14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. John 1:14-17 (NASB)
Grace is our theology. In a sense the word grace sums up all biblical theology. Of all the theological words we could discuss–redemption, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, election, and many more–none cuts to the heart of our theology like grace.
However, as many of you know, few words are more misunderstood, misused, or misapplied than grace. For instance, more and more today we hear so-called Christian teachers say things like, “Yes, salvation is by grace but good works supplement it,” or, “Yes, grace is necessary, but so are works.” No statement on earth could be more contradictory. Such “teachers” know absolutely nothing about grace.