Grace Isn’t What It Used To Be. Thank God.

Four Ways I’ve Come to Understand Grace and What they Reveal about Faith, Growth, and Meaning.

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In the late 1990s, an interview in Rolling Stone magazine caught my eye. It featured an image of a punk rock pastor—tattoos, tattered clothes, and all. His name? Jay Bakker.

Yes, that Jay Bakker. The son of Jim and Tammy Faye.

In case you don’t remember, the Bakkers were at the center of some scandals in the ’80s (including sex scandals). Jim Bakker ended up in prison for fraud.

As I recall, Jay said in that interview that the greatest lesson he learned from his father was the importance of Grace. Even though Jim’s former Evangelical friends had abandoned him, he still insisted on forgiving them.

That stuck with me. It was a powerful message to hear in the late ’90s: the Gospel, at its core, is all about Grace.

But that raises the question: What exactly is “Grace”?

So, What Is Grace?

Funny thing about that question: everyone thinks they know the answer…until they are asked it.

It should be easy to define, right? After all, Grace is central to Christian teaching.

But if you think it’s easy, you’d be wrong.

I never really faced the question myself until a Christian Doctrine class in seminary. When I heard it, I was dumbstruck. (Yeah, imagine me speechless.)

To contrast Grace with what it wasn’t, my professor said, “Grace is not a Scooby Snack.” It was his way of poking fun at the old (medieval) theology of transubstantiation.

Transubstantiation dealt with what happens to the bread and wine during the Eucharist. The idea was that the ordained priest had a special role that nobody else could fulfill. His ordination gave him the power to transform the substance of the bread and wine into the actual substance of Christ’s body and blood. As the priest offered parishioners the elements, he transferred the merit of Christ (and the saints) to the recipient, thus taking away the weight of their sins.

In medieval Europe, this understanding of Grace served a function within that cultural context: it solidified the Church’s power. After all, if you wanted the grace necessary for salvation, you had to go through the official channels—the priesthood. That gave clerics considerable social status and authority.

Of course, today we understand how the church functions differently than they did in the Middle Ages. And I suspect very few modern Christians use the lens of transubstantiation.

What I want to point out here is that the concept of Grace is functional. The way we understand it serves a greater purpose, depending on where we are in our spiritual lives (I like to think of this as our “personal spiritual context”).

Today, I want to explore the question “What is Grace?” with an eye to faith development and how our understanding of Grace evolves as we grow spiritually.

Of course, this is not in-depth research. This article is based off what I’ve personally experienced and observed in others. However, It is also informed by my academic understanding of faith development for Christians, which is an important topic of study for me.

So, let's dive right in.

Postmodern culture is experiencing a meaning crisis.

Why have we lost sight of Meaning?
Is there any hope of getting it back?
Better yet, is the loss of Meaning really a bad thing?

If you long for a path forward, my theology book Drinking from an Empty Glass: Living Out of a Meaningless Spirituality is the book you’re looking for.

Salvation by Grace through faith

“Who is your Lord and Savior?”
”Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.”

That’s Question #2 in a standard Presbyterian baptismal liturgy—a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

In my tradition, we emphasize that we are all human beings are flawed. None of us is perfect. So, salvation doesn't come to us through anything we do. Rather, it comes to us through our connection to Christ. Hence, we receive “salvation by Grace through faith.” For some, that means faith “in” Christ. For others, it refers to the faith “of” Christ.

At the most basic level, many Christians who lean into this theology understand Grace as the power behind belief (which equates to faith). Grace is the love of God in our lives and it calls us to believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. And it’s important to emphasize that Grace is what makes this belief possible.

We see this connection most fully in Fundamentalist circles. And it is revealed most fully through those who have left them.

Think about those ex-Fundamentalists you know who are now non-Christians. At one time, they believed. They really did. Many of them were church leaders. Others were even evangelists on fire for the Lord, going to the streets to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel (even to people in other countries).

Then, something happened.

They deconstructed. They walked away.

And, how did the remaining Fundamentalists respond?

“They were never ‘real Christians’™ in the first place.” No, they didn’t actually have real faith. If they had, they would never have left.

Of course, the whole accusation is downright laughable. But, that’s the accusation nonetheless. Remaining Fundamentalists truly believe that those who’ve deconstructed were wolves in sheep's clothing all along. It’s the only way they can make sense of such passionate Christians leaving the fold.

Here we see that God’s grace is what empowers someone to be a true believer. If they left the belief behind, they must have never had that saving Grace in the first place.

Grace as Forgiveness

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come...will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38–39

Technically, I could say “Grace as forgiveness” is part of salvation by Grace through faith. But what I want to focus on is how we understand the functional uniqueness of each understanding of Grace. So I’m breaking this off.

As you move beyond black-and-white thinking, you begin to question the content of your faith and ask questions like, “Can God still love me if I don’t believe everything I was taught?”. Or, “Why do I love my non-Christian friends and family so easily, yet a God who is Love Itself supposedly can’t?”

At this stage, Grace becomes less about that which empowers you to believe and more about Divine Presence. Less about wrath, more about Love. Grace becomes more of a relational reality—a divine goodwill in which we live and move and have our being.

As you go through life, you’ll get things wrong. You’ll screw up. You’ll hurt others. You’ll act out of ignorance. And, the guilt will be real.

But here’s the good news: God’s love is not fragile. It’s not contingent. It is divine, unshakeable, and all-consuming.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing you can do that could ever permanently damage your relationship with God. God will always be there for you, come what may.

This understanding of Grace opens things up. The rigid demands of belief fall away. Sure, there are boundaries regarding beliefs, but they come with a lot of wiggle room.

The most important effect of this understanding is that it breaches tribal boundaries. Grace starts to bleed out into the lives of “others”. It may start with you accepting that other Christians who believe differently can also receive God's grace. Then, the idea expands into other religions. It may even culminate into that radical concept of universalism.

The more you reflect on the significance of Grace as forgiveness, the bigger the spiritual tent in which you dwell becomes.

Grace empowers us to proclaim the Kingdom of God

Up to this point, the focus of Grace is all about a personal relationship with God. But, as “Grace as forgiveness” weakens tribal boundaries, it draws our attention outward. We start seeing others as human beings trying to get through life, not unlike ourselves. And we start to identify more with them in their humanity. We begin to deeply relate to those who struggle.

As our sense of identification with humanity itself grows, a new empathic connection starts to emerge. We all know what it’s like to be pushed aside, and we don’t like it. When we see others being marginalized, we feel their pain, and we don’t like that either.

As a result of this empathic connection, your understanding of Grace is ready to shift once again…

Now, Grace is less about you and your salvation and more about the salvation of those who have become victims in your society.

This leads to a radical shift in mindset. Rather than thinking about “From what am I saved?”, you start to think more about “For what am I saved?”

And what is it for which you are saved?

The proclamation of the Gospel.

When Jesus began his ministry in the Gospel of Mark, he boldly proclaimed, “‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” (Mark 1:15, NRSVUE)

And that’s the core of the Gospel message: The Kingdom of God has come near.

In the same way that the realization of the Kingdom of God was the purpose of Jesus, so too does it become your purpose. As you continue to proclaim the Kingdom with your words and deeds, you become Christ’s voice, hands, and feet in this world. Just as the proclamation of the Kingdom was the animating purpose of Jesus’ life, so too does it become yours.

Driven to proclaim the Kingdom of God, a realization sets in. The poor in the Bible aren't just the poor. “The poor” are a symbol of those who have been marginalized in society. Social justice, then, becomes a primary concern. And at the end of the day, it's not about the issue on the table, it's about the people who are being marginalized.

Are you going to be absolutely sure that you are on the right side of history when taking social-justice stands? No, you’re not. We are all human beings who make mistakes. And it is always possible that we are making mistakes in our stands. But Grace is still there as your safety net.

So this understanding of Grace as empowering the proclamation of the Kingdom of God begins a decentering and recentering process. The self and one's own concerns are deprioritized, and those who have been marginalized are prioritized.

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Grace as the very fabric of the universe itself

“Grace is not a Scooby Snack.”

My doctrine professor was very adamant about that. But what was Grace for him?

The Presence of God.

When we look back through the previous three understandings of Grace, it is possible to connect them with a certain understanding of the Presence of God.

For those who emphasize Grace as the power to believe, it is the Presence of God specifically within their community. After all, Grace calls them into the believing community so they can be in right-relationship with God.

For those who emphasize Grace as forgiveness, the Presence of God is allowed to flow outside of their own community. Other tribes are allowed to experience it. And for some Christians, that includes even other religions. But there's still a sense of boundaries—a functional container for God's Presence.

Then we have those who emphasize Grace as empowering the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Grace is no longer seen as contained by a tribal identity. It is a power that insists on radical transformation, especially social transformation. But, still, it is bound within a container. It may no longer be an identifiable social group, but an ideological container that emphasizes certain principles and values is still a container.

In all three of those, there is a common core. They all try to address the questions:

1. “Where is God,” and

2. “Where is God not?”

Which brings us to our last understanding of Grace…

Grace is the unifying dynamic of the universe that binds it all as one, and in doing so unleashes new possibilities.

The very nature of this understanding of Grace affirms and undermines every single previous understanding of Grace. In fact, I would say that it challenges it to the extent that we dare not even talk about it as an “understanding of Grace” at all, but rather a certain qualitative experience of it.

When we experience Grace in this way, it shifts us out of a religious or ideological mindset by expanding our sense of belonging to a universal level.

Everything that exists is a manifestation of Grace.

That includes me, you, this planet, and indeed the entire universe itself. Everything is a manifestation of Grace. Indeed, to the point that you can say...

You are Grace Itself.

This kind of experience can radically transform your sense of purpose in this world. You now have a new calling: To become a unitive singularity—to become a point in which time and Eternity interpenetrate and bleed into one another.

And, our human task is to wake up to this Reality with its Divine Calling. Inasmuch as you awaken to it, you naturally start to become that singularity. With every single fiber of your being, you are allowing yourself to become a manifestation of Creativity, Life, and Hope in this world.

Related to this article is my “Layers of Faith” ebook that explores how our understanding of “faith” changes as we mature.

As you grow, your faith will change

As you can see, there are many ways to understand Grace. And each new perspective reflects a shift in your faith—how you relate to your sense of Ultimacy.

Asking what you believe Grace is and how it works within your life of faith is an important spiritual question. It helps you to identify your place in the grand scheme of things and your overall purpose.

So, don’t stop with asking "What is Grace?”. Also ask how your understanding has changed throughout your life.

• What did you learn about it as a child?

• What did you believe about it as a teenager?

• What about during your young adulthood?

• How did you get to where you are today with your current understanding?

Everybody wants to live a meaningful life. But that’s really hard to do if you don’t know what it is that you experience as “meaningful” in the first place. And these are the kinds of questions that facilitate such self-awareness.

Once you have it, you can start to live more intentionally, more aligned with your personal potential. And I believe it is this intentionality that will lead you to become who you were truly meant to be.

So, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Don’t be afraid to explore.

Don’t be afraid to grow.

And may you become a little more graceful in everything you do with each rising and setting of the sun.

Peace, Bo
www.evolvingchristianfaith.net

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Credits

• Thanks to DALL-E for the cover art

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