When I retired and returned to California I was surprised to hear people using the term Fish and Game Department. Arizona must have more game than fish because it’s Game and Fish over there. That has an awkward ring to it, doesn’t it? This started me thinking about other pairs of words and their preferred order. Pairs like black and white, hot and cold, up and down, down and out but not out and in (think In & Out Burgers), burgers and fries. How about head to toe, back and forth and rain or shine? Okay, I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’m sure you get the idea.
The New Testament book of Acts gives us a glimpse into the missionary life of the Apostle Paul. He had an itinerary like no other and when not traveling, he was writing letters to people in the areas he had visited. These letters make up a large portion of the New Testament and in each letter, Paul uses a pair of words in the greeting, the words grace and peace. And he never uses them in reversed order. I’ve heard that the Greek word for grace was the typical greeting for Gentiles and the Hebrew word for peace was the greeting used by Jewish people, but I’d like to think there’s another reason for Paul’s use of these words and for their particular order.
Paul knew that there is no real peace without first experiencing God’s grace. That’s just the way it works. It’s absolutely essential that people experience God’s grace in order to have true peace in their lives; inner peace, peace with others and peace with God. Early in my Christian life someone taught me that GRACE means God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. It’s receiving something we don’t deserve and it’s made possible because of what Christ was willing to do on our behalf. He paid the price for our sins by giving his life in our place and, as a result, we are made right with God. That’s why grace has to come first. In Romans 5:1-2 Paul explains it this way: “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand . . . .” Standing in His grace, I have peace with God.
One of the riches that God offers is eternal life with Him—it’s one of those gifts of grace that we can’t earn and don’t need to work for. In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul tells us that “by grace are you saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God—not of works, lest any man should boast.” If I learn to handle my fears, my insecurities and my conflicts with others, I may feel good about myself and be at peace with the world, but it does nothing to bring about peace between me and God. For that I need God’s grace. Life doesn’t end at death. Being unsure of where I’ll spend eternity would definitely drain every ounce of peace from my life, but because I’m saved by His grace, I can have peace.
Easter is coming and with it the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. That’s the “At Christ’s Expense” part of grace. Jesus came to do what we cannot do ourselves—provide a way for us to have peace with God. Peace before grace? I don’t think so. There is a distinct order of things for a reason.
