We read and hear about God’s Grace all the time; it may describe an action from God, it can also describe a prayer said before a meal, but it is not forgiveness.

When we read or hear about “God’s Grace”, it is usually associated with forgiveness, which leads to salvation, but the God’s grace is not really a thing, like the Holy Spirit, which we can feel and have living inside of us.

Grace is not God’s forgiveness; it is his willingness to forgive.

I know, I know… what the heck is that supposed to mean?

Alright, you know that when we sin, we separate ourselves from God’s presence. Every sin, no matter what it is or who we sinned against, is – first and foremost- against God. King David knew this when, after sinning against Bat-Sheba, Uriah, and even Yoab, he said his sin was against God, and God alone (Psalm 51).

Now, being separated from God’s presence and deserving of nothing but punishment, as per God’s rules, we need to be forgiven in order to once again be with God. And, for that to happen, God gave us the sacrificial system (Leviticus 1-7), and later (actually, much later) he sent to the world his Messiah, Yeshua, to replace that part of the sacrificial system dependent on the temple in Jerusalem which, after 73 A.D., wasn’t there anymore.

The sacrificial system is the example of God’s grace; without that system, there would be no way for us to be forgiven. Likewise, the sacrifice Yeshua made replaced the need for an animal sacrifice at the temple, which was (at that time) the only place we could make a sin sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12).

We also see an example of God’s grace in Ezekiel 18:23, where he tells us he doesn’t desire anyone to die, but rather that they turn from their sin, and live.

Can you see, now, that God’s grace is not a thing, but his willingness to forgive us? More than his willingness, it is his desire to forgive us, even when we sin against him, so long as we are truly repentant.

Yeah, being truly repentant is a big part of receiving forgiveness. If you aren’t really upset that you sinned against God (remember- every sin is against God), then it isn’t likely that God will forgive you, grace notwithstanding, because God isn’t stupid. If you sin and don’t care that you sinned, you won’t be forgiven.

Get real, people! God wants to forgive us, but he won’t forgive an unrepentant sinner, and you can’t fool God!

So, nu! I hope this message has helped those who have always thought God’s Grace is his forgiveness, to now know better. Forgiveness is based on confession (which means that you recognize you did sin), repentance (feeling remorse for having sinned), and sacrifice (now available through Messiah Yeshua).

God defined the sacrificial system because he knew that we wouldn’t be able to overcome sin on our own, and his grace, which comes from his desire to be in communion with us, is why he created that system of forgiveness.

Thank you for being here; that’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!