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What Did Grace Mean to Paul? #683 · Scripture Central

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  For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God being
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  justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
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  in Christ Jesus. Hey listeners, this is Nick from
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  Scripture Central and today's podcast addresses the question
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  What did grace mean to Paul? The grace of Jesus Christ is one
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  of the most important beliefs shared by all Christians.
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  It is a doctrine presented in the Bible, the Book of Mormon,
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  and other restoration scripture. The ancient apostle Paul is
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  perhaps the most wellknown early Christian who emphasized the
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  need for the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives.
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  He raised the topic extensively and many of his epistles
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  recorded in the New Testament. However, as is commonly the case
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  in translations, the English word grace does not necessarily
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  convey all the nuances and meanings that would have been
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  intended by Paul and were familiar to his ancient
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  audience. The Greek word charis, which is
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  usually translated as grace, has a long history full of rich
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  meaning in the Hellenistic world before and after Paul's
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  lifetime. When properly understood in its
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  first century context, the meaning and nature of Jesus
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  Christ's grace can become more cherished, treasured, and
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  reciprocated by Christians everywhere.
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  Brent J Schmidt has recently explored how grace was viewed
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  from antiquity through to modernity.
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  Unlike modern notions that see grace as a free gift that
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  requires little or nothing in return, Schmidt finds that
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  ancient Greek and Roman sources refer to grace as a covenantal
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  relationship between two parties.
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  Like love, grace is relational. The relationship of charis that
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  existed between a patron, the benefactor, and a client or
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  dutiful associate included the need for benefactors and
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  recipients of benefactions mutually to show thanks and
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  appreciation and share the gifts in a way that would honor the
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  patron. When the client received grace
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  or charis from their patron, they would show their thanks
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  through smaller gifts or acts of appreciation.
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  Thus, true grace is understood to be reciprocal, benefiting
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  both parties while bringing honor and showing gratitude to
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  the benefactor. Indeed, the English words grace,
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  graciousness, and gratitude all come from the Latin word gracia.
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  Returning gratitude is thus at the core of grace.
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  Hellenistic Jewish writings, including the Greek Septuagin,
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  as well as the writings of Josephus and Philo, appear to
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  use the words charis in the same way as classic Hellenistic
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  writings. It seems, therefore, that the
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  authors of the New Testament, including the apostle Paul,
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  would have been familiar with this usage.
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  This is especially true for the Paul, who was born and raised as
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  a Roman citizen and was intimately familiar with the
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  classical learning of the Hellenistic world.
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  As noted by Schmidt, Paul innately understood the social
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  conventions of benefaction, and Paul used the term charis
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  according to its proper, reciprocal Mediterranean social
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  conventions. Thus, Paul's statement that God
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  called me by His grace is better rendered as invited me by His
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  grace. Paul utilized the Word and the
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  idea of grace as a vehicle to teach the importance of service.
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  Being ordained and invited by God to spread the gospel, Paul
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  became relationally empowered to fulfill the will of God,
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  teaching that the gift of God's grace grants power and that all
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  the diverse spiritual gifts or powers are received through
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  grace. This empowerment of grace has
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  long reaching effects for both parties involved, in this case
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  for God and his children. Ultimately, the power to repent,
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  change, and obtain forgiveness comes through reciprocal grace.
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  On the one side, this grace culminates in God, enabling us
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  to overcome physical and spiritual death.
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  This is especially clear in Paul's statement that all have
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  sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified
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  freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
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  Jesus. In the end, it is only through
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  the grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved, after all we can
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  do. This does not mean that grace
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  frees us of obligations on our part, just as other ancient
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  authors did. Paul originally viewed the grace
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  of God as a reciprocal relationship that we enter.
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  The reciprocal nature of charis, however, was unfortunately often
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  overlooked as later theologians placed emphasis on the free
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  aspects of grace. Thus, Paul's statements make
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  more sense today when his immediate context is considered.
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  For example, Roman charis relationships had become highly
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  commercialized by Paul's time, which led many contemporary
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  Roman writers to view charis as negatively patronizing, and
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  modern notions of grace have likewise affected how readers
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  view this gift in the Bible. For example, the teaching that
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  we are justified freely by His grace in Romans chapter 3, verse
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  24 is better rendered from the Greek as justified as a gift by
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  His grace. Modern ideas of gift giving have
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  led many theologians to view grace as a one time gift instead
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  of as one kindness in an ongoing relationship, and as being free
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  of obligations when no such notions of nonbinding gifts
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  existed in antiquity. The reciprocal nature of charis
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  gifts requires that each would be repaid, even if never in
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  full. Indeed, we can never repay the
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  Lord completely for any blessing He has bestowed upon us.
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  Through our words of thanks and actions of compliance with God's
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  wishes, however, we are able to demonstrate to Him that we
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  appreciate what He has done for us, becoming empowered by Him to
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  reciprocate His grace. By doing His will, we access the
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  grace and gifts of Jesus Christ as we make and keep covenants
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  with God. We thus reap the blessings of
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  grace through consciously living correct principles in a manner
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  that pleases and extends our gratitude to Him.
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  The ancient reciprocal nature of grace is affirmed throughout the
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  Bible and the Book of Mormon. King Benjamin especially taught
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  about the grace of God when he affirmed that all we have, even
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  our own breath, is a gift from the Lord.
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  Yet no matter what we do, we can never fully repay the Lord for
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  what He does for us. Indeed, if ye should serve Him
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  with all of your whole souls, yet ye would be unprofitable
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  servants, despite our utter inability to ever repay the Lord
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  for His bounty as goodness. The Covenanto Charis
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  relationship we share with the Lord is affirmed by our
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  willingness to follow Him, King Benjamin continues.
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  All that He requires of you is to keep His commandments, and He
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  has promised you that if you would keep His commandments, ye
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  should prosper in the land, and He never doth vary from that
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  which He had said. Therefore, if ye do keep His
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  commandments, He doth bless you and prosper you.
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  The relationship we have with the Lord is one that will
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  continue to bless us throughout our lives.
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  However, if we want to secure for ourselves the highest of all
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  the blessings the Lord desires to impart to us, we must show
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  him that we are willing to forego our own desires and enter
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  into a covenant to serve Him. As we do so, we accept the
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  Lord's grace into our lives and maintain our relationship with
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  him. Thus, Benjamin concludes, the
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  covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant, and there is
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  no other head whereby ye can be made free.
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  For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served.
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  Thank you for listening to this presentation from Scripture
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  Central. For more information, please
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  visit scripturecentral.org.