How Scandalous Is Grace?

It has been said that grace is scandalous. Why? First, we need to understand grace is God's unmerited favor. It is the blessing of God to give people who have put their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin without working for it. J.I. Packer said that grace is for those who could not lift a finger to save themselves.

Grace is not for those who keep the rules. Grace is for those who brake the rules. Grace is for those who could not keep the law of God. Religious people think they deserve the favor of God because of their accomplishments. Religious people do not see their deeds as rubbish compared to knowing Christ as the Apostle Paul did in Philippians 3.

The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is probably the one place where we see this scandalous grace of God at work. The younger son returns home after using all of his inheritance on wild parties. The father welcomes the son home and throws a feast for him. What father would not celebrate a child returning home after being away. Yet here comes the older son who thinks he is the better son. He thinks the father is being unfair.

The older brother thought his father should give him more favor because he stayed around and kept his father's rules. Many religious people feel the same way. They compare their lives to those around them and think they are better. They look at the speck in their eyes rather than the plank their own.

Grace is scandalous because God bestows it on those who are unlikely to keep the rules and wander away from the Father. Grace is scandalous because it is given to those who come to the Father for forgiveness a hundred times a day, sometimes for the same sin they keep committing over and over again. Grace is scandalous because no accusing finger is pointed at us for the sins we have committed. Grace is scandalous because we can come before a holy God who will love us and wrap His arms around us.