Most people are comfortable with the notion of grace in
the New Testament, but find it difficult to reconcile to the God of the Old
Testament. Most, when reading the Old Testament, see a God of judgement and
wrath whereas the New Testament reveals through Christ, a God of mercy and
Truth.
As much as we cannot in our finite minds hope to
understand God, the Bible assures us that He never changes (Heb 13:8). That
means His character is constant. He has always been a God of grace! God does
not have a split personality. Genesis is the book of beginnings, foundational
to our belief and doctrines, and I have learned some amazing lessons on Jesus
Christ, faith and grace right from page one of the Bible! In order to
understand the deep truths in God’s Word, it is essential that one have a
strong foundation and what better place to start than in Genesis?
What is “grace”? Many have described it as “unmerited
favour.” Somone once described it as “God’s Riches at Christ’s
Expense.” The very essence of grace means that it is God -initiated;
grace is not a reward of obedience. Rather, it inspires obedience by the
transformation of the heart that it engenders. Let’s look at some examples of
grace in Genesis.
Gen 12 records the call of Abram. God makes a promise
to Abram, a heathen man living in Ur of the Chaldees (otherwise known as
Mesopotamia). The people of this nation were known for polytheism, the worship
of many gods (Josh 24:2). In Gen 12:1-3
God makes a promise to Abram to bless him and make him a great nation and that
all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Only a God of grace
would choose to make an idolator into a great nation! God affirms this
promise to Abram many times, eventually
even making the promise part of his name by changing it from “Abram” (exalted
father) to “Abraham” (father of nations). (Gen 13:14-17, Gen 15:1-5, Gen 17:5).
The fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram did not rest
on his obedience, but rather he believed in God and God accounted it to him as
righteousness (Gen 15:6). Our salvation is not based on our good works or lack
thereof; it is based entirely on God’s grace. If the fulfillment of God’s
promise to Abram were based on Abram’s works or obedience, he would have failed
on many accounts. He lied on more than one occasion that his wife was his
sister; he doubted and conceded to his wife’s plan to “help God fulfil His
promise” by sleeping with Hagar, etc. God intervened through all of this to
ensure that His plan would come to pass. Abraham’s future obedience was only a
response to God’s grace that radically changed his heart. In Gen 17:1 God
commands Abram to walk before Him and be blameless. God was merely telling him
to let the result of His grace (the “credited righteousness” in 15:6) to shine
through Abram’s life. Have you experienced God’s grace? He wants you to let His grace transform you into
a shining light for Him in the world today so others may experience His grace
too!(Matt 5:16, Eph 2:1-10)
Scripture references: Gen 12-15
