At the very center of the Gospel is grace. Grace is what makes the Good News good. It’s what separates Christianity from every other belief system and every other attempt to make sense of the human condition. Grace says that God loves us not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because of who He is. Grace is the heartbeat of the Gospel. It is not about trying harder to be good; it is about accepting the fact that God accepts us.

Grace: Not About Trying Harder

For many people, religion boils down to a set of rules—do this, don’t do that—and a continual striving to meet those expectations. It’s a burdensome, exhausting approach to faith. The Gospel, however, offers something radically different. Jesus does not invite us into a religion of striving but into a relationship of grace.

In Matthew 11, Jesus extends a remarkable invitation:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV)

The weary and burdened Jesus speaks to are those crushed by legalism, striving, and shame—those who feel they can never be good enough. Grace says you don’t have to be. God’s acceptance is not earned; it’s given.

Paul reinforces this in Ephesians 2:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians  2:8-9, NIV)

Grace is a gift. You can’t earn it, buy it, or achieve it. You can only receive it. The Gospel is not about us trying hard to get to God; it is about God coming to us and extending His unmerited favor.

Accepting the fact that God Accepts You

One of the hardest things for many of us to believe is that God truly accepts us. Not just the cleaned-up, presentable version of us but the real us—messy, broken, sinful. Yet the message of the Gospel is clear: God knows everything about you, and He loves you anyway.

In Romans 5, Paul writes:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NIV)

We don’t have to fix ourselves before coming to God. Grace meets us where we are but doesn’t leave us there. It transforms us. Accepting grace means resting in the reality that God’s love is not conditional. It is steadfast, unchanging, and secure.

Extending Grace to Others

When we truly grasp the grace we’ve received, it changes how we relate to others. Jesus made this connection clear when He told the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35). A servant is forgiven an unpayable debt by his master but refuses to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him by someone else. The master rebukes him sharply for his lack of mercy.

The message is clear: grace received must become grace extended.

Paul writes:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32, NIV)

The old King James had it, “be ye kind, one to another.” What a world that would be if we would just obey that command. But we can’t just try hard to obey it. We can’t just try hard to be good. We need to be transformed. We need grace. 

Extending grace to others means forgiving those who hurt us—even when it is hard. It means being patient with those who frustrate us, and loving those who are difficult to love. It means seeing others as God sees them—as people made in His image, people of infinite worth, people who need grace just as much as we do.

Becoming a Gracious Person

Grace is not just something we receive or something we give; it’s something we become. As we live in the light of God’s grace, we are transformed into people who embody grace. We become more loving, patient, kind, and forgiving.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Paul calls these qualities the fruit of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)

A gracious person is someone who reflects the character of Jesus. They are not quick to judge or condemn. They are slow to anger and quick to forgive. They are generous with their time, resources, and love. This is what happens when grace takes root in a person’s life.

Creating Gracious Communities

Grace does not stop with individuals; it extends into communities. The Church is called to be a gracious community—a place where people experience the unconditional love of God and extend that love to one another.

In Acts 2, we see a picture of the early Church living as a community of grace:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need… And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, NIV)

This was a community marked by love, generosity, and grace. They cared for one another, shared with one another, and welcomed others into their fellowship. Grace-filled communities are places where people are known, accepted, and loved. They are places where people find healing, hope, and belonging.

But grace-filled communities don’t just look inward; they also look outward. They extend grace to those outside the community. Jesus modeled this perfectly. He ate with tax collectors and sinners, welcomed the outcasts, and offered grace to those who thought they were beyond hope.

The Church is called to do the same. We are called to be communities that love our neighbors, serve the poor, and welcome the stranger. We are called to be places where grace overflows. Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian put it this way:

There was once a community of believers who were so totally devoted to God that their life together was charged with the Spirit’s power.

In that band of Christ-followers, believers loved each other with a radical kind of love. They took off their masks and shared their lives with one another. They laughed and cried and prayed and sang and served together in authentic Christian fellowship.

Those who had more shared freely with those who had less until socioeconomic barriers melted away. People related together in ways that bridged gender and racial chasms, and celebrated cultural differences.

Acts 2 tells us that this community of believers, this church, offered unbelievers a vision of life that was so beautiful it took their breath away. It was so bold, so creative, so dynamic that they couldn’t resist it. Verse 47 tells us that ‘the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ “[1]