Do We Sometimes Underestimate Grace?

Do We Sometimes Underestimate Grace?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis

Obviously, I realize that this is just my opinion and you are, of course, free to disagree…but in all of the Bible…in fact in all of Christianity…there is no more beautiful word than the word grace. Just saying it out loud, thinking about it in my mind, or reading it in God’s Word gives me a very real, warm, feeling. It is, of course, one of the most familiar words in the Christian vernacular. Simply put, it is the reason I am where I am now. It is the reason I am who I am now. Most importantly it the reason I am Whose I am now. I am alive because of God’s undeserved, unmerited grace.

And I use the term alive in a literal, physical way as well as a spiritual way. The fact that I exist biologically is because God extended His grace to allow me to be born. Not because of the biological machinations that lead to the birth of a human being. The biology is the tool God uses to exercise this grace. The fact that I exist biologically is a clear indication that He exercised His sovereign grace to ensure that happened. He is not obligated to create anyone. In fact, His first human creation was formed out of dirt…not a hint of biological development. Human beings are born every day. And that is due to His grace.

But His grace is also the reason why I am spiritually alive. It is how I became born again. The fact that I am a child of His. The fact that I am forgiven of my sin. The fact that I am a new creation. The fact that I am saved. All of these facts are only fact because of one, magnificent, glorious, beautiful word: Grace. We are told clearly, and unequivocally in Ephesians 2:8 that it is “by grace you have been saved”. He did not look into the future and see my actions and determine I was a good candidate. If that were the case, it would have only proved that I was not a good candidate…and neither are you. That’s why it’s called grace.

We play no part in our salvation. We, of course, have to respond (Romans 10:9-10)…but that response is rooted in faith. We have to have faith to respond to the Gospel. However, in that same Ephesians 2:8 passage that too is addressed. It clearly states that faith is a gift given by God. So I can’t even take credit for having enough faith to respond. Even that is a gift borne of grace. In fact, Paul expounds upon this in Romans 4:4: “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due”. If we had any work to do for our salvation, then salvation would be what we are owed…no different than a paycheck at a job. And if we are owed it, then it is not grace. Which would make Ephesians 2:8 a lie.

But one of the things I have noticed in my life at times and in the lives of other Believers, is that we tend to think of grace as being for salvation alone. That once we are saved, that is pretty much the end of how dynamically grace works in our life. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the amazing 12th chapter in the Book of Romans we are given great insight into how this works. In verses we, once again, see Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, spurring us on to good works for the cause of Christ and His Gospel. He uses verbiage very similar to that in 1 Corinthians 12. He states there and in Romans 12 that we are all members of the same body and all have a service function in the Body.
In fact, in Romans 12, he goes so far as to give a few examples as to what some of that service may look like. It is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination but the point is clear. He mentions prophecy, serving, teaching, encouragement, giving, leading, and mercy. His point is that if we have these gifts (along with many more not mentioned here but elsewhere) then we are to use them for His glory. But at the beginning of this pericope there is a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. He starts out this section by stating: “For by the grace given to me”…(Romans 12:3). He begins like that for a reason.

He wants us to know that after we are saved by grace…we are to live our lives in that very same grace. These things we can do for Him are not simply talents or willingness. These are gifts of grace. It is grace that has given me the gifts to serve Him. It is His grace that makes me useful in His kingdom. It is grace that lets me follow His commandments. It is grace that I have the opportunities to serve Him. It is grace that I even want to serve Him. Literally every single aspect of my life from the physical to the spiritual only exists because of His grace. His grace does not just save me…it sustains me. It makes anything and everything He wants me to do possible. It makes everything that I am possible. I want to read His Word? Grace. I understand His Word? Grace. I awake every morning? Grace. Roof over my head? Grace. My love for Him? It can only be due to His grace. My death? Grace.

Because there is no greater representation of His grace than heaven. It is the ultimate culmination of His grace. The totality of His grace is encompassed in the reality of heaven. I will never die. I will never get sick. I will never sin. I will never mourn. I will forever live with Him in a perfection I cannot even imagine. And I will never do one thing on this planet to deserve that. Ever. That’s why it’s grace. And that’s why it is beautiful.  

-Dr. Danny Purvis