Value #7 -- Grace

We believe that because God has given us grace, we are called to extend grace to others.  (Romans 2: 1-4, Ephesians 2:8)

Jesus calls people to come as they are, but doesn’t intend for them to stay the same.  Judgment and condemnation are not part of our job.  While we maintain high standards for people inside the church, we give grace to those on the outside.  Paul writes in Romans 2 that it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance.  Jesus always led with grace and acceptance of the person who is far from God.  When people became His follower, then He had high expectations.

Grace is a subject that has taken me most of my life to grasp and will probably take most of the rest of my life to master. Grace is not our natural inclination because of two pieces:  1) It recognizes that something is terribly wrong and 2) that it's OK.

First, something is terribly wrong.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the world is flawed--in fact, people are flawed.  We all have a sense that things aren't the way they're supposed to be.  We see violence and decadence and broken relationships and selfishness as the norm in our world.  But instead of just resigning ourselves to "that's just the way it is," we say to ourselves that it's not supposed to be this way.

We see it in our own lives.  In Romans 7, Paul says it so well:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

I think we can all resonate with that. Not only is there something wrong with the world, there's something wrong with me.

Oftentimes religious people just try to cover up this fact.  We often forget we're sinners.  We often forget that we're so far gone that we don't need self-help, we need someone to save us.  Having that understanding of our own need for grace is the first step to becoming what Christ called us to be.  As long as we think we're good enough for God we'll lack humility--not to mention, we'll be unbearable to be around.  When we lack that understand of our own need for grace, we become self-righteous and self-righteous people are the least attractive or enjoyable people to be around.

Here's how 1 John puts it:

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:7-8)

John says that if we're willing to walk in "the light" (which means living a right life and being honest about ourselves) we will actually connect better with each other than if we hide our sins from each other.

But I think sometimes people get confused about what grace is.  Simply put, grace is not getting what we deserve.  God knows we are sinners--He knows everything about us--and He loves us anyway.  But grace is not quite that simple.

First, grace isn't simply a "wink wink" at sin as if it's just OK.  Sin is not OK.  John Burke has a great line when it comes to grace.  He says, "Tolerance is just a cheap substitute for grace."  Tolerance says there's not really anything wrong.  You can do whatever you want.  But the reality is that sin has consequences and we can't just look the other way or treat it like it's not there.  Instead, grace acknowledges sin and treats it seriously, but here's the plot twist...

The Bible tells us grace is not free.  OK, it is for US, but it was not for God.  Jesus paid a high price for us to have grace.  If God just said, "I know you're sinners, but I'm just going to look the other way," He wouldn't be a just God.  Sin always has harmful effects and justice demands that things are made right.  But the great plot twist is that the ones who deserved to pay the price don't have to because Jesus paid it for us.

Grace is the foundation of the Gospel and I believe it's the appropriate motivator for change in our lives.  Guilt and shame can leave people in despair, but grace can motivate people to move beyond sin and live a life of thanksgiving to God.  That's why we lead with grace.  We do believe sin is real and destructive in our lives, but grace gives us a much better way to deal with it.