The Problem with Grace

Deep down, we know forgiveness is a good idea. Even secular psychologists tell
us that forgiveness is a powerful part of the solution to mental health disorders. So
why is God’s gift of grace so hard to give away?

We live in an offense-obsessed culture. Political upheaval, egregious injustice,

civic unrest, conspiracy theories, and fully loaded theological throwdowns
consume our minds and confuse our hearts. Two minutes of early morning social
media scrolling can leave us hot before our feet even hit the floor.

We know this. We see it, we complain about it, and we even warn against it. And
yet, we continue to go back to the well of outrage to find purpose. The problem is,
offense offers a counterfeit significance—one that perpetuates a false identity and
keeps the God of grace at arm’s length.

We the church are certainly not immune to the allure of offense. And when we
allow offense to fill the Christ-shaped void in our hearts, even our well-intentioned
prayer circles and discipling moments can turn from healthy processing to gossip
and slander in a heartbeat. Before we know it, we’re judging and condemning our
brothers and sisters in a way Jesus never did. We cling to offense and withhold
forgiveness with a so-called “righteous anger,” justified by our own feelings.

Anger is a feeling. Sadness is a feeling. Disgust is a feeling. These feelings are

normal and healthy at the right times. But to take offense is not a feeling; it’s a
choice. When we teach our wandering hearts to sin in anger by choosing offense,
we miss out on an opportunity to see and be God’s grace in action. Grace is the
other, and better, choice.
Rebel as Jesus was, flippin’ tables and takin’ names was rarely the modus operandi
of Jesus the Messiah. The Gospels note only a handful of times where Jesus didn’t
turn the other cheek, and each of those times he was coming up against religious
hypocrisy in one way or another. In those moments, God’s grace looked like
protecting the flock from marginalization, discrimination, and all-out abuse.

Jesus had two healthy habits driving his conversations with sinners and seekers
alike:

1. He initiated with grace and love—often before the sinner even repented.
He didn’t excuse their sin; he became it and defeated it once and for all.
2. He elevated the conversation above sin, race, gender, politics, and
religion. He rebuked cultural and systemic barriers and offered living water
to thirsty souls.

Jesus spoke truth and actually did so in love, inviting captives and prisoners alike
to walk in freedom. He kept company with social outcasts and brought salvation to
their homes. He made himself of no reputation—and typically resisted aligning
with the influencers of the day.

God’s grace in action seemed reckless then, and it still does today. God himself is
not reckless, but the way he releases grace defies all human reason. However
difficult it may be to believe it and receive it, we are called to release God’s
reckless grace as kings and priests in this earthly realm.   

The problem with grace is that we often try to release it independently of God
—in our own authority. We forgive because we know we should, not because
we’ve come into agreement with what God says about grace and forgiveness.

In John Chapter 20, the risen Jesus releases a powerful, Spirit-led grace mandate
over his disciples:

“I send you to preach the forgiveness of sins—and people’s sins will be forgiven.
But if you don’t proclaim the forgiveness of their sins, they will remain guilty.”

John 20:23 TPT

Far more than a spiritual ultimatum, Jesus’ words in John 20:23 are a
scandalous invitation to declare and release God’s grace and forgiveness over
people instead of caving to forgiveness in our own strength.

Hard as it might be to accept, releasing grace and forgiveness is far more tangible
than many of the other signs, wonders, and miracles Jesus invited his people into.

 Walking on water: Jesus did it and Peter did it. Admittedly, Peter wasn’t
too great at it, but he did it (Matthew 14:22–33).
  Miraculous transportation: Jesus did it and Philip did it. He was zapped
from zip code to zip code in the blink of an eye in order to witness (Acts
8:39–40).
 Multiplying food: Jesus did it and his disciples did it. And the result was
that thousands were physically and spiritually fed (Matthew 14; Mark 8).
 Healing the sick. Casting out demons. Raising the dead: Jesus gave his
disciples power and authority to do all these things in his name (Matthew
10:8).

Oh, but he doesn’t stop there. Just before the crucifixion, Jesus one-ups himself.

“I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me,
will do the same mighty miracles that I do—even greater miracles than these
because I go to be with my Father! For I will do whatever you ask me to do when
you ask me in my name. And that is how the Son will show what the Father is
really like and bring glory to him. Ask me anything in my name, and I will do it
for you!”

John 14:12–14 TPT

Did you catch that? We have been given power and authority to do even greater
things than Jesus displayed, so long as we do them “in his name.”This expression
acknowledges God as the absolute source of any power and authority we have as
believers.

The same goes for grace. The only authority we have in releasing grace and
forgiveness is to come into agreement with the Father’s way of thinking,
especially when forgiveness is something we would not—or could not—do on
our own.

We can do nothing independent of God—we’re only meant to say what the Father
is saying and do what the Father is doing as Jesus did (John 12:49–50). This
requires intimacy and humility, something we all need more of.

Power and authority as a believer in Jesus are a direct outpouring of our identity in
Christ and our oneness with him and the Father fully embraced (John 14:20). We
are not the source of the power. But in Christ, we are the conduit. Like any other
sign, wonder, or miracle, we are called to be stewards of grace, operating under the
absolute authority of God and coming into agreement with what he says and thinks
of others.

Be as radical or restrained as you want with this grace gift, but if you do what
the Father calls and empowers you to do, you will set others free, just as Jesus
did.
Releasing grace and forgiveness in the overflow is not only our right as children of
God but also our responsibility as coheirs to the kingdom of heaven with Jesus
Christ. This is the magnitude of the gift we carry!

The tangible release of God’s grace over humanity is quite possibly the greatest
evangelistic tool the church has never used. It’s time we the church receive the gift
of God’s reckless grace and all the power and authority in his name that comes
with it.

When you have a hard time mustering the strength to forgive the
unforgivable?Declare these words of Jesus over yourself and come into
agreement with his truth as you learn to release his grace to others:

“For I’m not speaking as someone who is self-appointed, but I speak by the
authority of the Father himself who sent me, and who instructed me what to
say. And I know that the Father’s commands result in eternal life, and that’s why I
speak the very words I’ve heard him speak.”

John 12:49–50 TPT

Friends, grace is good for your soul. Hard stop. But it’s not just your mental,
emotional, physical, and spiritual health that’s at stake. We’re talking about a
generation of believers poised for a grace revolution if we would dare to forgive
like Jesus did—recklessly.

And once you receive the fullness of God’s reckless grace? You’re going to
want to spend the rest of your life giving it away.