GRACE

Grace, the charisma of Wisdom and aroma of Christ, is the new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, the body of Christ. Still, not many believers appreciate this unmerited and undeserved favor from God… While much has been written about Grace in this blog, as a Child of God, is it so wrong to depend fully on this favor lavished from the Majestic Creator of this universal, our Father in the Heavenly place?

Well, let’s go back to school and look at our dictionary and see how grace looks like in the eyes of the world…

This definition of Grace is taken from Dictionary.com.

GRACE 

–Noun
1. Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. A pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. Favor or good will.
4. A manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school.
5. Mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
6. Favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.
7. An allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied: The life insurance premium is due today, but we have 31 days' grace before the policy lapses. Compare grace period.
8. Theology.
a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
9. Moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.
10. A short prayer before or after a meal, in which a blessing is asked and thanks are given.
11. (Usually initial capital letter) a formal title used in addressing or mentioning a duke, duchess, or archbishop, and formerly also a sovereign (usually prec. by your, his, etc.).
12. Graces, Classical Mythology. the goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae.
13. Music. grace note.

–Verb (used with object)
14. To lend or add grace to; adorn: Many fine paintings graced the rooms of the house.
15. To favor or honor: to grace an occasion with one's presence.

From the above definition, the world has good impression indeed on Grace and they understand Grace is for addressing matters that are good. It is encouraging to see how the world defines the word, Grace. But in the imagination of those under the religious and legalistic influence, they tend to make Grace unacceptable because there is no room for their self effort and participation.

But in term of idiom, the people in the world who depend on their head knowledge, seem to find themselves hard to understand Grace. Even Christians who do not depend on the Holy Spirit but their own knowledge, they too, find themselves unable to understand Grace. The world missed their interpretation, so as those with religious and legalistic background.

Let’s continue with what they think about Grace in term of idiom in the dictionary…

—Idioms
16. Fall from grace,
a. Theology. to relapse into sin or disfavor.
b. to lose favor; be discredited: He fell from grace when the boss found out he had lied.
17. Have the grace to, to be so kind as to: Would you have the grace to help, please?

As the children of the Most High God, we use Bible to interpret Bible. So let’s go back to the Bible and see what Apostle Paul said about fallen from grace.

Galatians 5:4 – You who are trying to be justified by LAW have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

It is when we are trying to justified ourselves by law; we are fallen away from grace. It is not what the world says when we sin; we are fallen away from grace. It is when we are trying to deserve His blessings through our abiding of the Ten Commandments, then we are called fallen from grace. If it is by grace, it is unmerited and undeserved favor. Fallen from grace is not about sinning but about justification through observing the Ten Commandments!

In the Book of Hebrews, the Jews were warned not to fall back under law after Jesus was glorified but to abide in His grace because He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Hebrews 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Acknowledge and appreciate His Grace, this is a new and living way…