{"id":760,"date":"2021-10-19T14:22:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T18:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T10:54:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T15:54:28","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/","title":{"rendered":"What does it mean to give grace to one another?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, my friend sent me an email saying, \u201cThank you for giving me grace.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard that phrase a thousand times but, for some reason, this particular time stuck with me for several days. My friend was referring to something itty bitty, something that hadn\u2019t required much from me other than a small favor.<\/p>\n

Had I really given her grace? Maybe. But maybe not.<\/p>\n

After all,\u00a0what does it mean to \u201cgive grace\u201d to one another?<\/p>\n

Grace is often a word we throw around but struggle to define. We celebrate and extol it, but I also think we misunderstand it \u2014 especially when it comes to giving grace to others.<\/p>\n

This is what I think we mean when we say we should give grace \u2014 that we give free passes.<\/p>\n

And those free passes usually relate to things that aren\u2019t even spiritual matters! We equate letting someone see our messy house as them \u201cgiving us grace.\u201d But when giving grace\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0actually applied to spiritual matters, we tend to lean toward believing we should never press, never hold a line of truth or call someone away from the cliff of self-destruction.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s hard to reconcile grace and truth, even when those are the exact adjectives used to describe Jesus in John 1:14.<\/p>\n

The inability to reconcile grace and truth is primarily our culture talking.\u00a0Our culture scoffs at the idea of calling someone to account or of love being anything other than a no-matter-what acceptance. Culture is infiltrating our understanding of grace\u00a0and is<\/em>\u00a0thereby stealing its profound meaning and explosive power.<\/em><\/p>\n

Grace isn\u2019t a free pass that allows us to throw off all restraint under the guise of Christ. Grace, the unmerited favor of God poured out on us by our faith in Christ, is a compelling change agent that, when received, teaches us how to live.<\/p>\n

Tim Keller says, \u201cThe gospel devours the very motivation you have for sin. It completely saps your very need and reason to live any way you want. Anyone who insists the gospel encourages us to sin has simply not understood it yet, nor begun to feel it\u2019s power.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a difference between a free pass and grace.\u00a0A free pass says, \u201cI see your sin, friend, and will not call it what it is; I\u2019ll ignore it.\u201d We often call this love, but isn\u2019t it really love of self? When you give a free pass, you\u2019re choosing to do what\u2019s easier on you instead of enduring the temporary, self-inflicted pain of bringing up a difficult subject with a friend.<\/p>\n

We should measure our actions of grace with how God extends grace to us.<\/p>\n

In His grace toward us, God says, \u201cI see your sin. I name your sin specifically to you through conviction of the Holy Spirit. I have made a way for your specific sin to be dealt with at the cross of Christ. You don\u2019t have to cover it or ignore it or try to deal with it on your own. Because of Christ, you have an avenue to be free of your sin\u2026confess and repent, and you will be forgiven. I will help you change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grace looks directly at sin and points it out specifically\u00a0because of love.<\/p>\n

God loves us enough to pull us out of the pit of sin, to discipline and prune us, to give us joy instead of bondage and despair. The love He has for us is what makes grace so powerful. The favor of the Almighty is given to us so richly that it compels us to present ourselves to Him as instruments of righteousness.<\/p>\n

Grace changes us, not excuses us.<\/p>\n

So what does it mean to \u201cgive grace to one another\u201d?\u00a0It primarily means seeing one another as new creations in Christ, recognizing the grace we received at salvation is working as a change agent in our lives, forever (Phil. 1:6).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all in process. However, that\u2019s not another way of saying \u201cfree pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Process is a call for us as individuals and as the church to constantly engage with what God Himself has given us \u2014 the ability to see sin rather than ignore it, call sin what it is with gentleness and truth, remind our friends of the path of confession and repentance available to them, cheerlead alongside as our friends change and do it all out of intimate relationships with deeper love for one another.<\/p>\n

Galatians 6:1-2 paints a picture of a Spirit-led grace-giver.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another\u2019s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

That<\/em>\u00a0is what it means to give grace to one another.<\/p>\n

This kind of grace-giving doesn\u2019t delight in calling out sin and isn\u2019t prideful about being a truth-teller. The person who practices Galatians and God-inspired grace giving is a person deeply committed to the spiritual vitality of others and deeply attuned to their own spiritual poverty without Christ. He or she has a humility and willingness to go the extra mile for others as part of a deep devotion to the family of God. And perhaps, most importantly, a grace-giver has positioned his\/herself to receive from friends the very same truth and grace that he or she is committed to giving.<\/p>\n

How often are we cheating our friends of spiritual growth because we are giving a free pass instead of grace?<\/p>\n

How often, I dare ask, are we cheating ourselves when we want the free pass from friends rather than the truth and grace that asks us to change?<\/p>\n

Dear friends, let us truly give (and receive) grace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve heard that phrase a thousand times but, for some reason, this particular time stuck with me for several days. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5559,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[159],"topics":[9,160],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-760","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","channels-planter-wives","topics-planter-wives","topics-relationships"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat does it mean to give grace to one another? - Send Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What does it mean to give grace to one another?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve heard that phrase a thousand times but, for some reason, this particular time stuck with me for several days.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Send Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-08T15:54:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1736\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sendnetwork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/\",\"name\":\"What does it mean to give grace to one another? - Send Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-19T18:22:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-08T15:54:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1736},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What does it mean to give grace to one another?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\",\"name\":\"Send Network\",\"description\":\"Church Planting Network\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Send Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":393,\"caption\":\"Send Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/sendnetwork\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wearesendnetwork\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What does it mean to give grace to one another? - Send Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What does it mean to give grace to one another?","og_description":"I\u2019ve heard that phrase a thousand times but, for some reason, this particular time stuck with me for several days.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/","og_site_name":"Send Network","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/","article_modified_time":"2023-03-08T15:54:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1736,"url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@sendnetwork","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/","name":"What does it mean to give grace to one another? - Send Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-19T18:22:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-08T15:54:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/06\/jon-tyson-8NGWDex9qUw-unsplash-2-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1736},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/resource\/what-does-it-mean-to-give-grace-to-one-another\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What does it mean to give grace to one another?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/","name":"Send Network","description":"Church Planting Network","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#organization","name":"Send Network","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/SN-Logo_Linear_Brandmark-Solid_BlueNavy_RGB.png","width":2560,"height":393,"caption":"Send Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SendNetwork\/","https:\/\/x.com\/sendnetwork","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wearesendnetwork"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/760"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"channels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channels?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/send-network\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}