  Grace is not a Protestant concept.  Some believe that the New Testament concept of “grace” allows Christians not to worry so much about sin in their lives because all has been forgiven and covered—nailed to the cross—as it were.  Is grace, as many were taught, merely unmerited pardon for sin—or is there more to it?  The answer is that there is so much more to the concept of grace.  What should a Christian know about the Biblical concept of “grace?”

The word grace is well known by most, yet for many of the brethren the word is mostly off limits because it was not a significant part of our received narrative in the Church.  As a young Catholic I memorized the “Hail Mary” prayer.  It begins like this, “Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee…”  I was never taught what that grace was that Mary had in abundance.  Much of the wording of that Catholic prayer comes from the Gospel of Luke:

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor [charis] with God.”  (Luke 1:30)

It is important, especially today, that we understand what grace is.  People in the world are being taught that grace does away with God's law—and that obedience and law-keeping means a person is trying to save themselves.  This subject of grace needs to be clarified because grace is being used in a very dangerous way to deceive God’s people.  Grace does not mean that God loves you so much that He forgives everything—allowing one to take advantage of people and situations and still remain in His good stead.  Grace does not give anyone an upper hand to get around God’s way of doing things—grace is not a “free pass” to continue in sin.  Paul made that clear when he asked rhetorically:

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Absolutely not!”  (Romans 6:1-2)

That concept of "license to sin," is literally an ecclesiastical grant to sin.  The thinking is, “The more the Lord has cause to forgive us—the greater His grace is.”  Large churches act as though, through grace, they are exempt from the strictness of obedience—when they are doing the Lord’s work.  The true concept of grace is misused by the enemies of our true faith—and yet it is so often spoken of by the Biblical writers that we must understand what is being conveyed to us.  Grace, by virtue of its spiritual significance is a very good thing.  Grace means that God knows our frame and forgives us when we continually strive with all our might to walk in His ways—making salvation possible.

Grace, is much more than unmerited pardon.  That definition is insufficient to explain God’s grace.  Grace is, however, the undeserved favor of God’s intervention in one’s life.  Grace is God’s generous forgiveness of past sin and the taking away of the penalty – but grace is also the opening of our minds to recognize what sin is, and the capability to repent of sin.  No one decides to repent of his sins on his own – that only takes place by the grace of God.  When we repent of breaking God’s laws, and receive God’s grace, which is made possible through the sacrifice of Christ, we are pardoned.  We are no longer under the penalty of the law – which is death.

God’s grace is the free and undeserved gift of forgiveness and reconciliation to God the Father through Jesus Christ.  Being under grace means that we are continually receiving God's goodness, favor, blessings, sustenance, intervention and interaction – in short, God’s divine love.  A Christian believer comes under the grace of God through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Through grace, the true believer's sins are forgiven and the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to him, making him righteous in God the Father’s sight.

Grace is God’s love and concern for those of us who accept His invitation to enter into a relationship with Him.  How important is grace?  Without God’s grace there would be no salvation, no Children of God, no Christians, and no eternal life in the Kingdom of God for us.

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Sermon:

"Charis – The Grace of God"