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Show Religious view Pastor answers: What is Grace? By REV. ERIC V. KAELBERER Pastor Cross of Christ Lutheran Church What is grace? That's a fair enough question. Is it mercy? Or, is it just? The answer does not need to be either-or, it is both. The reality and beauty of grace is often missed because be-cause we tend to think in "either-or" "either-or" ways. Often I have heard the misunderstanding that when someone some-one is showing "grace" they are simply forgetting an offense, not dealing with it. Some want to deny grace because there is no justice in grace. These are misunderstandings misunderstand-ings of Divine Grace. Alright, so what is grace? The best definition I've heard for the Divine Grace of God is this: G -God's R Riches A At C Christ's E Expense This definition gets at the heart of the matter. Grace is both merciful merci-ful and just. It is God's riches toward to-ward us, His loving forgiveness and adoption as sons and daughters. daugh-ters. It is also the exercising of His divine justice. The payment for our sin must not be ignored. It must be paid. If not, God is not truly just. The grace aspect of God's justice is that the full payment for our sins has already been made by Christ Jesus on the Cross (see John 19:30; Romans Ro-mans 5:6-11). Without the grace of God we would be lost, for our sin would remain in us. With grace the joy of being the beloved of God is our inheritance, our right. May God richly bless you as you seek to understand His grace toward you. Amen. |