Grace, in the Biblical context, is undeserved favor. But why don’t we deserve it? Well, we’ve sinned. We’ve been rebellious towards God. And while we all have to admit that describes us at some level, it’s tempting to have the attitude of "I do deserve it!"
“Undeserved.” This has a negative connotation to it. The idea that you’re not good enough, you didn’t perform well, or even you’re unworthy to receive whatever it is – and that’s a tough pill to swallow, especially for the trophy-generation, the ones who think that everyone needs a trophy, even if you didn’t earn it.
The longer people refuse to face the truth about themselves the harder they fall when the truth is revealed. For that reason, a person who refuses to see their faults often becomes angry for being rejected. Consider Cain in Genius 4; he didn’t “deserve” a praise from God for his sacrifice, whereas Abel did receive praise for his appropriate attitude. Although the feeling of anger may have been legitimate for Cain, it was his call what to do with that anger. God asked him, “Why are you so downcast (upset)? You know what you need to do. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Acceptance and praise that would be deserved was within his power, but he had to humble himself, make corrections, and then try again. Similar to any one of our kids sports teams; if they messed up in a game, they should: take note, fix it, overcome that problem, and next time don’t fall to it. Sounds easy enough, but this is rooted in humility. If I refuse to recognize that I didn’t “deserve it,” then I will naturally fight to justify my sloppy or rebellious nature.
The other side of the definition of grace is “favor.” Favor is basically being accepted, receiving praise or approval, or winning support from someone. In the case of Christianity, we would therefore be winning the support of God! Sounds pretty cool to have Him in your corner. But that’s where the problem lies, since “we’ve all sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory,” we quickly realize that God won’t support my nature by itself.
So, Jesus came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, the perfect offering to pay for my sins. By doing so, He allowed God’s gift of the Spirit to be given to those who will trust in that sacrifice. The gift of the Spirit, therefore, becomes the vessel through which we find the ability to “rule over it,” or “master sin” as God told Cain to do.
Perhaps this is an over-complication of a simple concept, but it seems too many people get caught up on the idea of “grace” or “works,” instead of realizing that Jesus introduced us to the Spirit of God for the purpose of giving strength to our weakness. That strength becomes the evidence of God’s grace. If Cain had humbled himself and admitted that how he made his offering wasn’t acceptable to God, and then DO what he already knew what to do, he would find favor with God.
James 4:5-8, “Do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.”
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