“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:4-9 (NKJV)
So, when you’re thinking of God’s grace what comes to mind? Do words like: pleasing, thanks, or praise ring a bell? Does it take you back to a time when families said “grace” before dinner was eaten? “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”, for example, is an acrostic that got etched into my mind very early on my walk. For me, it meant God is so generous with His mercy that if I accept the free gift of salvation through Christ, He’ll forgive me if I own up to my wrong doing, turn from it, and accept whatever the consequences are based on His grace towards me, and stay outta hell. What a bargain!
Well, that was good stuff to tell myself. After all, being allowed to think that God’s “dungeon” was just below the church floors was scary stuff to a kid growing up in the Catholic church. Just so you know, it had less to do with what was being preached from the pulpit and more to do with my wild-eyed imagination. What can I say, I watched a lot of horror movies when I was young and they were filmed in what looked like the church building I was in. In my youthful way of thinking it went like this: disobey God and to the dungeon you go, where you’ll end up in the hands of Dracula (where there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth) and then it’s all over for you! Like I said, wild-eyed imagination.
But what if I have been looking at this whole grace thing with one eye closed? Maybe I need a better definition of the word grace? Hmm…well I’ll need a dictionary for that, alrighty, so where did I put that? Oh, here we go, grace—hmm, noun, effortless beauty, or charm of movement, huh? That doesn’t sound like God’s grace, of course, I looked the word up in my trusty red-covered American Heritage Dictionary: College Edition. Maybe a Bible Dictionary would be more helpful? What’s this word, charis? Greek? Χάρη? Huh? Google. Precept Austin, here we go. “Grace is everything for nothing to those who don’t deserve anything.” Now that sounds better, doesn’t it?
Now of course, things look like they may have gotten lost in translation, but this Greek word charis [pronounced: haree], according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia has three basic uses: (1) a charming quality that wins favor, (2) a quality of benevolence that gives favor to inferiors, and (3) a response of thankfulness for the favor given. History may say that the translators who were involved with the writing of the 1611 KJV Bible may have found the Latin word gratia (which means pleasing, thanks, or praise) a close substitute, but when the apostle Paul used the Greek word charis he was going for “a quality of benevolence that gives favor to inferiors.” Why? Glad you asked…
Having experienced Jesus first hand, the apostles were motivated to make sure that folks really understood how awesome it was that the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph wanted to provide the unmerited divine assistance needed for their sanctification (a good place to say Jesus). The apostle Paul was particularly fond of the using the word charis because he too understood “the quality of benevolence that gives favor.” That little moment on the road to Damascus could have gone a totally different way. But every dirty, rotten, filthy thing this Pharisee of Pharisees did to people was forgiven and his purpose was made clear. So, yeah, he’d make sure folks understood that kinda grace.
And it’s this kinda grace that we see in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. He didn’t want folks misunderstanding that their faith was a gift from God but that His grace, a merciful gift, was the gift before having faith in Him! This would be why Dietrich Bonhoeffer would warn against cheapening God’s grace and calling his readers out if they were treating God’s charis like “cheap jack wares.” So, if you were looking at God’s charis as a common gift that everyone receives once they come to faith in Christ, ya may wanna open the other eye.
I’m gonna end with a quote from John Ritenbaugh of The Berean Call: “Without His gift of grace, we would never have godly faith, the faith, in the first place. Faith, our trust in God, is a fruit of the grace God freely gives.”
Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a child of El Elyon, a son, a husband, and a father. He has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy, 11/2003. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This: “If you think that there is anyone in the world so good that God could do something for that person’s sake, you don’t know sin; and if you think there is anything that God will not do for you for His sake for His name, you don’t know God!” — A.W. Tozer
The Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1-2. You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “… who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” – Hebrews 1:3-4
This place is beautiful! Great for a little getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Robert Rodriguez
1711813203
The bestest place
Florence Ibrahim
1711601879
Christan true and very clean and good food and speaker blessed bmy soul love it my home and will always come back again again for ever in the lord. Room was so beautiful . They work so hard to make you happy. Will try to bring family member to be... blessed hear also. I support all that they do to help men and woman find god. When I come to Keswick I didn't want to go home . That how happy and blessed I'm. Always pray for all of them daily. So glad I found this blessed placeread more
Ross Fichter
1710505821
Stayed here while we were visiting my in-laws at The Pines Living Facility. Exactly what we needed for lodging -- inexpensive compared to most motels without any loss of accommodations, and very Christ-centered environment. Plus they serve a great... breakfast every morning. No TV in the room, but that was not an issue for us, since there is nothing worth watching anyway. Staff were extremely friendly and did their jobs well. This place is a gem and a blessing to all who walk on their beautiful property.read more
Manuel Chávez Martínez
1709498094
Es un lugar maravilloso para disfrutar la palabra de Dios
Pianista Benjamín Arias
1708802888
Bien
William Dundas
1708697460
This place holds a special place in my life journey. I was Baptised there as I RE-DEDICATED myself. It was Febuary at night, so my review may not give it the right justice. What I can say, there were a ton of relaxing, peaceful locations to... re-connect with JESUS. Obviously, there was a pool, several lake's with benches. Gathering locations to celebrate, and break bread. A very wholesome Resort.read more
Adrian Obrien
1707934719
Spontaneous invite to girl talk! Loved it! Speaker was on point, fellowship and food , how better to start Valentines?
Ivelisse Romero
1707021027
Beautiful place to separate yourself for the Lord. Soo peaceful no technology which I love. Just you nature and God. I was there for a women's retreat.
Jennifer Crabtree
1706843166
A wonderful Christ- and family-oriented place! Beautiful grounds and welcoming staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the conference we attended as well as the community hymn-sing. Highly recommend.
Jason Zimolong
1706837733
They've been a 5 star treatment and resort...doing God's work!
Patricia Simpson
1705193514
Peaceful little spot, so close to home 🩵
James Kolchin
1704151396
It's A Good Place To Have Retreats And They Have GREAT FOOD AND GREAT MUSIC
Kaia Leeds
1703475382
This was a very nice place!! I sang here with my school!!
Google Rating
4.8
Based on 427 reviews
America's Keswick Christian Retreat and Conference Center
This place is beautiful! Great for a little getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Robert Rodriguez
1711813203
The bestest place
Florence Ibrahim
1711601879
Christan true and very clean and good food and speaker blessed bmy soul love it my home and will always come back again again for ever in the lord. Room was so beautiful . They work so hard to make you happy. Will try to bring family member to be... blessed hear also. I support all that they do to help men and woman find god. When I come to Keswick I didn't want to go home . That how happy and blessed I'm. Always pray for all of them daily. So glad I found this blessed placeread more
Ross Fichter
1710505821
Stayed here while we were visiting my in-laws at The Pines Living Facility. Exactly what we needed for lodging -- inexpensive compared to most motels without any loss of accommodations, and very Christ-centered environment. Plus they serve a great... breakfast every morning. No TV in the room, but that was not an issue for us, since there is nothing worth watching anyway. Staff were extremely friendly and did their jobs well. This place is a gem and a blessing to all who walk on their beautiful property.read more
Manuel Chávez Martínez
1709498094
Es un lugar maravilloso para disfrutar la palabra de Dios
Pianista Benjamín Arias
1708802888
Bien
William Dundas
1708697460
This place holds a special place in my life journey. I was Baptised there as I RE-DEDICATED myself. It was Febuary at night, so my review may not give it the right justice. What I can say, there were a ton of relaxing, peaceful locations to... re-connect with JESUS. Obviously, there was a pool, several lake's with benches. Gathering locations to celebrate, and break bread. A very wholesome Resort.read more
Adrian Obrien
1707934719
Spontaneous invite to girl talk! Loved it! Speaker was on point, fellowship and food , how better to start Valentines?
Ivelisse Romero
1707021027
Beautiful place to separate yourself for the Lord. Soo peaceful no technology which I love. Just you nature and God. I was there for a women's retreat.
Jennifer Crabtree
1706843166
A wonderful Christ- and family-oriented place! Beautiful grounds and welcoming staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the conference we attended as well as the community hymn-sing. Highly recommend.
Jason Zimolong
1706837733
They've been a 5 star treatment and resort...doing God's work!
Patricia Simpson
1705193514
Peaceful little spot, so close to home 🩵
James Kolchin
1704151396
It's A Good Place To Have Retreats And They Have GREAT FOOD AND GREAT MUSIC
Kaia Leeds
1703475382
This was a very nice place!! I sang here with my school!!