Call to Worship August 24, 2025
“What Is Grace?
Dear reader, would you humbly ask God, right now, to give you insight into His truth as we consider these matters from Scripture together? The words of the psalmist are appropriate: ‘Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law’ (Psa 119:18). Now let us look into God’s Word for the truth about grace. Please look up all Scripture references and study them carefully, for our appeal is to Scripture alone for the truth of these doctrines.
Simply Defined
Though the word grace in Scripture has various connotations, we will concentrate upon grace as it relates to salvation. Literally, it means a ‘gift.’ A good, short definition is ‘the unmerited favor of God.’ Note that grace is free, or else it would not be a gift. Notice also that it results in blessing, implied by the word favor. Finally, grace has a downward direction—that is, it comes to us from God Himself. He is the Fountain of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). However, defining grace so tersely is like describing the Grand Canyon as ‘beautiful.’ Carefully consider this description of grace. The word grace is a kind of shorthand for the whole sum of unmerited blessings that come to men through Jesus Christ. Primarily, it describes what we, for want of a better expression, have to call a ‘disposition’ in the divine nature; and it means the unconditioned, undeserved, spontaneous, eternal, stooping, pardoning love of God. Further, this grace comes to sinners who are actually God’s enemies (Rom 5:10), facing His eternal wrath (Nahum 1:2; Luk 3:7). This is what we have in mind whenever we use the word grace in this booklet.
A Distinction: Common versus Saving Grace
God, in His grace, blesses mankind abundantly and in many different ways. Scripture speaks of ‘the manifold grace of God’ (1Pe 4:10). So when we speak of the grace that only believers have received versus the grace that everyone receives, we must make a distinction. God’s grace towards all men is obvious and undeniable. A cartoon once showed the neighbors of a pastor wondering why the refreshing rain was falling only on his lawn while theirs was parched and dry. When he returned from vacation, he explained that he had made arrangements before he left! God does not work that way. He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Mat 5:45). ‘The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works…The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing’ (Psa 145:8-9, 15-16). God’s grace to all is evident in the spiritual realm as well as the physical. God has revealed Himself to all men, so that none are completely without a knowledge of Him (Psa 19:1-6; Rom 1:18-20). He grants sinners time to repent even if they ultimately persist to the end in their stubborn rebellion (Pro 1:22; 29:1). We refer to God’s abundant goodness toward all men indiscriminately as common grace. By saving grace, we are referring to the grace of God that brings salvation (Ti 2:11). This grace is not enjoyed by all, since it is evident that not all men will be saved (Mat 7:13-14). Only believers are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). Unbelievers perish, since they do not receive saving grace.”
(D. Scott Meadows, https://www.chapellibrary.org/pdf/books/gagr.pdf)