A recent online article, responding negatively to a lecturer whose ministry focuses on rescuing people from the LGBT lifestyle, noted that a series of meetings conducted by the lecturer in question “defined grace as ‘unmerited favor AND power to overcome sin’” [1]. While it was not entirely clear in context whether the author of this article viewed this definition of grace as erroneous, the language used in the above statement is sufficiently confusing to warrant some observations.
Like such terms as “Trinity,” “virgin birth,” and “investigative judgment,” the phrase “unmerited favor” is one whose meaning is clearly Bible-based even though the phrase itself isn’t found in the Bible. The phrase is, however, found a number of times in the writings of Ellen White [##2|Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 331,398; vol. 2, p. 315; Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 536.##]. But it is clear that in Ellen White’s writings this unmerited favor does not consist of forgiveness only. The following statement, among others, makes this plain:
We are to believe that we are chosen of God, to be saved by the exercise of faith, through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and we are to praise and glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of His unmerited favor [##3|——Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 536.##].
Notice how the work of the Holy Spirit is included in the manifestation of God’s unmerited favor, a work which of course includes the transforming process of regeneration and sanctification (II Thess. 2:13; Titus 3:5). We will see how the transforming, empowering process described in these verses is included by the Bible in the work of divine grace as well as the work of the Spirit.
A recent critic of Last Generation Theology claims that striving for character perfection will often “lead to a form of legalism, where salvation is no longer primarily the result of God’s free grace but, at least in part, the reward for human obedience to God’s laws” [##4|Reinder Bruinsma, In All Humility: Saying No to Last Generation Theology (Westlake Village, CA: Oak & Acorn Publishing, 2018), p. 93.##]. But in fact, Last Generation Theology holds that salvation is entirely, not primarily, the result of God’s free grace. The problem is that too many forget that Biblical grace is not solely concerned with forgiveness, but is also the power that makes obedience possible.
Without question divine grace is involved in the forgiveness of our sins (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). But the following verses are equally clear that divine grace empowers the Christian to live a life of practical holiness:
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (II Cor. 9:8).
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (II Cor. 12:8-9).
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus 2:11-12).
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:28).
Sanctification, in other words, is as much the product of God’s free grace as is justification. Even our cooperative effort in the saving process is the result of God’s grace, as seen in King David’s prayer: “For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee” (I Chron. 29:14). All that we do, and can do, in the Christian life is return to God what is His in the first place.
To be saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), in other words, includes the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration and sanctification as well as the forgiveness of sins. As two of the verses noted above make clear, the New Testament is explicit in identifying the Spirit’s transformation and empowerment as an actual part of the process of salvation, not the result thereof:
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth (II Thess. 2:13).
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).
Notice how the second of the above verses distinguishes the “works of righteousness which we have done” (obviously in our own strength) from “the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” The former, as the apostle makes clear in a number of passages, can save no one (Rom. 3:20,28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9). The latter, by contrast, are plainly identified in the above verses as part of the means of salvation, not merely its fruits.
Conclusion: Pardon, Power, or Both?
The unmerited favor offered by God’s grace, in other words, does not solely consist of forgiveness or leniency. Too often, in contemporary Christian usage, “grace” is a synonym not only for forgiveness, but for “letting people off easy” when it comes to church discipline or the general upholding of standards of faith, worship, or lifestyle as articulated by the inspired pen. But while mercy and kindness, rightly administered, most assuredly constitute an aspect of divine grace, the fact is that the maintenance of doctrinal, liturgical, and moral integrity by the body of Christ also constitutes a manifestation of this grace.
Grace, in other words, is not only revealed when a student in an Adventist school is found to be transgressing a Biblical principle, but who, on account of evident sorrow and the making of restitution for the act in question, is given another chance. Grace is also demonstrated when one who lacks penitence in a situation like the above is lovingly but firmly told to leave campus, when a professor in an Adventist college who is found to teach doctrinal error is kindly but decidedly informed that his employment at the college is over, or when a church elder found to be abusing his wife or children is both reported to the requisite civil authorities and—again with love and grace and tears—removed by his congregation from church fellowship.
True Biblical grace—unmerited favor—is a concept beautiful in its balance and consistent in its application. It embraces both gentleness and judgment, serenity and severity, pardon and power. Grace, essentially, is a synonym for the entire Christian message.
REFERENCES
1. Kendra Perry, “’Coming Out’ Ministries Presented at My Child’s School,” Spectrum, Jan. 24, 2023 (emphasis original) https://spectrummagazine.org/views/2023/coming-out-ministries-presented-my-childs-school
2. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 331,398; vol. 2, p. 315; Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 536.
3. ----Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 536.
4. Reinder Bruinsma, In All Humility: Saying No to Last Generation Theology (Westlake Village, CA: Oak & Acorn Publishing, 2018), p. 93.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan