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The clearest expression of these effects of grace is seen in a section that does even not contain the word “grace” . . . yet most clearly embodies it: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation […]
Let’s look again at where grace in the Scriptures is not “unmerited” in the Calvinist sense, something forced on randomly chosen individuals for no apparent reason. First in our consideration are verses that build the sense of merit directly into the use of “charis”: “For this is thankworthy (“charis”, grace), if a man for conscience […]
For those that hold to the “Law of First Mention” as a divinely ordained tool to declare the fundamental aspect of a scriptural concept, here is the first time grace is used in the Bible: “But Noah found grace (“chen”) in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8) This coupling – “find grace” – is […]
Besides a state of favor in a giver, and the state of being favored in the recipient, grace is also the item showing the favor – a “gift”. This thought of grace is highlighted by this verse: “Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift (grace, “charis”), and take upon us the […]
Let’s look at the derivation of the Greek and Hebrew words for grace and see what we can learn. The Greek word for grace is “charis” – The following definition is from Strongs Concordance: “χάρις charis; (“chairo”, cheer, to be cheerful); graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; […]
The working definition Bill provides for grace is, “The desire and power to do what God wants me to do” This definition is quite distinct among those evangelical theology has given us. These include: Unmerited Favor This is actually a definition for grace that Bill accepts. But his point is that it is simply inexcusably […]