The Bible Study Podcast, episode 281.

Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of the fundamentals of Christianity.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast.

I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

Today, as we continue the fundamentals of

Christianity study, we're going to talk about grace. Now, when I teach Bible study in juvenile

hall, and I ask the kids, what do you think grace is? Number one answer that people give is,

it's that prayer we say at meals. And while we do call that grace, that's not what we're talking about

here. Grace and mercy are two terms, as we've talked about before, that are very related.

And the way that I will use them to try and use them fairly consistently is that grace is when we

get something we don't deserve that's good. And mercy is when we don't get something

that we do deserve. We don't get that punishment that we do deserve. So when we stand before the

judge and we've committed the crime, we're looking for mercy. When we open a presence on Christmas

day, we're hoping for grace. It is my argument that grace is a central theme in

Christianity. I understand I may be showing my Protestant roots at that point, but let's look at

some of the verses that would back me up. As Jesus is introduced in John 1, in the Gospel of John,

verses 14 through 17, Jesus is introduced this way.

The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one

and only son, who came from the father, full of grace and truth. John testified concerning him,

he cried out saying, this is the one I spoke about

when I said, He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. Out of his fullness,

we have received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses,

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