Grace: A Gift You Can't Earn

Grace Finds Real People

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Grace is God's kindness to people who do not deserve it. It is easy to say, but it is even better to see. The Bible is full of real people who met God's grace.

Wages or grace. “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt” (Romans 4:4). Wages are what you earn. Grace is what you could never earn.

What God is like. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). Grace comes from God's own heart.

Full of grace. When Jesus came, people saw His glory, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus showed grace everywhere He went.

A man in a tree. Zacchaeus was a rich tax collector in Jericho. Many people disliked him because tax collectors often cheated. He was short, so he climbed a tree to see Jesus.

Jesus called his name. Jesus stopped, looked up, called Zacchaeus by name and went to his house. The crowd grumbled, but Jesus said He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

A changed man. After Jesus came to him, Zacchaeus gave half of what he owned to the poor and paid back four times what he had cheated. Grace came first; the good works came after.

A woman who wept. A woman known for her sins washed Jesus' feet with her tears. Jesus told her, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48), and “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

A father who ran. In Jesus' story of the lost son, the father saw his son coming home, “and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). That is how God welcomes sinners.

Even Paul. Paul once hurt Christians. Later he wrote, “I am the least of the apostles… because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). Then he said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (15:10).

For sinners. Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:17). Repentance means turning from sin to God.

Open to everyone. God invites, “You who have no money, Come, buy and eat” (Isaiah 55:1). Nobody is too bad for grace, and nobody is too good to need it.

What we learn. Grace is God's kindness to people who deserve the opposite. Jesus is looking for people like Zacchaeus, like Paul and like you.

What to do. Tell Jesus about anything you are ashamed of. Then thank Him that His grace is bigger than your sin.

Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches grace in words. The Gospels and Paul's own life show grace in real people, and every one of them received it as a gift.

Misthos (Romans 4:4). The word for wages is misthos (say: mees-THOS), pay earned by work. Paul sets it against grace: if you work for it, it is owed to you as a debt. Salvation is never owed. It belongs to the one who “believes on Him who justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5).

Freely (Romans 3:24). Believers are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Freely means as a gift, without cost to us. It cost Jesus His life.

Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). A chief tax collector in Jericho grew rich by working for Rome and cheating his own people. Jesus invited Himself to his house before Zacchaeus had changed anything. The crowd complained that Jesus was the guest of a sinner.

Fruit, not payment. Zacchaeus then gave half his goods to the poor and repaid four times over. His giving did not buy Jesus' visit; it came out of it. That is Ephesians 2:10 in a real life.

The forgiven woman (Luke 7:36-50). At a Pharisee's dinner, Jesus said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (7:47). Her love was the result of forgiveness, and Jesus named the means: “Your faith has saved you” (7:50).

The running father (Luke 15:20). In that culture an older man did not run. This father did. Jesus told the story to answer people who complained that He welcomed sinners (Luke 15:2).

A criminal on a cross. One of the men crucified beside Jesus asked Jesus to remember him, and Jesus promised him Paradise that same day (Luke 23:42-43). He had no time left for good works, only time to trust.

Paul (1 Corinthians 15:9-10). The man who had persecuted the church wrote, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” He then worked harder than all the others, “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

One pattern. In every story, grace comes first, faith receives it, and a changed life follows. None of these people earned what Jesus gave them.

Application. If you think you are too bad for God, remember Paul. Anyone who thinks he is good enough without God should remember the Pharisee at the dinner. Grace is for people who know they need it.

Living by Grace

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Grace does not stop working once we are saved. God's grace keeps helping us every day, and it changes the way we live.

Not permission to sin. Paul asked, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” He answered, “Certainly not!” (Romans 6:1-2). Grace sets us free from sin, not free to sin.

A new boss. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Dominion means rule. Sin is no longer our boss.

Free to serve. “Only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Grace makes us want to help.

Grace for hard days. Paul had a painful problem. He asked God three times to take it away. God answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Sufficient means enough.

Come boldly. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). You can pray to God any time.

More grace. “But He gives more grace” (James 4:6). God never runs out.

Grace and pride. The same verse says, “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” People who know they need grace stay humble.

Boast in the Lord. “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). To glory means to boast. We boast about Jesus, not about ourselves.

Pass it on. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). We forgive because we have been forgiven.

Use your gifts. “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). Manifold means many kinds.

Kind to the unkind. God “is kind to the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35). When we are kind to someone who does not deserve it, we show them grace.

What we learn. Grace saves us, keeps us and makes us more like Jesus.

What to do. This week, show grace to someone: forgive them, help them or be kind when they do not expect it.

The grace that saves us is the same grace that trains us. Living by grace means depending on God every day, not only on the day we first believed.

Romans 6:1-2. Some people twisted grace into an excuse: if grace covers sin, why not sin more? Paul's answer is “Certainly not!” Grace that forgives also changes.

Romans 6:14. Under law, sin used the commands to rule us. Under grace, sin loses its right to rule. Believers still struggle, but sin is no longer the master.

Galatians 5:13. Freedom in Christ is not freedom to please ourselves. It is freedom to “through love serve one another.” Grace turns takers into servants.

Arkeo (2 Corinthians 12:9). God's answer to Paul uses arkeo (say: ar-KEH-oh), to be enough. God did not remove Paul's weakness; He gave grace that was enough for it. His strength “is made perfect in weakness.”

Hebrews 4:16. The throne of God is called “the throne of grace.” Because of Jesus, we come boldly, not in fear, to receive mercy for our failures and grace for our needs.

James 4:6. “He gives more grace.” Pride shuts the door on grace because it says we do not need help. Humility opens the door.

No boasting (1 Corinthians 1:31). The boast that Ephesians 2:9 shuts out comes back pointed at the right Person. Believers glory in the Lord.

Ephesians 4:32. Forgiving others flows from being forgiven: “even as God in Christ forgave you.” A person who knows how much he has been forgiven finds it easier to forgive.

1 Peter 4:10. Every believer is a steward, a manager of gifts that belong to God. Grace has many sides, and each of us passes some of it on.

Luke 6:35. Jesus told His followers to love their enemies and do good, because God “is kind to the unthankful and evil.” Showing kindness to someone who has not earned it is the clearest picture of grace a friend can see.

1 John 4:19. “We love Him because He first loved us.” Grace always comes first. Our love, obedience and service are answers to a love that found us when we were dead.

2 Corinthians 8:9. “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus is the model of grace for every believer.

Application. When you fail, run to the throne of grace instead of hiding. When someone wrongs you, remember how God forgave you, and ask Him for grace to forgive.

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