Church Signs That Piss Me Off: Grace Edition

I know I said I was taking a hiatus but then they pull me back in with a church sign.

Really? Really???

I’ll give them credit that on a PURELY TECHNICAL basis this church’s sign is correct: Grace was achieved at Christ’s expense.

But is this an effective message? More importantly, is this a message that Jesus would share? I emphatically answer “no” to both (and will share some proof later in the article).

Imagine a child receiving a wonderful Christmas present and then their mother chiming in, “I hope you realize that this present was given to you at your Father’s great expense”. And then she delivers the coup d’etat, “He died so you could have your present”

Now those are two factual statements, but if I was that child I’m putting down that present and slinking away.

When Christianity is presented like this, I get why people become atheists. Hell, consider me an atheist if this is how God sees us. I 100% reject a Higher Power that guilts us into faith.

Thankfully, He doesn’t.

Grace is a gift that can’t be earned. It is a gift of love. If you’re a decent parent you understand this. Our children never earn our love. It is never at our “expense”. And God isn’t merely a decent parent, He is the Perfect Parent.

Jesus loves us and would do anything for us including laying down His life. That is tallied in the “love” column never the “expense” one.

At this point you may be thinking, “hey Tim, this lovey dovey Jesus talk sounds great but is it Biblically supported? Didn’t you say that you would share some proof?” I think that is a great question so I decided to do an investigation into the Greek noun “xáris” which we translate as “grace”.

Turns out that xáris, or some form of that noun, is used quite a lot in the New Testament. 157 times if BibleHub can be trusted. But over 97% of the time, it is used by someone other than Jesus, and I’d really like to hear what Jesus thought about grace seeing as though I’m stipulating that He would take issue with this church sign.

Now, I realize that you might PERCIEVE that I am treading into heretical waters. So I’m going to tread carefully here.

I treasure that the authors of the New Testament (John, Luke, Paul, et al) share what the concept of grace is, but they can only share what it feels like to RECEIVE grace or to OBSERVE what grace looks like. As valuable as that wisdom is, and it is valuable and inspired, only Jesus can tell us what it means to extend grace.

So Jesus…do you perceive Your grace to be something listed in the expense column or the love column?

Jesus only uses the word xáris 4 times that is recorded in the New Testament. In Luke 17:9 we translate it as “thank” and Jesus uses it in a parable to describe how His disciples should act. I could squeeze this verse to get an answer about grace, but I think the other 3 occasions where Jesus uses xáris are more fruitful.

All three occur in a passage in the Sermon on the Plain, in Luke 6:32-36, which is an abbreviated version of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. In that passage xáris is translated as “credit”:

If you love those who love you, what credit (xáris) is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit (xáris) is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit (xáris) is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:32-36, NASB

Granted, “credit” might seem like it is ill suited to explain grace, but I would tell you to reread that passage and see if you think that Jesus is someone who is expecting to receive “credit” for His actions.

He certainly isn’t.

What He is saying is that you are to love because we are designed to love one another. Love for love’s sake. Not for anything in return. Love is its own reward. Love is how we become the “sons of the Most High”.

And if Jesus is preaching it then you can be certain He is living it.

So no, Jesus wouldn’t be putting that sign up. I’m guessing He would have a “need grace? I got you covered!” sign but apparently that sentiment is in short supply amongst His pastors in America as a Google search didn’t return much.

But here are some alternate examples I did find for Munster Church to consider:

Well its back to a crash course in SEO and PPC as I will be hitting the ground running next Monday as the new General Manager at Windy City Rooter. As you can see, its hard for me to sideline this passion of writing about Jesus, so I promise you that I’ll be back on a regular schedule starting in the Summer.

But in the meantime, if you find any church signs that you think would piss me off, please send them my way. I can always make an hour or two for a 1000 word rant.

And finally, if you made it this far and you are someone who walked away from this brand of Christianity, I encourage you to reach out to me because there is a different Way. A Jesus Way.

And finally finally…remember:

Jesus Loves You!