'Grace', a mistranslated word and misunderstood concept
The word charis, often translated 'grace' is quite heavily used in the New Testament. For many Christians and denominations, particular understandings of 'grace' shape their understanding of Christianity. Even though it means different things to different Christians, 'grace' (charis) is commonly heavily used and an important theological and emotional term. It is therefore, in my view, immensely important to accurately understand the meaning of the Greek word charis as it was understood by the original writers and readers of the New Testament. A multitude of sins, eisegesis, and bad theology, can be built on a misunderstanding of this word.
Amongst Classics scholars there is no debate as to what this word means. Surviving documents from the ancient world contain hundreds of passages that give us great clarity about their understanding of charis and the role this word and its concepts played in their society. Charis was the key-word in what scholars call "the reciprocity system". This system operated according to time-delay exchanges where goods were given and then at a later time goods of relatively equal value were returned to the giver. These goods could be tangible (money, material goods) or intangible (public acclaim, authority). An obligation existed to repay favors owed, they were not 'free' in the sense we would understand it - it is just like when a bank gives you a loan the money is not 'free'. (It is due to this reciprocal nature of the transactions that scholars label it the Reciprocity System.) Essentially the system was an informal system of economics. The word charis itself is best translated with the English "favor" in the sense of talking about favors given and favors repaid. Greek makes no linguistic distinction between the first favor given and the second favor to repay it, calling each a charis. Greek also uses charis to refer to a positive attitude toward someone - we would speak in English of this as "regarding them favorably" or "having their favor".
Of course, a century or more ago, such information simply wasn't available. People interpreting charis in the Bible had to use what information they had and try to make some sense of it. Reformation Christianity is famous for seeing charis as being "free grace" and being the opposite of human effort. These concepts have heavily influenced many Christians' understandings of 'grace' today, but have nothing to do with the actual meaning of charis in Greek. The translation 'grace' is not a good one, it is not 'free', and it isn't the opposite of human effort.
These historical misinterpretations of 'grace' have led to correspondingly incorrect interpretations of passages that use charis. Romans 4, for example, contrasts the Reciprocity System to a Contractual system (a rather subtle contrast) which has historically been exegeted as the difference between human effort and reliance on 'grace'. Similarly Ephesians 2:8, due to the ambiguity in Greek about givers and receivers of favors clarifies that God is the giver of the favor and we the receiver, and yet this has historically been exegeted as speaking about lack of human effort.
Unfortunately, nothing endures and propagates quite like bad theology. At certain points in history, theologians have constructed theologies based on certain incorrect understandings of 'grace' and these theologies remain influential today and taught as biblical even when scholarship regarding the meaning of these words has long moved on. Mistaken ideas about charis continue to influence many Christians who are convinced that 'grace' means salvation is in no way by human effort.
posted by Andrew at
Friday, February 29, 2008
29 Comments:
I seem to remember DeSilva making a similar point in Honor Patronage, Kinship and Purity. That's one of the things that really stuck out to me in that book.
BTW is seems like you are failing to take into account the different 'senses' of the word charis as well as the fact that charis is defined by it's context. Instead you seem to want to jump right into making charis a particular concept or technical term and then read that into the NT whever it's used. This is the same mistake people make when they see the word charis as being equivalent to a theological concept of the English word grace.
I'm sure charis was probably used in reciprocity language however that does not mean it was the only context charis was used in or that that particular usage must be transferred to the other scenarios in which charis is used in the NT.
Blessings,
Bryan L
In understanding the meanings of Charis we obviously have to take into account biblical usage just as we take into account usage from other ancient greek documents. There is no substantial difference between the two, so this is not really an issue. Charis does have a few more meanings in Greek not directly related to the reciprocity system, which are not overly relevant. In choosing to use Charis the NT writers choose to use a particular word that was associated with particular concepts in the minds of their readers - they didn't have to use such a word, but they chose to.
The problem I am trying to point out is that many Christians understandings of key theological concepts like Charis, predate a decent understanding of Greek. In the nineteenth century many believed that koine Greek was a 'heavenly dialect' of Greek because of the lack of other surviving documents written in koine Greek. As a result their ideas about what koine Greek words meant were derived from almost entirely from the bible and their theology, and from attempts to reconstruct the etymology of words (this is now seen as a really inaccurate linguistics technique).
Since that time we have discovered thousands and thousands of koine Greek documents and we are in a much better position to understand the meanings of Greek words. Charis is a word which scholars have gained a great deal of knowledge about the meaning of as and there have been plenty of studies done in this area. In recent years scholars have also become far more interested in understanding how society work in the ancient world and understanding the role words took within that social framework. Our understanding of Charis, has, as my post made clear, been something that has greatly benefited from this type of study.
The problem is now that Christian theological preconceptions about 'what grace means' that have been passed down by tradition from times when they were just guessing, are so ingrained within many Christian communities that they refuse to give way to actual evidence.
It may seem like my post hasn't 'proved' my case, and that I'm therefore being overly hasty in my conclusions. Of course my post itself hasn't proved anything, I'm just reporting the conclusions of dozens of books an articles written by scholars on the subject.
Again Andrew I think you are investing more meaning into the word charis than is actually there and making the same mistake that people who you are criticizing are.
"Charis does have a few more meanings in Greek not directly related to the reciprocity system, which are not overly relevant."
As far as I know there is really only one lexeme of charis and various senses (4 main ones I think) so then what sense does the meaning you are arguing for charis apply to?
"The problem I am trying to point out is that many Christians understandings of key theological concepts like Charis, predate a decent understanding of Greek."
The problem is that the whole idea of the theological concept of charis is related to the critcism's Barr made of the TDNT years ago and the idea that words have special theological meaning that the writers of the NT have invested into them so that they have new or different meanings (such as agape). Maybe you could speak about the NT's view of grace but you would have to take into account more words than just charis. It would be wrong to talk of the theological concept of charis.
You stated that you were "reporting the conclusions of dozens of books an articles written by scholars on the subject."
Any of them you'd care to list?
Thanks.
Blessings,
Bryan L
Andrew, I'm not quite sure if I understand the reciprocity systems you have in mind. But I rather think you mean something like the following: A gives something to B (described in Greek as charis). A expects B to give something in return. If B does not give in return, B is considered to be a bad person, and will not receive further charis at least from A. But A will not attempt to retrieve from B the previously given charis; indeed A has no right to do so because formally it was a gift.
Let's put this into theological language. A is now God, and the charis given is eternal salvation. God gives salvation to B. B is expected to give something back to God, in this case obedience and loving service. If B does not give this, B is considered to be a bad person, and will not receive from God the further rewards offered to a faithful believer. But God will not attempt to withdraw from B the salvation already given and promised.
So there is no inconsistency, I think, between what you write and orthodox Christian teaching. You are certainly not contradicting the position "that 'grace' means salvation is in no way by human effort".
Peter,
As you point it, it still could potentially be the case that given an improved understanding of charis that the NT teaches a post-Augustinian concept of grace. A better understanding of the word doesn't in and of itself disprove any given theological concept, but the exegesis that results from taking it into account might. Obviously I haven't done that in my post.
Grace - the desire and power to do God's will
Grace is the work of the Holy Spirit
Most of the NT concert was not come out of the blue, NT writer were Hebrew themselves and here is some studies on the same word in Hebrew.
http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/058.html#biblicalword
Thnx for this point Arista. The fact is that the writers were Hebrews in a Greek world, so much of the language used was to take Biblical truths and connect them to the Greek reality. The thing is as believers our main focus and objective should be to confess, believe in Christ and honor God by spreading the Gospel to those in darkness. Let us not argue about interpretation of Scripture and find ourselves turning into the very people Christ came to deliver us from. (Religious leaders) Be Blessed
Been doing a study on grace and stumbled across this blog. Some great input here. Thanks to all of you who has a love for God's word.
Here is my understanding of charis.
I think all the input above on this word has merit. I especially agree with Andrew’s statements concerning the tendency of Christians to embrace and hold on to bad interpretations in spite of differing evidence.
Andrew wrote:
“A multitude of sins, eisegesis, and bad theology, can be built on a misunderstanding of this word.”
“Unfortunately, nothing endures and propagates quite like bad theology. At certain points in history, theologians have constructed theologies based on certain incorrect understandings of 'grace' and these theologies remain influential today and taught as biblical even when scholarship regarding the meaning of these words has long moved on. Mistaken ideas about charis continue to influence many Christians who are convinced that 'grace' means salvation is in no way by human effort.”
Andrew make a good point here but I disagree with his conclusion that grace is a human effort. Someone else mentioned above that we can not forget the work of the Holy Spirit and His influence when it comes to spiritual language. Let's look at the Strong’s definition or the word:
Let’s look at the Strong’s definition of the word and then let me give my intreptation of charis for consideration.
G5485
χάρις
charis
khar'-ece
From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): - acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
Notice one important point that Strong makes; “…the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.” It is a manner or act of God upon the life of the believer.
“The reciprocity system"? Yes. God gives believers divine influence expecting them to do something with it, so that a reflection of God’s life can be seen in the believers life. Look at Titus 2:11 with the consideration of this meaning and see how it brings understanding to the passage.
Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God, (that is His divine influence upon our hearts and its reflection in our lives which fills us with gratitude) that grace which defends and saves, has appeared to all men.
Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;…”
You see, the meaning of the word, I believe is, that grace is the empowering influence of God upon our hearts so that it causes us to express a life of gratitude and thus live soberly, righteously, etc in this present world. God give us something but expects a return, mainly thanksgiving.
Here is my paraphrase of Titus 2:11.
Titus 2:11 "For the Divine Influence upon our hearts and it's reflection in our lives fills us with gratitude, that same Divine Influence that defends and saves us has appeared not just to us but to all men." (Paraphrase)
Think on this and post your thoughts.
You guys are talking about the right meaning of the word grace. Most Christians today parrot the meaning as; "Unmerited Favor". However, this is closer to the Hebrew meaning. The NT meaning is what you have pointed out, "The Divine Influence upon the heart and it's reflection in the life."
Grace is a Divine attribute. That's why Christianity is the only religion in the world that understands this word. It's because our God, the one and only true God who is a God of grace. It says in John 1:17 "For the law was given by Moses, but grace (God's Divine Influence upon our hearts and lives) and truth came by Jesus Christ."
A good passage to see this Divine Infuence in action is recorded in 2 Cor 12:9. Paul had prayed three times that God would remove the influence of the pesky demon that was following him, but it was not sent away by Jesus. Instead Jesus says to Paul in verse 9, "My grace is sufficent for thee..." The words "for thee" are in the Dative Case, showing that it was because of Christ's Divine Influence that Paul was strengthend to endure the pressure, and as a result was full of gratitude as recorded in verse 10.
Here is how I translated verse 9.
And He said to me, My Divine influence upon your heart and life is enough to defend and strengthen you; for my power is accomplished through weakness. So then, with much gratitude I would rather boast in my weakness, so that the miracle power of Christ will rest upon me.
Grace is that miracle power of Christ working in us and through us as a result of us abiding in Him.
Let's look at Paul's definition of Grace:
"And if by grace, then is it no longer of works: otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is because of works, then is it no longer grace: otherwise work is no longer work."
This proves that grace means "unmerited" "not deserved" and "not earned".
Thus, grace by the New Testament definition is still a gift that is "unmerited" by the recipient. The fact that the recipient responds to it with gratitude and service can in no way imply that the recipient is "paying" for the grace received. Jesus Christ "paid" for it with His own blood, so there is no need for someone else to PAY for it. "You are bought with a price" (Paul), "with the precious blood of Christ..." (Peter)
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Bryan L, You are doing just what you are accusing him of doing. I'm just sayin', when you posture like you have such a big point, it's probably good to NOT be guilty of doing what you accuse....
Andrew,
Here's how I apply what you have presented. AND MAN does this make much more sense to things in the NT.
First, as I've understood it before, Grace is like a coin. The heads side is salvific. OOoooo it's the pretty side, the face of God Himself, wait, in the western protestant churches there is no God there is just Jesus and the Holy "ghost". BUT we all love the salvation side, and we look at the pretty side of the coin all day long. We get snarky over it even.
The tails side of the coin is works. Oooooooo nassy nassy works, my preshus! NO WORKS My preshus! This is an evil thing in western protestant churches.... Just say the word and you get a preaching to. Eph 2:10 you were saved to do those works.
Gal 5:6 the most important theological argument of Paul's day, one he was SO emotionally charged over he wished the offenders mangle their genitals, was NOT IMPORTANT BUT FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE was. Or Eph 4:11-13 where the follower of the plan of The Way grew to Spiritual Maturity, to the level of the fullness of Christ's Spiritual Maturity, grew to maturity through works.
The parable of the vine, has a branch that holds fruit. It bears fruit. The Church today gets really, errrr, proud(?), over their fruit. (read the book unChristian, fix that ailment). But Christ is the vine. The role of the vine is to provide nutrition to the branch, grow the branch, hold the branch up, break the branch off and starve it off if it's not doing it's job. BUT IF THE BRANCH BEARS FRUIT... the vine makes the fruit. The branch is just blessed enough, that the Grace of the Vine let the branch bear this fruit of the Vine.
If you cut this coin, the heads/salvific side and the tails/works side in twain, and look at the face of each side of the coin, you hold a coin with no value. You can't spend the heads side anywhere, no matter how pretty it is. It holds no value.
As you present the word for Grace, it appears etymologically the word supports what I understood from context.
As such it strengthens my position, and I feel it's a position that if the Church doesn't learn the difference, may in fact destroy itself. (Again read the book unChristian).
I'd love to know of any (multiple denoms and cultures if possible) others who have commented on this so I can reference people to them. I'd also like some guidance on what other sources have used the word so I can be prepared for the, errrrr, staunch conservative, evangelical, neo-con who doesn't really understand more than the average parrot or crow can repeat....
Forgive my cynicism, but the reason for it is well documented.
Thank you for giving me a new thought to pursue.
bd
I found this by a search on Grace/unmerited favor since my grandson's apologetics teacher argued it was just "a gift".
Can a dead man do anything? Does a dead man desire GOD, or to please Him in any way? Does a dead man who was condemned to be eternally absent from GOD, find merit with GOD on his own fruition? The dead man who is consumed with lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, everyone doing what's right in their eyes somehow now is alive to GOD on their own and desires GOD and HIS ways. I say NO! He is DEAD, corrupt in his sin, both original from Adam and by his sin nature. Without GRACE/UNMERITED favor with GOD he is lost. Even the very Word he needs to hear to believe is Given by God, Jesus the Logos=Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Faith he needs to believe the Gospel is given to him by GOD and it is GOD who places him In Christ as Christ's Body; many members He the head! Only man's pride would have it any other way. Only his inability to see his depravity would think he somehow has part in it. Satan owns the sinner;"your father, the devil" Salvation=It is ALL GOD, by Grace through Faith In Jesus Christ, not our faith, but Jesus' Faith!
Ephesians 2 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
(notice not of yourselves)
You can not convince me otherwise, I follow Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, given by Christ Himself. (All scripture is given to instruct and to edify, but as a gentile I am not of the commonwealth of Israel and so there are differences in the Gospels between sons and servants. The son's are by Faith and make the one new man, there's also Israel, the remnant out of National Israel.)
In terms of man doing something for Grace, and the reciprocity aspect of the word, I used the following thought to make a lot of evangelical Calvinists really mad at me.
God saved Moses by parting the Red Sea.
Why did GOD have moses do the work?
Very short yet profound brad dickey..
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Let us be reminded that the word grace, or rather it's interpreted meaning, was not first understood by a Greek system which is where Charis comes from . The understanding of Grace came first and foremost through a Hebraical system which may be understood more as Hesed. In light of the comments mentioning that other meanings of grace do not necessarily apply to the misinterpretation of the one, I respectfully disagree. The word grace in Greek is by far one of the most intricate Greek words there is. Mercy, loving kindness, love and steadfast love, along with many other English transliterations mean the same thing, grace. To disconnect one meaning is to separate the entirety of its significance. If it is by grace through faith we are saved, then we understand that faith is not what saves us but the very grace of God(eph. 2:8). Grace in many cases is referred to as a gift in the New Testament, which is generally understood as something freely given freely received. Grace is always in direct correlation with righteousness (Rom. 3:21-25). You cannot interpret one words meaning by the word alone, you must view the word grace through a holistic canonical outlook. The same would be true for the message of Christ, you would never understand Him alone just by knowing what His name means in the Greek. You must view His redemption through the entirety of the infallible inerrant Word of God. To see the word grace through one meaning is to see through foggy lenses. "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" (eph 2:8).
Swordchief wrote
Some good thoughts, comments and opinions. I find it most useful to allow ALMIGHTY GOD'S Holy Word to do the teaching as to what HE means grace to be. That's right, GOD spoke HIS Holy Word and had it recorded in such a way that it will interpret itself. GOD never meant for man to interpret HIS Holy Word. No, HE commanded us to diligently search with our whole heart and we would know HIM, and the understanding of the Holy Words that HE spoke and had recorded. With that in mind maybe the following verses of Holy Scripture will help us to receive HIS understanding of this matter, at least for those who choose to believe what HIS words say and not follow the traditions of man.
Genesis 6:8-9
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. KJV
This is the first verse where the word grace is used in Holy Scripture.
OT:2580 Grace
chen (khane); from OT:2603; graciousness, i.e. subjective (kindness, favor) or objective (beauty)
Note that it can be used two different ways subjectively indicating (kindness, favor) or objective as beauty. In Genesis 6:8 GOD'S Word is speaking of the kindness/favor the Noah found or received from GOD. This was subjective grace, kindness/ favor. Subjective meaning it was subject to how ALMIGHTY GOD looked on or viewed Noah. How was Noah seen in GOD' eyes, well it tells us in the next verse, Genesis 6:9
Genesis 6:9
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. KJV
Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with GOD.
If grace was/is GOD'S unmerited / undeserved favor, why did not those undeserving people who perished in the flood receive GOD'S grace/favor?
They were not walking with GOD as Noah did.
There is not respect of persons with GOD as the following verses of Holy Scripture points out.
Acts 10:34
Romans 2:11
Ephesians 6:9
Colossians 3:25
James 2:1
1 Peter 1:17
2 Peter 3:11
However GOD does note how a man lives as is pointed out in the next verse of Holy Scripture.
1 Peter 1:16-17
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: KJV
Mr. Dickey above was on the right path.
Noah was obedient, he walked with GOD, and this account of Noah finding grace with GOD sets the manner in which all mankind will receive grace from GOD, OBEDIENCE it is man's part of the covenant, and that is what grace is a covenant. The New Testament word grace has a definition with two parts. 1. DIVINE OR GODLY INFLUENCE UPON THE HEART, (spirit), and 2. it's reflection in life to include gratitude back to GOD.
More verse about grace that should help our understanding.
Psalms 84:11-12
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. KJV
Proverbs 3:21-22
21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. KJV
Proverbs 3:33-34
33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. KJV
Proverbs 4:7-9
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. KJV
be blessed
I found the postings very interesting. I am wondering though if part of our difficulty in understanding "grace" is our not completely understanding salvation. We have prevenient grace and irresistible grace. Is our understanding of grace governed by which camp we have pitched our tents in?
Our understanding of all things are influenced by what camp we have pitched our tent, but is governed by what we allow ourselves to believe in. If we truly pitch our tent in Jesus The Christ, the Holy Word of ALMIGHTY GOD, we believe in what the Holy Word teaches us and not man's traditional teachings. Understanding what salvation is will come from understanding the difference between salvation and eternal life, they are not the same thing but are very closely connected.
Christ spoke about who His Father is and how humans are required to have the same personality His Father has towards humans.
we are commanded to give grace also to one another.
my opinion is that if one has really received Jesus then you have found the supreme grace of God and the results of that is you automatically being willing to love God & mankind and ultimately being empowered to do so(bearing much fruit)
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Greetings brother, you lost me with last paragraph...I hope you have learned in the 6 years since you first wrote this.
For you said,
"Unfortunately, nothing endures and propagates quite like bad theology"
Consider more carefully the things you write, are they from the spirit of truth?
1 Jon 2:16--"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."
No, false teachings and perversions of the truth (bad theology) will not remain forever. I understand that you were just making a point, but you're using a lie to make a point.
Also, it seems you have not prayed for insight to understand that only God's spirit teaches us.
"This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."
(Is 48:17)
Have you not heard, that only the spirit of God saves and that your creature/sarx/flesh is good for nothing?
It was God our savior who said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life." (John 6:63)
This is why it says, 12 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
Oh to tremble with fear and reverence before the mighty one of Jacob! I yearn for this fear. I pray that it will be yours.
Thank you for this article it brings great clarity to the misconception that grace is simply unmerited favor. This definition is simply inconsistent with Jesus Teaching in Matthew 7 when he taught that those who do the will of His Father would enter in. That definition is also inconsistent with James 4 where He declares God give more Grace to the Humble, this implies that their is the human effort of Humility and the scripture goes on to admonish the believers to Humble themselves. Understanding the common use of that day is very insightful because the New Testament Letters are written to Gentiles who were not of Hebrew background but rather secular in their understanding. Thanks again for this insight.
My research revealed that 1)MOST of what Christian theology says is the truth, isn't; and 2)in fact, the truth is the exact opposite! CHARIS is a prime example of 1) and 2) above. CHARIS is neither UNmerited, nor is it favor, but CHARIS is MERITED reciprocal JOY between the Giver (God/Jesus/Spirit and the receiver of God's joy, ie, the individual who pleases, delights and produces JOY for God by OBEYING Him. EG: Noah. The root base of CHARIS is CHARA=joy. Furthermore, Strong's definition is a prime example of one brainwashed by false traditions of apostate Augustine/Luther/Calvin and passing his errors on to the deceived whole of Christianity. Strong erroneously states that CHARIS is "divine influence upon the heart...." Oh really? Says who? Where did he get that definition? Answer: (False) Traditions of apostate Christianity from Augustine on through the socalled Reformers through to the Present.
Andrew's enlightening article is correct, historically true and exposing darkness/errors of traditions of men (such as Strong, Luther, etc. and many of the commenters above.
I have read Andrew's article, and found it most disturbing, but quite enlightening. Grace is never free. It was paid for by the shed blood of the MESSIAH.
I like Andrew's allegory to banking. The gives someone a loan, in good faith, and the person who receives the loan is expected to pay it back in time, with interest. To further this line of thought, I'd ask you to consider the parable of the talents......
Servants of the LORD are expected to multiply what has been given to them, ie, bear fruit. This is never a singular transaction. Fruit bearing produces a multiplication of 30, 60, and a hundred fold. The man who buried his talent (Divine investment) was called "unfruitful". And he was cast out.
Andrew's comments are quite profound and enlightening. I will have to rethink much of my theology with his information in line. Thank you Andrew for stepping up to the plate, and hitting a home run.
Articles such as this point out the danger of selecting a single word describing the nature of God's salvation and basing one's entire theology upon the definition and possible uses of that word. It is true that the Greek word charis does not inherently carry with it the concept of "free." In fact, this very word is used regarding Jesus who "grew in wisdom and in "favor" with God and men." I don't think that the charis which Jesus received from his Father was an unmerited favor but was fully His Father's reciprocal reaction to the sort of person Jesus was and the sort of things he did.
But, within the context of the gospel, the apostles were careful to distinguish the way THEY used xaris. In Romans 3, Paul said that we are justified freely by His grace, the word “freely” indicating “without a cause,” as in “they hated me (i.e., Jesus) without a cause” in John 15.25. So, from this Scripture, we see that God’s justification by grace cannot be considered a reciprocal action by God in response to something we have done. We no more deserve or earn God’s grace than Christ deserved or earned man’s hatred .
In Romans 4.4,5 Paul says, “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a obligation, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” Once again, we see that God’s works of salvation are not based upon what we do and, therefore, cannot be considered a reciprocal response to anything we have done. Verse 16 goes on to say, “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace.” Seeing that verse 5 sets faith in contrast to works, it is appears rather clear that Paul’s use of the word grace in reference to the cause of our salvation always excludes any actions done by us as a prerequisite. In other words, God’s grace in salvation is not a reciprocal action to something we have done.
Ephesians 2.8,9 also contrasts faith and works and defines works as anything in which a person might boast. The faith which is the gift of God cannot be counted as a work, therefore, no one can boast in it.
In Romans 11. 5,6, Paul wrote, “In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” It cannot be clearer that, at least in the mind of Paul, grace is a thing that cannot be earned by us and is not a reciprocal action on the part of God based on our works. Any view of salvation that views God’s grace a reciprocal action on his part runs contrary to Paul’s view of grace.
Seeing that Paul defined his use of the word grace, it is irrelevant how the word was used in the common language of the day. In essence, Paul has said, "By grace, I mean the favor of God extended to us without our having done anything that would move God to show us that grace.”
All the other apostles follow suit.
However, this does not utterly deny the reciprocal nature of charis. We have already shown that Jesus received God’s grace as a reciprocal action on the part of God. In John 1.14-17 we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For FROM HIS FULLNESS WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED, GRACE UPON GRACE. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The grace we receive is a reciprocal response on the part of God, but it is not reciprocal to anything we have done. Rather, the grace that we receive is the grace that Jesus earned. So the twin truths of reciprocal grace and unearned grace are reconciled by the truth that the grace we receive was earned, but it was earned by Christ, not by us.
Exactly! "For by Grace ARE ye saved (not 'were'), "NOT of works (our works) lest anyone should boast."
We ARE saved by WORKS, but by Christ's works, not ours!
The same grace that saved us (past tense) is the SAME grace by which we "ARE" still saved (present tense) so that neither WHEN we got saved, nor even NOW is there any cause for man to boast! Not our works THEN, nor our works NOW! "That NO FLESH should have any cause to glory or brag in His presence."
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