Grace

Greek word - (charis G5485)

Quiz - Choose the answer that is closest to what you think GRACE is.
A - generosity
B - unmerited favor
C - God's Riches At Christ's Expense
D - thanks

Problem - Outdated, Misused

KJV Example - "persuaded them to continue in the grace of God" (Acts 13:43b).

Explanation

Today grace is a hard word to define, but it hasn't always been that way. Go back to the twelfth century AD. Back then grace was a secular word used in every day life outside of the church. Today it is not.

Yet grace is frequently used in churches today because today's Bible versions have dragged this word into the twenty-first century where very few know its real meaning. Some have taken advantage of this and reshaped grace into a special Bible word.

Two definitions are commonly given for grace: the acronym - God's Riches At Christ's Expense and unmerited favor.

The acronym has given rise to a popular explanation of grace as being what God has given to us through Jesus. One problem with this is that the Bible often uses grace apart from God and Jesus.

The definition of unmerited favor has problems of its own. What is favor? Is it saying that God favors some people over others? Is it saying that God does certain people a favor? If you replace the word, grace, in the Bible with unmerited favor, it does not fit.

Many latch on to the unmerited part of this definition and insist that grace is something that is unmerited, unearned. That is what grace is not. Grace is not merited. Grace is not earned. We need to cross over to what grace is.

Charis is the Greek word for grace, but charis is not always translated as grace. It actually is translated eleven different ways in the King James Version. We can get a hint to the meaning of grace from two of these. One is gracious. Of course, gracious comes from the word, grace. We know what gracious means. Grace would be similar then to graciousness. The other word is liberality. Liberality is an old word that means generosity. This is the meaning of grace, generosity. Grace is generosity.

Charis can be translated as generosity every time. It fits.

When you use the word, grace, don't you hide God's message? If you talk about God's grace, what are you talking about? Most people don't know. But when you talk about the generosity of God, everyone knows.

Whenever you see the word, grace, in the Bible replace it with generosity, because in the Bible, grace is generosity.

Modern Synonym - generosity

Bible Version Tally (how other versions translate this word) - grace (41 of 50)

Breakthrough Version - "persuading them to stay in God's generosity" (Acts 13:43b).