The Christian receives tremendous insight into how grace exists in salvation through the text of Ephesians 2:1-10. Paul uses the first three verses of that passage to show that not only can dead men walk, but they are led by a spirit - the prince of the power of the air. That spirit, contrary to the Holy Spirit, would have its followers gratify the temporal, the flesh. God, however, saves man by grace and shows the riches of His grace through the placement of the Christian in heavenly places. All that is required is an act of faith for a person to receive that gift.
Romans 5:12-21 explains the relationship between the law and grace. Paul makes the point that sin and grace are different in two specific ways. First, he shows how the acts of grace differ in scope. Sin is linear, like going from zero to one, one to two, two to three, etc. Grace is exponential; a multiplication of goodness. Second, sin and grace differ in the results they yield. The judgment brought a deserved condemnation, but the grace brought an undeserved justification. Sin always gives man what he deserves, but grace always gives man what he does not deserve. Sin is restricting, but grace is freeing. The vices a person falls into, those sins, are not of equal value to an alternative choice. Sins are always the lesser choices; they are the options that restrict freedom, not expand it. Grace is much more powerful than the law; the law hems in all a person’s choices, but grace blesses all those choices. That is why the Bible says that a Christian will not continue in sin; an exonerated criminal would not truly be free if he kept going back to those walls of despair in his prison cell, that hopeless confinement of lesser choices. Continuing with examples of legality, it is important to distinguish between the terms grace and mercy. Those two words are often treated as synonyms, and while their meanings have some overlap, they do not mean the same thing. For example, when Zechariah prophesies about the crucifixion of Jesus, he mentions “a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy”. Additionally, the writer of Hebrews wrote about approaching (with confidence) the “throne of grace” to “receive mercy and find grace”, while Paul greets Timothy by mentioning “...Grace, mercy, and peace…” (Zechariah 12:10; Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2) Mercy occurs when punishment is not given though it is deserved; grace occurs when something is given even though it is not deserved. Another way to think of it would be that mercy is punishment withheld and grace is benefits bestowed. If Sally is wronged by Bernice, she may say to herself, “I need to show Bernice some grace.” What she likely means by that statement is that she will not treat Bernice poorly - the way Bernice deserves. However, Sally’s response would be an example of mercy, not grace. Were she to give Bernice some type of gift she would be exhibiting grace, but her withholding of retaliation is the practice of mercy. While mercy and grace are not the same thing, neither are grace and truth. Jesus came to earth full of grace and truth, providing grace upon grace. Jesus Christ is truth, so to provide grace without truth is to give someone a gift that has no security - a treasure that will either be stolen or destroyed. Stephen, described as being “full of grace and power”, accused the Jewish leaders of resisting the Holy Spirit during his speech in Acts 7. He delivered the speech after lies were spread about his treatment of the Temple, and most significantly, the law. His speech centered around the fact that Jewish leaders had persecuted their prophets throughout history, culminating in his statement that they “betrayed and murdered” Jesus Christ. His final point, the last moment of his great moment of oratory, rests on the failure of his accusers to observe the law, the same law that had been miraculously delivered centuries before. Stephen chose to show grace and truth in how he responded to false allegations made against him–allegations which centered on the interpretation of the law. Stephen did not earn his salvation through his actions, but his choice to study Scripture and stand for truth made possible an increase in grace in an evil situation.Stephen could have used that moment of grace, when “his face was like the face of an angel”, to smooth-over his defense and make it less antagonizing toward his accusers. He could have tipped the scales of grace and hidden just a little truth. After all, wouldn’t the council be more accepting of the truth if they had first been lathered with grace? More about grace during suffering in the next post.
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