(This blog will be offline for a couple of weeks while I travel. Please enjoy these posts from the archives. Feel free to comment or ask questions. I will be able to respond when I return.)
When the Scriptures seem to draw a contrast between grace and law, saying that we are not under law but under grace, the two are not set as opposites. Instead, one is part of the other. We are not under law, but we have a relationship with the Lord and we live under the broader coverage of God’s love. Those who are under law are also under His love, but they are separated from us because of their desire to remain in their sins.
So, returning to the “definition”, I would say that the activity of God, always motivated by His love, is grace. The highest expression of His love, the ultimate activity of His love, is Jesus Christ. God Himself became a man to redeem us, free us from sin’s power, and restore us to a relationship with Him. Ultimately, grace is a Person. We who were dead in our sins, unable to accomplish righteousness, without hope for the future, have been made alive in Christ through faith. Faith connects us with what God has done for us in Jesus.
