Week Twelve-Day Two: Gracious

“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ Well-known Old Testament benediction from Numbers 6

I have often heard grace described as “giving someone what they don’t deserve.” That works pretty well as a definition for the Biblical idea of grace. Our God is a gracious God.

We get an interesting and fuller perspective on grace when we look at the related concepts. A survey of the Old Testament yields some interesting connections. For example, five times in the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the phrase “the gracious hand of our God” is used. Isn’t that a beautiful expression? It refers to times when God answered a specific request or need. God’s great provision for us is an outflow of His grace. He gives us what we really need and not what we deserve!

Even more significantly, at least twelve times God is referred to as “gracious and compassionate.” Psalm 111:4 says, “He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.” So, it is very appropriate for us to be thinking about God’s grace right after we discussed God’s love, don’t you think? In fact, J. I. Packer described God’s grace as “God operating in love manward.”[1] It would be fair to say that God’s grace is His love in action.

Along with this, seven times the idea of God’s grace is accompanied by His being “slow to anger and abounding in love.” This same idea is behind Nehemiah 9:31, where Nehemiah says, “But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.” Nehemiah knew that the Jews deserved to be deserted by God and deserved to be recipients of His anger. But instead He remained faithful and acted mercifully toward them. When He withheld His anger – deserved anger – this was seen as a sign of His grace. 

The slowness of God’s anger reminds me of two important references. In Isaiah 30: 15, the prophet declares, “The LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” What God really longs for is for His people to cry out to Him for forgiveness and re-connection. Hosea makes this same point even more explicitly: “Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.’” (14:2) It is God’s grace that allows God to forgive us.

If you’ve had the idea that somehow the God of the Old Testament was into war and retribution while in the New Testament we get the softer side of God, then this survey of Old Testament grace themes should challenge you. But clearly, the picture of God’s grace comes into much clearer focus through the life, teaching and death and resurrection of Jesus. In Jesus, God’s grace is on full display.

That’s why grace has been described by the acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. God is able to be gracious toward us because of Jesus. Let’s analyze Romans 3:21-31 together to get a better sense of what this means.[2] First, to set the stage for Romans 3, let’s look at Romans 6:23.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of course, Paul’s emphasis is on the second part of the verse. He is celebrating that we have been given a new quality of life through our connection to God in Christ. But we should not overlook the first premise. It is a summary of much of what God had shown about the nature of life over the course of many centuries. Sin results in death. No exceptions, no excuses. Gravity causes masses to be attracted to one another. Sin causes death! Given that, we are pretty much without hope. But now let’s look at Romans 3 to see how God solved the problem.

²¹ But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. ²² We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, ²⁶ for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

²⁷ Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. ²⁸ So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

²⁹ After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. ³⁰ There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. ³¹ Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

1. Look back at the passage and identify how we are made right with God?
2. The phrase “undeserved kindness” in verse 24 is a perfect synonym for grace!And what does verse 24 say God’s grace caused Him to do? On what basis did he do this?
3. So how did God satisfy His own sin and death law?I mean, when we sin we die, right?So how did God satisfy that condition?
4. We have to be sure we get this.This is the heart of what the New Testament authors called “the gospel”.God satisfied the demands of His own justice Himself by sacrificing His only Son Jesus.Jesus died our death and now offers us his life!This is what we mean by grace!Hallelujah!(I don’t often say hallelujah, but that observation certainly deserves it.)

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1. Spend a few moments thanking God for His grace.
2. I suggest you try listening to a song about grace before you launch this morning.Let me give some suggestions.
   1. “Nothing But the Blood” by Matt Redman
   2. “Nothing But the Blood” by Brooke Fraser (different song)
   3. “Grace Flows Down” by Christy Nockels
   4. “Grace Greater Than Our Sin” any old school version
3. Look for signs of God’s grace today.