My definition of Grace has expanded about a thousand fold in the last few years. If I had to write a definition, it wouldn't be brief.

(I'm sure the more scholarly among us will come and save the day, so I hope you will respect my non-answer.) :-)

Just got told that "unmerited favor" is not a good definition of God's grace, because it doesn't make sense to the average person. Do you have any better suggestions?

I very firmly believe that the Internet is a poor place to attempt to have these kinds of discussions. The Thinklings blog is a great and rare exception in my opinion.

I would question that it doesn't make sense to the average person. If I heard someone say this the first question I would ask is, "Would you explain why that is?" I can understand that favor may be misunderstood. As favor now seems to be the idea that one does something for someone in the short term as, "Would you do me a favor and hand me that pencil, please?" Whereas what I think we mean when we say "unmerited favor" is a very long term thing. I think that by "favor" we mean God lets us live. He is perfect, we are not. We ruined the perfection that he created us to be. Who wouldn't throw what would seem a mistake and start over? For God it wasn't a mistake and I can't pretend to understand that. He has wiped many peoples out at many times but He has always saved a remnant.

The idea that we deserve to be annihilated, I'm sure, is quite foreign to many people but it is by God's grace, or unmerited favor that He continues to put up with us and allows us life.

This is my take on it, I hope it helps. If you have questions I would love to continue the conversation.

Grace= something you can't earn

"Unmerited favor" does not do a good job of defining grace because it presents only part of the picture. "Favor notwithstanding demerits" gets a bit closer.

But this does not resolve the question. We have still used technical lingo. Ie, tho each of the terms has plain language understanding (one could find examples from a local newspaper), people are hard wired to avoid the clear meanings. Furthermore, none of us can of ourselves get across that meaning, at least not by ourselves. The Spirit promises to do so as we share the Gospel. (Either as a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. God's Word does not return void.)

Put still another way: sure, a short phrase such as "Grace is what we get not only when we haven't merited it, but when we have merited wrath" does give a working definition. But that's like a working defintion for any complex, big, involved topic. (Eg, Quantum Mechanics tells about what happens at the sub atomic level.) There's much more to be said.

I've always liked:

Grace = Getting what you don't deserve
Mercy = Not getting what you do deserve
Justice = Getting "just" what you deserve

Yikes...Bono said it best?!! How more confusing or inaccessible is a phrase like "travels outside of karma" not only does it use a totally non-Christian and unrealistic jargon term like karma but it also uses a highly stylistic phrase like "travels outside" that doesn't speak to the average joe. "travels outside" doesn't say to me "doesn't work like". Anyway, I have an acrostic phrase that I don't believe is any more "accessible" than unmerited favor it is "God's Righteousness At Christ's Expense"

Yes.....as I read the other anecdotal and cliched definitions of grace here that don't move me, Bono by far said it best. (IMHO - which was all I was offering in the first place).

Man! I was trying to be all nice and uncontroversial and not give my own take on the Bono line, and I get insulted anyway (along with everyone else here). Thanks a lot nhe! :-)

I have a friend who's a pastor here in the Bible belt, and he speaks of the constant need to delineate Christianity from religion in his sermons. I think that all religion tends to be basically repackaged karma. This is true even of some modern evangelical preaching, sadly. So I like the Bono quote-most people understand karma (as a generic "what you do will come back to you" system), and the idea of something traveling outside of it is instantly intriguing.

Not to mention, that clearly and quickly encapsulates the religion/grace divide that is so often missed by those we're trying to reach.

God's unconditional love for us.

Take care & God bless
Anne / WF

I know - hence my smiley. I was just tweakin' ya.

:-)

I think Bono did a good job of explaining some of the things that grace does, but I'll also say I don't think the song was an attempt to define the word.

It kind of reminds me of when people use Titus 2:11-14 to try and define grace. I think that passage is a beautiful explanation of what grace does, but not a definition of what it is.

Anyone ever read Barrington Bunny? Grace is "a gift, a free gift, with no strings attached"

A friend of mine posted this a while back on his blog, and I thought it was an interesting picture of the role of grace as compared to mercy and faith:

"Mercy is like going to trial for assault and battery and the judge giving you probation instead of putting you in jail.
Grace is like that same judge paying for counseling sessions so that you can learn to not pummel the next person that makes you angry.
Faith is like trusting that that judge is the real deal and taking him up on the counseling sessions."

I agree that grace (like love) is a concept that is just too wide and wonderful to be encapsulated in a few words. But I think it's certainly worth trying, anyway, if for no other reason than to allow us to reexamine our own views, get a fresh glimpse of it, and realize how undefinable and immeasurable God's grace truly is.

@ nhe OUCH! no intent to "slam" just my sensitive ears hearing another attempt to elevate Bono to heights I don't (imho) think he deserves. And I must be below the average joe since I still don't hear "traveling outside of" as saying "works differently than". I also always balk at using words like karma when discussing true and real ideas like grace. I agree that the word karma has become mainstream...I just chafe at that fact.

Like C.S. Lewis did with the word "Tao" in "The Abolition of Man", Bono is using an eastern word/concept to make what he believes to be a universally true point.

Here is Bono, in an interview, speaking briefly on grace and karma:

Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

Bono: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.

Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.

Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.

Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled… . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.



Shrode, I personally like your shorthand definition of grace. But I also agree with your critic. I don't think it's very accessible to the average person on the street. Not that it's totally unintelligible. Just not as accessible as you might want it to be. But all brief definitions fall short and like someone above said, stories/illustrations often make the point even better. Maybe just keep a stack of copies of Yancey's book "What's so Amazing About Grace?" to hand out.