| Chapter 1: The Gift, and the Giver | | Chapter 2: The Receipt of the Gift by Faith | | Chapter 3: The Relationship of Honor and Grace | | Chapter 4: Honor The Son By Honoring His Grace | | Chapter 5: Common Approaches to Salvation by Works | | Chapter 6: Common Approaches to Salvation by Works | | Chapter 7: The Purpose of the Law. | | Chapter 8: The Enemies of Grace | | Chapter 9: Grace - The Eve of the Battle | | Chapter 10: Grace--The Battle Begins | | Chapter 11: Grace - The Debate Goes Public | | Chapter 12: The Jerusalem Counsel | | Chapter 13: Guerrilla Tactics in the War On Grace | | Chapter 14: The Four Perversions of Grace-- 1 & 2 |
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The Doctrine of Grace
by
Ronald R. Shea, Th.M., J.D.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF HONOR AND GRACE
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THE MEANING OF HONOR
Over a lifetime, each of us defines our character through a great variety of actions, events and decisions, such as honesty, valor, sacrifice, labor and industry, forgiveness, empathy, introspection, self control, charity, and many other factors, many of which come at great personal expense. All of these virtues, and many others, define our character and establish its value.
The Greek word for "honor," is "timae." It means, quite simply, to ascribe worth to someone. That worth typically relates to a persons character and virtue.
Imagine that a child has been abducted kidnapper and known child molester. You summon law enforcement by phone while your own son risks life and limb to rescue the child. Now imagine that your son succeeds in rescuing the child, but, experiences fatal injuries during mortal combat with the criminal. Imagine further that the criminal is able to persuade the police that your son was the kidnapper, and that he (the real kidnapper) although in danger of life and limb, and experiencing serious injury, was able to rescue the child. Finally, imagine your unbridled outrage if you were to learn that the criminal was being publicly honored for his valor in the rescue of the child, while your own son, who heroically died to save the child, is lowered into his grave under the public opprobrium of a kidnapper, a child molester, and an attempted murderer. You would be outraged that the honor due your son had been denied him, and outraged beyond measure that he was laid to rest under the pall of such contemptous charges.
And how much greater yet, your sense of outrage, that the very criminal at whose feet such heinous charges should be laid, could, with brazen face, steal onto himself the honor properly due your son.
Because he is a person, God possesses the capacity of self awareness and self reflection. And because God is aware of His own virtues, such as His love, and the sacrifice He has made to redeem fallen man, God possesses a personal sense of honor.
God created man in His own image, including the capacity for self awareness and self reflection. And He has set in our hearts a standard by which we measure the extent and value of our virtue and character. This is our personal sense of honor. God has also given us the capacity to honor those we love, such as a son who dies to rescue a kidnapped child.
By instilling within the heart of man a capacity for personal honor, and for the honor of others, God has given us the capacity to understand, in some measure, His own sense of personal honor, and the honor He has for His beloved Son.
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THE RELATIONSHIP OF HONOR AND GRACE
In Italian, the word for "thank you" is "grazie." Similarly, the Spanish word for "thank you" is" gracias." They stem from the same Latin root as the English word for "grace." When someone says "thank you," they are effectively saying, "I recognize that I am not entitled to what you have given me. It was not mine by right, and I had no demand on it. You gave it to me, not out of debt to me, but as a free will act reflecting the goodness of your nature. It is by your grace!" To say "thank you," therefore, is to honor the grace of the giver. Interestingly enough, the French word for "thank you" is "merci," and is related to the English word "mercy." Once again, this term depicts unmerited favor. It honors the one who has shown grace or mercy.
There is an oft told story of Napoleon. I do not know if it is true, but I know it well illustrates the concepts of grace and mercy. According to the story, a seventeen year old boy deserted his post in battle, and was due to be executed the next morning. His mother was Napoleon's cook, and appeared before Napoleon, begging her Emperor to show mercy on her son. Indignant at the cowardly conduct of her son, Napoleon coldly replied, "Woman, your son does not deserve mercy." With a boldness that could only be summoned by a mother facing the execution of her son, she stood her Emperor face to face, and replied, "My Emperor, if he deserved it, it would not be mercy!" Napoleon was shocked by the woman's boldness, and stunned at the sublime truth of her words. The boy's life was spared.
When spared by one's Sovereign from a sentence of death that was rightly due, the proper response for that gift of life would be to honor the giver.
Imagine however, that the young soldier returned to his troops and related a far different story, unaware that he spoke within earshot of his emperor. He tells his fellow soldiers was that he had been wrongly accused, but demonstrated before the military tribunal that he had acquitted himself valiantly in battle, and then demanded the emperor release him. Because such release was then his by right, the emperor acceded and released him. To claim valor when he had acted as a coward in battle would be to steal unto himself honor that was not truly his. And to claim his release was a matter of right would be to deny that he had been released by the grace of his emperor. To do this would be to dishonor his emperor, denying the very grace by which he had been set free. Were he to again show cowardice in battle, it is doubtful that he would again find such grace in the mouth of his emperor.
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Chapter 3: The Relationship of Honor and Grace |
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