The Great News of God’s Grace
Recently, I was asked if the word grace means love. There are several Greek words for love in the New Testament, foremost among them agape, meaning unconditional love.
However, the Greek word for grace is charis, which means unmerited favor. In our human understanding, we can think that we have to do certain things to be loved and that there is some kind of exchange—a quid pro quo.
We can have the mistaken notion that if we are good enough, God will pay attention to us. If we do good works, if we go to Sunday School every single week, if we read our Bibles, if we fast enough, if we tithe enough, and if we do all these things, then somehow God is going to smile on us.
The great news is that we have the gift of His grace—His unmerited favor. We cannot earn it. We cannot achieve it by works. We receive it simply because of what Jesus has done on our behalf, and because of who we are in Him.
Notice all the times Paul speaks of grace in Ephesians 2:4-10 NKJV:
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We are children of God, and this happens before we are saved. God created Adam and Eve for a garden. He created them for communion with Him. And although that creation was damaged by sin, we are still His children.
Of course, we need to be restored to the family; we need to ask for and receive His forgiveness and salvation. Yet we have His favor. As Romans 5:8 says,
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When we dwell in His favor and in our identity in Him, we are transformed. We are able to boldly come to our Father’s throne of grace because of who He is and how He loves us. God bless you.
~
Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About The Author
GORDON ROBERTSON is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Broadcasting Network, as well as a member of CBN’s Board of Directors. He is also Chancellor of Regent University and the Chairman of the Board of Operation Blessing, CBN’s humanitarian organization.
The son of Pat and Dede Robertson, Gordon graduated from Yale University in 1980 and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee University in 1984. He then practiced law in Norfolk, Virginia, for 10 years.
In 1994, Gordon had a profound encounter with the Lord and moved to the Philippines, where he established CBN Asia. The following year, he founded the Asian Center for Missions (ACM), dedicated to training and sending Asian missionaries throughout the world. ACM is now one of the largest missionary agencies in the Philippines with more than 2,000 graduates trained in cross-cultural missions.
In 1996, Gordon created CBN Asia’s flagship television show, The 700 Club Asia, which is now one of the longest-running Christian television shows in the Philippines and is distributed by satellite around the world. Also in 1996, CBN Asia started a humanitarian organization, Operation Blessing Philippines, which has been recognized as “NGO of the Year” by the Philippine government.
Over the next three years, Gordon launched CBN centers in Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Thailand. He moved back to the United States in 1999 to serve at CBN’s headquarters in Virginia Beach.
As Executive Producer of The 700 Club, Gordon oversees all aspects of programming for the ministry. He hosts CBN’s original flagship program, The 700 Club; as well as 700 Club Interactive, a daily show airing on Freeform and online; and Miracle Living Today.
Gordon has produced a number of documentaries and features as Executive Producer of CBN Films, including:
- Oracles of God: The Story of the New Testament
- Oracles of God: The Story of the Old Testament
- Written in Stone four-part series: House of David, Kings and Prophets, Secrets of the Temple, and Jesus of Nazareth
- The Asbury Awakening
- I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland
- Treasures of the Second Temple
- Christmas: The Story Behind the Traditions
- To Life: How Israeli Volunteers Are Changing the World
- In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem
- The Hope: The Rebirth of Israel
- Whose Land Is It? Jewish and Arab Claims to Israel
- Made in Israel
- Temple of Heaven, filmed in China
Gordon is also Executive Producer of CBN Animation’s Superbook, the reimagined animation series. Its guiding mission is to bring the stories of the Bible to the children of the world in their own languages. With over 65 episodes completed, Superbook has been broadcast to millions of viewers in dozens of languages throughout the world. Other Superbook-themed videos are also being produced and released.
Gordon and his wife, Katharyn, reside in Virginia and have three grown children.
