True Grace (Part 1)

Introduction

Grace is one of the most discussed concepts in all of religious literature.

It is a theme that saturates great literature.

True Grit

Written by Charles Portis in 1968.

“You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.” - Mattie Ross.

She hires the most pitiless man she can find because she doesn’t want any grace. She wants justice and wants it hard and graceless. Then, she ends up needing the grace of that same merciless man.

Les Miserables

Jean Valjean is a law breaker.

His freedom is purchased by the gracious act of a priest.

He is pursued by Javert who cannot reconcile grace and the law and kills himself rather than live with the inconsistent demand.

In religious writings, the presentation is rather lopsided.

You have Calvinists who say grace is all on God’s end and there is nothing you can do or even think to receive it. Even your response of faith is His action. He is in control of both sides of the interaction entirely.

The Armenians who are said to be on the other end of this great chasmic divide believe in something called prevenient grace (this was something developed in response to Augustine’s doctrine of original sin). It says that God have given enough grace to all men to make them just barely able to respond to the gospel call. From then on it is miraculous grace.

On the religious landscape, the idea that grace is a conditional offer made by God and responded to with will and action by free moral agents is hardly on the radar.

The real problem, I think, is that we don’t even stop to define the terms.

We accept the assumed definition and then try and argue from there.

This puts us in a real bind and people think we don’t preach on grace enough (and that can certainly be true) but what they mean is we need to say some of what those people over their are saying.

We need to preach obedience but ALSO grace.

I think that phrase, “we need to preach obedience AND grace” betrays how badly we have defined grace.

Grace not only doesn’t contradict obedience, it demands it.

My hope here is not to say everything you believe about these things is wrong. My hope is that for the most part you will see that the things you already believe are in better and easier harmony than the common way we talk about these things leaves us feeling.

Defining Grace

When you look up grace in a dictionary you get something like this:

unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification

a virtue coming from God

a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance

The most common definition you hear is something like “unmerited favor” or “God’s unmerited favor to men.”

There are at least SOME places that definition doesn’t work (Lk. 2:52; 6:32-34; Rom. 7:25).

Add to that these passages from the Old Testament:

Consider God’s grace to Noah (Gen. 6:8).

Compare that to Ruth “finding favor” (Ruth 2:8-13).

Consider Jacob bringing gifts to receive favor (Gen. 33:8).

Then compare that to what God requires in Lev. 2.

So, to get a definition that is consistent here we end up with a more generic idea of favor.

It may be merited, it may be unmerited.

It may have degrees of merit.

It can be responsive to action it can preclude any action.

It can be requested or given without request.

It can be offered and accepted or offered and refused.

What we certainly cannot say is that grace excludes participation.

First Century Grace

There are a few terms that will be helpful as we consider the usages of this word among 1st century peoples.

Patron - one that uses wealth or influence to help an individual, an institution, or a cause

Client - one that is under the protection of another

Benefactor - someone or something that provides help or an advantage : one that confers a benefit (Lk. 22:25).

Beneficiary - someone or something that provides help or an advantage : one that confers a benefit

Broker - one who acts as an intermediary

Luke 7:2-10 contains pictures of all of these positions.

The dance of the graces:

There are many depictions of three women representing three stages of grace.

There is the giving, the receiving, and the returning.

Any interruption of this cycle spoils the gracefulness of the dance.

“Only a gift requited is a gift well and nobly received. To fail to return favor for favor is, in effect, to break off the dance and destroy the beauty of the gracious act.”

Seneca wrote down the unwritten rules:

Just because this is a relationship and not based on written rules doesn’t mean that there were no rules.

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture Responding with Grace

There was no law for the prosecution of the person who failed to requite a favor (with the interesting exception of classical Macedonia), but, Seneca affirmed, the punishment of shame and being hated by all good people would more than make up for the lack of official sanctions. Neglecting to return a kindness, forgetfulness of kindnesses already received in the past, and, most horrendous of all, repaying favor with insult or injury—these were courses of action to be avoided by an honorable person at all costs.

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture Manifestations of Gratitude

Gratitude for, and pleasure at, receiving these gifts should be expressed “not merely in the hearing of the giver, but everywhere”

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture Manifestations of Gratitude

“The greater the favour, the more earnestly must we express ourselves, resorting to such compliments as:…‘I shall never be able to repay you my gratitude, but, at any rate, I shall not cease from declaring everywhere that I am unable to repay it’ ”

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture Manifestations of Gratitude

Increasing the fame of the giver is part of the proper return for a benefit, and a gift that one is ashamed to acknowledge openly in the hearing of all, one has no business accepting in the first place

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture The Dance of Grace

While the giver is to train his or her mind to give no thought to the return and never to think a gift lost, the recipient is never allowed to forget his or her obligation and the absolute necessity of making a return

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture The Dance of Grace

If the recipient should say to himself, “She gave it for the sake of giving; I owe nothing,” then the dance has turned sour, and one partner has trampled the other’s toes.

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture Patronage and Friendship

Moreover, because patrons were sensitive to the honor of their clients, they rarely called their clients by that name. Instead, they graciously referred to them as friends, even though they were far from social equals. Clients, on the whole, did not attempt to hide their junior status, referring to their patrons as “patrons” rather than as “friends” so as to highlight the honor and respect with which they esteemed their benefactors.

Conclusion

We don’t have a full picture yet of the nature of grace.

But what we do see already is that there grace can be demanding of the recipient and still be grace.

Tomorrow night, we will pick up talking about God’s grace toward us our reciprocal grace toward Him.

But perhaps you already understand that God has extended grace and that you have not reciprocated but scorned such a gift.

Would you respond in gracious submission this evening?