THE FOUNDATION OF GRACE By Walt Henrichsen

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for they pleasure they are and were created” (Rev 4:11).

We will define grace as the favor of God bestowed upon the undeserving without reference to reciprocity. Nothing in the object of God’s grace warrants His favor. Those who are the recipients of grace are chosen wholly from within the counsel of His own will. People have a natural antipathy toward grace, for it violates their sense of fairness. We tend to be less concerned when we are the object of God’s grace, but what about all of those people that are not?

Election and grace are the head and tail of the same coin; you cannot have grace without election. Thus Paul says, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Rom 11:5-6). If you believe that you obtain heaven by what you do that others are unwilling to do, you rob grace of its essence. If you believe that you are saved by grace, then you have to conclude that God gave you what He has not given others.

If your relationship with God is based upon what you did that others were unwilling to do, then your salvation is in perpetual jeopardy; you cannot have assurance of salvation. For what you did to establish this relationship with God you can undo. Your security is then based on your performance, not God’s. If you conclude that people are responsible for their alienation from God, you are correct. But never allow this fact to dull your appreciation of His grace.