For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:2, NASU

 

What is true grace? The passage above tells us it is a gift of God, but what else? Maybe this will help:

 

Suppose a boss finds that one of his employees has been stealing from him. Instead of firing him, he gives him a second chance. Or suppose a cop pulls over a person for drunk driving, but instead of arresting him, gives him a ride home and lets him off with a warning. Or suppose that a wife finds that her husband has been cheating on her, but instead of divorcing him, decides to give him a chance to change.

 

In each instance the offended party has given the offender a second chance, even though they are clearly guilty and without excuse. In each instance the offended party has extended undeserved mercy. While this falls short of describing the fullness of the grace that God has for us, perhaps it gives us a start. 

 

Now think about this: Does the second chance give the thief permission to keep stealing, or the man to continue to drive while under the influence, or the husband to continue his infidelity? The answer is clearly and emphatically, no! Contained within these examples is an understanding that the offending party will prove faithful, and will offend no more. God's grace is no less stringent, for as the passage above shows it is grace through faith. And, in order to have a faith that will meet God's requirements, we are going to have to prove faithful. Consider the following passage:

 

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:1-2, ESV

 

This Scripture contains an important lesson. There are many people who live in sin as if grace gave them a license to do so, but nothing could be further from the truth. When the Apostle Paul raised the question of grace being a license to sin, he clearly indicated that by no means should we think that to be true. Why? Because we had died to sin when we became Christians! Look at the following observation in Jude:

 

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude 4, NIV(1978)

 

Here Jude, the brother of Christ, is warning us that there will be men - godless men - who will secretly slip in among us and try to change the grace of God into a permit for continuing sin. This is one of the most popular (and stupid) teachings of modern men! It infers that God's grace is permission to sin, rather than what it truly is, an opportunity to repent and live faithfully before Him. 

 

If you have been buying into the lie that grace has no strings attached, then welcome to the club, Men have been secretly slipping into the body of Christ since the time the New Testament was written 2,000 years ago bringing that very false teaching. So, how are we to view grace? Simply as what the Bible says it is: A gift from God that permits us to be forgiven and saved and to then become faithful. Look at the rest of the passage we began with today:

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV

 

Grace is a wonderful gift! While we are never told that grace alone saves us, it is clear from the Scripture that we cannot be saved without it. We know that we don't deserve the many second chances that God has given us - that's why grace is so beautiful! But we have indeed been given grace, and for that we are eternally grateful. Grace is our second chance that was given for the simple reason that God loves us and wants to be merciful to those who will accept His terms. Grace has never been intended as a license for sin, nor has it ever been a substitute for the work that God clearly states we were created in Christ to do. But grace gives us the right to be faithful to God and Christ, and we are so very thankful for that second chance.

 

The question now is what will we do with this beautiful gift? The unfaithful employee will continue to steal, the unfaithful driver will continue to drive under the influence, and the unfaithful husband will continue to cheat. But the faithful will use their second chance, with love and appreciation, to do everything within their power to prove themselves worthy of that second chance. This is what true grace allows us to do!