Articles
Twisted Grace
The apostle Peter warned disciples of the first century against “untaught and unstable people” who would “twist” difficult words of Paul “to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures,” and admonished them, “since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:16-18). The warning then was not just for the first century disciples, but has been preserved by God for all disciples of all times and places, for the danger will arise from time to time and, if we are unfamiliar with the Scriptures, or have not given ourselves to a thorough study to understand them, it is possible we could be “led away” with words that sound right but are, in fact, error.
Indeed, it seems it is happening once again among certain brethren and churches, and the subject this time is one that is being touted as one the brotherhood is broadly charged with ignoring or simply not preaching often enough: grace. I cannot speak for those who are making such claims [that preachers, brethren, and churches as a whole do not teach enough about grace, or do not teach anything at all about grace], but it seems dubious to me that any one individual can make such a broad-reaching charge based on one person’s own, personal experience. I tend to doubt these individuals have the time or ability to closely monitor the sermons and class studies of churches across the country or around the world — enough to make such a claim, anyway.
In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as grace [charis] is found 156 times, and is translated as grace 126 of those times [NKJV]. It is also translated as favor, gift, benefit, joy, commendable, and various forms of thanks. While we too often limit the definition of grace as ‘unmerited favor,’ we would be wise to see that it has a much broader definition than that. When the divinely-inspired Scriptures tell us that the child Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40), I doubt anyone would say that the grace bestowed on Jesus was ‘unmerited’!
In fact, the ISBE says, “in both Biblical and secular Greek it is used with far more meanings than can be represented by any one term in English.” It most often implies an act of graciousness or kindness, and can either indicate the attitude of the one bestowing the grace [mercy, kindness], or the attitude of the recipient of that grace [thankfulness, joy]. Again, grace is far more than our usual definition of ‘unmerited favor.’
And grace — as used in the New Testament — is far more than just the grace of God, shown to man in bringing salvation to this earth. It is that, for Paul reminds us in his words to Titus, “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11); but as it is used in the New Testament, it is much more than just that. Consider just a few uses of the Greek word charis and the word translated into the English word as grace:
Favor. (Acts 2:46-47) In this passage, the Greek word is translated as favor, and has a sense of respect and at least a small bit of admiration for their actions and character.
Thank(s). (Luke 17:9) Here, the Greek word is translated into the English word thank, and has the sense of gratitude toward another who has done some deed for them.
Gift. (2 Cor. 8:3, 4) In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he appealed to the brethren to follow through on their promise to help the needy saints in Judea, and used the Macedonian brethren as an example to motivate them. Here, the Greek word is translated into the English word gift, and is an example of an obvious act of kindness and generosity in giving to others in need, who were lacking [“the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem” Rom. 15:26].
Benefit. (2 Cor. 1:15) Here, the Greek word is translated into the English word benefit, and refers to some positive result that might be enjoyed by them should he be able to come to them again. The implication is that a something good would come of his visit, and they would, in a sense, be blessed.
Joy. (Phlm. 1:7) When Paul wrote Philemon regarding his former slave Onesimus, he began with thanks for what he had done for other disciples. Here, the Greek word is translated into the English word joy, indicating a positive response to what others had done, and in this case, the one who was writing was not the one who had cause for the joy [other disciples — not Paul].
Commendable. (1 Pet. 2:20) When Peter wrote the early disciples, he did so to encourage them to stand fast in their faith in the midst of trials. In this passage, the Greek word is translated into the English word commendable, and points to the favorable consideration of God upon one who acts in a particular way [endures trials on behalf of the Lord].
At the very least, it should be obvious from these passages that the Greek word translated most often as grace certainly refers to much more than God’s grace, and certainly has a broader meaning than just ‘unmerited favor.’ It can refer to the attitude and act of one bestowing grace, or it can refer to the attitude and reciprocal acts of ones receiving that grace. What you will not find anywhere is grace inferring or plainly teaching that grace is a tolerance of sin, or tolerance of someone teaching doctrines plainly and irrefutably contradictory to the revealed word of God.
When one who pushes the boundaries of God’s revealed word — or even plainly goes beyond — and then demands ‘grace’ and mercy from others who point out the errors he is espousing, he is blatantly misusing the term grace in a way never seen within Scripture. When others who point out his errors are accused of being ‘unloving’ or are told, ‘That’s just your interpretation,’ as the only response, it is pure dishonesty and deceptive. It is merely a ploy to deflect attention away from his error and onto the ‘Pharisees’ who point out his error.
Grace does not mean we tolerate sin. When Paul chastised the Corinthians, it was because they tolerated the sinning brother, not because they ‘showed grace’ and said and did nothing (1 Cor. 5:1-8). Grace does not mean we tolerate those who teach false doctrines under the guise of ‘a different interpretation’; Paul chastised the Galatians for accepting the teaching of some whom he said “want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-9). While some are trying to stretch the meaning of grace to include tolerance of sin and erroneous doctrines, such goes against the word’s meaning and usage in the Scriptures, and has no foundation. It is misleading, it is deceitful, and it is just wrong.
Should we be gracious when dealing with sinners and with those espousing false doctrines? Absolutely! As it is used within Scripture, the word grace infers kindness and patience with others. [God’s grace is even called “kindness” Eph. 2:7; Titus 3:4.] But, it nowhere indicates tolerance and acceptance of sin and error, and nowhere does its usage indicate we must remain silent, and that is where this false sense of ‘grace’ is being used to falsely accuse those who point out the sin and error.
Don’t fall for this ‘twisted grace’ that some are calling for; it is not ‘grace’ at all. If we truly value souls, kindness demands sin and error be exposed. — Steven Harper
