Through the extent of his physical and emotional pain Jesus gave us an understanding of how sinful we are. Through the physical pain he demonstrates the pain we deserve as sinners as he acts as a sacrifice for our sins. Through emotional pain he describes what the separation with God will be like.   

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrew 4:16 NIV What is grace?  How many times in our Christian lives have we been taught about grace?  To truly understand grace and to grasp what it means to us, we must first understand the difference between Old Testament gospel and New Testament gospel.

 

What is grace?  Some would define it as the prayers spoken before a meal.  We are taught in Church to pray for God’s grace.  So what is it?  In the Old Testament mankind was presented with the Ten Commandments.  God revealed the commandments to Moses, who presented them to man as the laws of God.  We have all seen these commandments before:

 

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honour your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.'

 

In the New Testament, God saw that mankind was incapable of fitting into these rules and guidelines.  God sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten son, to be a living sacrifice for the sins of man.  Understand and think about this concept for a moment.  Before Jesus, followers of God would sacrifice animals to God on an alter.  They would slay a calf or a lamb and offer it as an offering to God.  In the temples, the alter was often separated from the people by a sheet and only the holiest of clerics were allowed inside that partitioned area.    Jesus Christ came to earth to offer Himself as a living sacrifice for the sins and death of man.  Now, before I go on, please allow me to make it clear that I am not by any means stating that Jesus made it okay for man to sin.  Not at all!  In fact, it is in the forgiveness of God that man discovers the unattractiveness of sin.  Man does not have what it takes to be worthy to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  He are not righteous in our own abilities.  The rule of law and religion dictates that in order to enter into heaven, one must impress God with good works.  And yes, indeed good works are essential in a Christian life, but they are not what save us.  The gift of salvation is only by Jesus Christ.  Grace is Jesus Himself.  Grace is a gift.  It cannot be earned or achieved by will or effort.  If someone gave you a free holiday to Hawaii, but then informed you that you must pay them $5 a day for the rest of your life, this would no longer be an act of grace, but an act of law.  This is why many Christians today, do not completely believe that they are forgiven when they repent.  They believe that simply repenting is not enough, that they must mope around and have a “pity party” for the next few weeks just to show God that they are really sorry.  Romans 11:6 NIV says: “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”  Grace must be selfless and given without repayment.

 

Jesus offered grace for our sins so that we would not be damned by them.  He so loves us that He defeated sin and death for us.  In Church we are told that we are “covered by the blood” of the lamb of God.  What is meant by this?  This means that when God looks at us, he does not see you, but His son, His daughter, His precious gift.  We receive this grace when we surrender our lives to God and allow Him to work in us and fill us with the Holy Spirit.  Some may think that this is the easy way out, but I beg to differ.  Surrendering one’s sins to God is more than just words, it is faith at its most potent and knowing without a shadow of a doubt that you can let go of all your transgressions.  It is only then that God’s grace becomes known and is felt inside.

 

What should be taken away from this blog?  Grace is not what is earned through religious, structured and enforced means.  Grace is not achieved through works and intentions.  Grace is a gift from God, the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, which sets us free and allows us to fulfil a life of good works.

 

I’m sure I will speak on this more in the coming weeks.