“Grace”… Word Studies From The Scriptures

 There are many ideas about “grace” taught today.  Some people “say grace” before meals.  Others believe grace is a blanket provided by God to cover unrepented of sins by Christians.  We are interested in knowing what God’s Word really teaches about “grace”.  Since we are commanded to “grow in grace…” (2 Peter 3:18) we need to understand it to obey God!  In this lesson, we will engage in a word study of “grace” as found in English translations. Introduction

 In the New Testament, the root word from which we get the word “grace” is “charis” (Strong’s #5485).  “Charis” and forms of it in the Greek are found in over 135 verses in the New Testament. It is translated “grace” 129x and “favor” 6x in the King James Version. (ref. Young’s Exhaustive Concordance)  A general definition of the word means “unmerited or undeserved favor”.  Notice the following sampling of usages of the word “grace”. “It’s Greek to me!”

 Words can have slight variations in meaning, resulting in us needing to give more attention to the contexts in which we find them. This is not at all uncommon.  Some words, like “six”, ALWAYS HAVE the same exact meaning.  Notice the general meaning of “grace” and subtle distinctions in the following passages throughout this lesson. Multiple Definitions

Genesis 6:8 “ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” - NKJV

Esther 2:17 “ The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” - NKJV

John 1:14,17 “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” - NKJV

Romans 1:7 “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” - NKJV

Romans 3:24 “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” - NKJV

Romans 4:4; 11:6 “ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace ; otherwise work is no longer work.” - NKJV Do these passages exclude “works” of any type as part of our salvation? See Jn. 6:26 & Eph. 2:8-10.

Our Salvation… NOT GRACE ALONE NOT BOASTFUL WORKS NOT FAITH ALONE NOT MERITORIOUS WORKS

Our Salvation BY GRACE OF GOD THROUGH ACTIVE FAITH THAT DOES GODLY WORKS THROUGH LOVE Grace – Ephesians 2:8-9 Mercy – Ephesians 2:4-5 Word – 2 Timothy 3:16-17, James 1:21, Psalm 119:105 Jesus – Romans 5:8, John 14:6, Revelation 7:10-14 Hearing – Romans 10:17 Believing – Romans 10:9-10 Repenting – Acts 2:38 Confessing – Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33 Baptism –Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 22:16; Mark 16:16 Living a life of faith – 2 Peter 1:1-11

Romans 6:1,14 “ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” - NKJV

Titus 2:11-14 “ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” - NKJV

Ephesians 2:5-10 “…even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved ), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” - NKJV

 We should seek to live so we find “grace” in the eyes of God.  Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  Grace teaches us about salvation.  We can “fall from grace” (i.e. God’s grace).  We shall be saved by many things, including “grace”.  We cannot think that we can “continue in sin” and grace will take care of us! Truths about Grace

Hopefully, we have a better understanding of God’s grace.  Hopefully, we have a better understanding of God’s grace.  How Are we growing in grace?  Do we understand the proper relationship between grace and works? Between grace and salvation? Conclusion…