God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
True peace does not demand a denial of our emotions and concerns. What is the difference between godly concern and sinful anxiety? Actually the same Greek word is used for both, and it is only the context that reveals the difference. The difference can be seen in these mathematical formulas: Concern + unbelief = anxiety; Concern + faith = a biblical virtue (1 Corinthians 7:32, 33, 12:25; 2 Corinthians 11:28).
Ascribed to God, grace is His voluntary, unrestrained, unmerited favor toward guilty sinners, granting them justification and life instead of the penalty of death, which they deserved.
