Many years ago I came across the book “Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith” by Andrew Wommack. It was life-changing for me and my wife. I was also inspired by Dr. Paul Ellis who writes extensively on the beauty of God’s grace. I had a good foundation on the subject of faith but I didn’t fully understand God’s grace. I needed more revelation in my heart about God’s grace and His love. Having head knowledge and revelation are two different things. I also want to say you can have extremes in the message of grace and faith. We need to stay balanced and rightly divide the Word of truth. “The body of Christ is divided into two groups: those who emphasize grace (God’s part) and those who emphasize faith (our part). One group preaches that everything is totally up to God. The other group teaches that there are many things that we must do. Both contend that the other group is totally wrong. The Bible clearly teaches a balance between grace (God’s part) and faith (our part).”
I learned that we are not saved just by grace alone or just by faith alone but by grace and faith. It takes both and we need a revelation of both. How wonderful the grace and love of God and the gift of faith. The Bible tells us to know the grace of God in truth( 1 Peter 5:12, Col 1:6). Is it possible that many believers do not understand the reality of Biblical grace? Let us not set aside or frustrate the grace of God through religion, legalism, and works. If you struggle with performance-based Christianity, legalism, unworthiness, rejection, condemnation, guilt, fear, and religion you need a grace awakening( Gal 5:1, 2 Tim 2:1). The good news is that we have access to the grace of God ( Rom 5:2). The Greek Word access means admission or introduction. Greek literature speaks of a safe harbor for sailors on a stormy sea. This grace came through Christ. John 1:17 (NKJV)-17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We have been given admission into something truly wonderful that is a safe harbor in the storms of life. Christ is the grace door that has been opened to us to experience the goodness of God! Grace is more than just a theological position or teaching. Grace is a person. That person is Christ!
Below are some powerful notes from both of these men that I want to pass along that I hope will bless you in your journey of grace and faith. It truly is life-changing. “God’s grace can shape your life and empower you to fulfill God’s calling for you.” “As you grow in your understanding of God’s grace, you can become a beacon of God’s love and grace to others.” Take time to look up scriptures and meditate on them in your study. You can also share these truths in a Bible study. I encourage you to check out their websites.
What is Grace
“By definition, the word grace means unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. (My Note: G.R.A.C.E.-God’s Riches At Christ Expense-Not man’s riches at man’s expense)Therefore, the good news is, that grace has nothing to do with you. Grace existed before you ever came to be. Another way of saying it is, grace is God’s part. Faith is defined as being a positive response to what God has already provided by grace. If all you do is emphasize faith, “You have to believe, and do this and that,” that’ll kill you spiritually. True Bible faith is simply your positive response to what God has already provided by grace. Faith only appropriates what God has already provided. Faith doesn’t move God or make Him do anything. God, by grace, has provided everything. But you have complete freedom of choice whether God’s perfect will for you comes to pass or not. It doesn’t happen without your cooperation ( Eph 3:20).
Grace has made all the things that we desire available. Faith seeks to receive out of the abundance of the grace God has provided. It is not trying to get God to move or do a new thing. God has already moved by His grace through Christ. Grace is not something that is going to happen. Rather it is something that has already been done. It is all that we receive from God in Christ Jesus. Whether it’s salvation, healing, prosperity, protection, in fact, every good thing(Rom 8:32, 1 Cor 2:12, 2 Peter 1:3, James 1:17). Trying to get God to do what he has already done is most times very frustrating. This may often time lead to discouragement.” Ephesians 2:7 (NKJV)-7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.“
“Grace and faith work together, and they must be in balance. God is love and love that stoops is called grace. Grace is what the unconditional love of God looks like from our side. Grace is love come down. The original noun for grace (charis, 5485) is related to a word (chairo, 5463) which means to rejoice, be cheerful, and be well off. The grace of God leaves us cheerful and rejoicing. It leaves us better than it found us.” ( My Note: Legalism is always a burden to carry. The Law says do, do, do. Grace says it’s done, done, done. One is about striving the other is about rest, the rest of faith, one is about religion, the other is about relationship (Matt 11:28-29, Heb 4:1-3).”
“Grace is not merely for your salvation; grace is for partaking in the divine life that Christ offers to all of us. Grace saves us, keeps us, protects us, and blesses us ( 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Peter 1:1-4). We grow in grace by growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ( 2 Peter 3:18).”
“Man-made religion portrays God as an angry and threatening deity who can be appeased with sacrifices and good works. But the God of all grace that Jesus revealed sits on a throne of grace (Heb 4:16) and blesses us out of the abundance of his grace for no other reason than he loves us. Grace is the defining characteristic of Christianity. Grace is what makes the new covenant new and the good news good news.”
The gospel of grace
“There is no gospel other than the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24). The gospel of grace or the Word of grace (Acts 20:32) is synonymous with the gospel of Jesus for Jesus is the embodiment of the Father’s grace (1 Cor 1:4 ). The grace of God comes to us through Jesus (John 1:14,John 1:17), and we grow in grace by growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).”
“There is no gospel without grace for the gospel reveals the grace that saves us (Acts 15:11, Eph 2:8, 2 Tim 1:9), forgives us (Eph 1:7), justifies us (Rom 3:24, Titus 3:7), and raises us to new life (Eph. 2:5-6 ). It’s a great loss to think that grace is just for “sinners”, for Christians need grace too. (Acts 13:43). We are defined by the grace of God that both saves us and keeps us (1 Peter 5:10). Grace builds us up (Acts 20:32) and empowers us to do good works (Gal 2:9, 1 Cor 15:10). Grace trains us ( Titus 2:11 ), makes us fruitful (Col 1:6), and prospers us (2 Cor. 8:9, 2 Cor 9:8). Grace gives us hope (2 Thess 2:16, Rom 15:13) and enables us to reign in life (Rom 5:17-21 ).”
“Prior to the cross, Jesus preached the law to those under the law. But as the herald of the new covenant (Mal 3:1 ), he also revealed radical grace. He began his ministry by announcing the favor of God (Luke 4;19) and he concluded it by giving us the greatest demonstration of unconditional love the world has ever seen (Rom 5:8, Eph 2:12-13). In between these two peaks of grace, he preached good news to the poor, he loved sinners, he forgave and healed those who had done nothing to deserve God’s favor ( Luke 23:34), and he told stories of radical grace – of lost sheep and lost sons, and kings who invited beggars to banquets. Best of all, he revealed a God who loves us like a Father( John 16:27) and who asks for nothing in return other than we trust him.”
Why God?
“The moment you start saying, “Well, why did God heal him? Why did God do this for him, yet He hasn’t done it for me?” and you start thinking in those terms, you have to factor in your performance. You begin to acknowledge that you maybe haven’t prayed enough or haven’t done enough of this, or enough of that. You think your failures are why God hasn’t done it. That’s totally wrong thinking. The grace of God is consistent. He’s the same towards everybody(Heb 13:8). God is no respecter of persons. (Rom. 2:11).” (My Note: We focus on the why and when and that just brings us into doubt and unbelief. Let’s focus on the answer-Christ ( Heb 12:1-3).
Grace comes by faith
“Grace is a gift freely offered to all (Eph.3:7, Eph. 4:7, Titus 2:11) and is received by faith alone ( Eph 2:8). There is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace (Rom 11:6, 2 Tim 1:9 ). Keeping the law does not qualify us for grace but can cause us to fall from grace (Gal 2:21, Gal 5:4).”
“We make grace of no effect when we combine it with anything other than faith. “You are saved by grace but maintain your position through right-living,” is an example of a mixed-grace message. “God gives you grace so that you can keep his commands,” is another. These sorts of messages contain an element of grace but ultimately push you to trust in yourself and your own efforts. It is a performance mentality.”
“Any mixed-grace message can be recognized by the presence of carrots and sticks. Carrots are the blessings you get for obedience; sticks are the penalties you pay for disobedience. Bite into any mixed-grace message and you will taste a bitter fruit. You will feel the pressure to perform and smell the fear that comes with failure. You’ll make promises to God and then you’ll break them. You’ll resolve to try harder only to fail again and again. Since a mixed-grace message puts the emphasis on you and what you have done, your identity will become defined by your productivity. (My Note: Behavior always follows identity. )You will start to think of yourself as God’s servant instead of his beloved son or daughter. Worst of all, you will end up distracted from Jesus and fallen from grace. (MY Note: That doesn’t mean you lose your salvation but it does mean that you have separated from God’s empowering grace.”)
“Another way we can miss the grace of God is to think that grace gives us a license to sin (Jude 1:4 ). God’s grace is greater than our sin and empowers us to say no to ungodliness (Rom 5:20, Titus 2:11-12). But if we use our freedom to run back into the prison of sin, we have missed the point of grace ( Rom 6:1 ).”
“Both grace and faith need to be combined to be able to see the power of God released in your life.” You need to discover what God has done by grace—what He’s provided, what His will is. Then there needs to be an appropriate response on your part, which is what the Bible calls faith. Some have even come up with the opinion that they are forcing God, that they’re making God move. This is how we came up with such statements as “Faith moves God.” God isn’t the one who’s stuck. He’s not the one who needs to move. God moved before you ever had a problem. He moved through Jesus.”
Many people are trying to get God to do something. They’re struggling to receive, saying, “I’m trying to believe God that He’ll do this.” Once you understand the balance of grace and faith, it takes the struggle out of receiving from God. How can you doubt that God will do what He’s already done? If it’s done by God’s grace, then it’s already done. Grace is not something that is going to happen. It is much easier to release or defend something you already have than trying to get something you think you don’t have ( 2 Peter 1:1-4). There’s a totally different attitude in a person who is just trusting and relying upon what God has already done versus someone who is trying to get God to do something. Faith isn’t something you do, and then God responds to you. If you hold to this concept in any form or fashion, you think that God is looking at your Bible study, prayer, holiness, and goodness. You think that when you do enough, He’ll release His power. If that’s what you think, you aren’t operating in true biblical faith. That thinking is legalistic and religious, and it’s the reason that things aren’t working in your life. Faith is not something you do to get God to do something.”
Grace and works
“You may have heard that God gives us grace in order to do good works, but this is misleading. God gives you grace because he loves you. The issue is not what you’ll do for God but what you’ll let him do for you and through you. Will you trust him a little bit or will you trust him the whole way? Does his grace merely get you in the front door or does it keep you safe to the very end? Galatians 3:3 (NKJV)-3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?“
“Grace is irresponsible for it says we have no responsibility to do anything. We have a duty to serve the Lord.” In the mouth of a mixed-grace preacher, words like responsibility and duty are the cattle-prods of performance-based Christianity. They convey a sense of obligation that can leave you debt-conscious rather than grace-conscious. The idea that you are obliged to repay Jesus for his priceless sacrifice is ludicrous. What can you give him in consideration for his grace? There is nothing. The instant you give him anything, it ceases to be grace (Rom 4:4-5, Rom 11:6, 2 Tim 1:9). Your part in this is to receive from the abundance of his grace. Your only “duty” is to say, “Thank you, Jesus!”
“Others have said that grace is a soft gospel for soft Christians. (My Note:They say, “sloppy agape and greasy grace.”). “Grace promotes passivity and laziness.” This was not Paul’s experience: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor 15:10 ). Grace doesn’t make people lazy; it makes them supernaturally fruitful. ( Col 1:6, Col 1:10, John 15:5). In contrast with the law that provides no aid to those who trust it, grace makes us soar. As John Bunyan said, “Far better news the gospel brings, it bids us fly and gives us wings.” Most people believe that it’s their performance that earns them extra pull and favor to get the power of God operating in their lives. The truth is, the moment you begin relating God’s blessing—the manifestation of His power in your life—to anything that you’ve done, then you have just voided grace. You’ve made God’s blessing and manifestation in your life proportional to something that you’ve done. If you think that way, then you don’t understand the grace of God.
“In a mixed-grace environment, you will feel the pressure to perform and live up to the expectations of others. But walk under grace and you find there is no pressure, only the freedom to be who God made you to be( Rom 6:14). (My Note: You’re learning to have a son mentality rather than a slave mentality). Man-made religion will tell you that you have a responsibility to deliver results for the Lord, but your only responsibility is to shine as a dearly loved child of God.”
Two Kinds of Works
When Paul says a man is justified by faith and not works, he is referring to the works of the law (Gal. 2:16). “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28).
But when James says we are justified by works, he is referring to “Works of Faith”. by which he means believing in Christ. This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. (John 6:29). We are not justified by works of law (Paul), we are justified by works of faith (James). And lest there be any confusion about works of faith, James use the same example and quotes the exact same scripture as Paul:
James: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Jas. 2:23)
Paul: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3) Same message, same example, same gospel.
The hyper-grace gospel
“The New Testament epistle writers used big words to describe the grace of God. Paul spoke of the super-abundance of God’s grace (Rom. 5:15, Rom 5:17, 2 Cor.9:8) and often used the adjective huper– or hyper- when discussing grace (Rom 5:20, Eph. 2:7, 2 Cor. 9:14, 1 Tim. 1:14). Hyper which means over, above, and beyond. To put it in context, Paul also uses hyper-words for describing God’s power and love (Eph. 1:19, Eph. 3:19). God’s grace is as great as his power. It’s as limitless as his love.”
What is hyper-grace?
“Hyper-grace is extreme grace. It’s the over-the-top super-abounding grace described by the original hyper-grace preachers. John spoke of receiving grace upon grace from the fullness of God’s supply (John 1:16). Saying God is full of grace, is like saying the ocean is full of waves. “Grace upon grace” means God can bless you with wave after wave of grace and never run out.”(Rom 5:17).
“Peter wrote about the grace that comes from “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) and prayed that his grace would be yours to the “fullest measure” or in increasing abundance (1 Pet. 1:2). Just as you can’t travel to the edge of the universe, you will never find the limit of God’s grace.”
“James, one of the most misunderstood writers in the New Testament, had a wonderful grasp of grace. He spoke of a God who gives and gives, which is a picture of unending grace (James 1:17). “God gives a greater grace” (Jas. 4:6). The original word for greater is derived from the Greek word megas. God gives us mega-grace. James is literally saying that God gives us “exceedingly, great, high, large, loud, and mighty grace!”
Is hyper-grace biblical?
“To suggest that God’s grace is less than hyper is UN-biblical, even blasphemous. It’s like saying God is good but he’s not that good, he’s wise but not that wise. Diminish grace and you diminish God. The gospel of grace declares that the One who sits upon the throne of grace is exceedingly rich in grace and his inexhaustible grace is never diminished no matter how much we draw upon it”(James 4:6).
“Everything about the grace of God is extreme or hyper because your heavenly Father loves you with a great love that cannot be measured (Eph. 3:17-19). Because his love is great, his grace is great (Eph. 2:4). His love for you is greater than you can conceive or imagine. If you think you have a handle on the grace of God, you don’t. His love and grace surpass knowledge( Eph 3:19). However grand or over-the-top you imagine his grace to be, his grace is greater still! Romans 5:2 (AMP)-2 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.” This has been a longer-than-normal blog. There is so much to share on this topic and it deserves further study. Hopefully, this is a good start in laying a solid foundation of grace and faith. Oh, the beauty of God’s Grace! It saves us, heals us, restores us, delivers us, and empowers us! Let the journey begin!
“Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.“
In Christ’s Love;
Brent and Linda Bushen
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