It began in eternity past when He chose us in Christ to be adopted into the family of God ( Eph. ![]() It is love and kindness that we don't deserve. ![]() Grace is God’s unmerited favor toward us as sinners. Because believing in a grace that is different from the Bible is not only misleading, it is also dangerous to our faith. It is important that we understand the grace of the Bible so that when we hear people talk about it or read it in a blog, article, or book, we know what the writer is talking about. God’s grace is bigger, greater, deeper, and more amazing than many people realize. As in, “This is who I am, and God accepts me that way. But the definition that concerns me the most is overlooking something (most often sin). Sometimes they use it interchangeably with words like patience or forbearance. Sometimes people emphasize grace in one area of faith but not in others. There are multiple ways I’ve heard grace misused and misunderstood. It’s like running into someone you know from your high school days and talking about a mutual friend, Susie Smith, only to realize there are two Susie Smiths and you were each talking about a different Susie. Almost everyone-even non-believers-knows the words to the hymn "Amazing Grace." But sometimes when I hear Christians use it, I wonder if we are talking about the same thing. Take the word “grace.” It’s one of the foundational words of our faith we don’t have faith without it. ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, this can happen in Christian circles as well. In our postmodern world, just as people believe there are no moral absolutes, they also redefine words to suit their desires. The problem is that in our society the meanings of words are fluid, always changing with the whim of the culture. It’s important that we know them and use them properly, otherwise we can’t communicate with one another. “So it’s not an epic parenting fail when your kid corrects you?” “Mom, that’s not what the word ‘epic’ means. You know you have a teenager in the house when they start correcting you for using words the wrong way.
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