Chapter 6: Grace Upon Grace

Counseling in the Riches of Grace

Grace is the atmosphere of all true Christian growth. Where law demands, grace supplies. Where condemnation defeats, grace restores.

Pastor Chuck Smith wrote, “Grace changes what law could never change—it changes the heart.” Grace is God’s unearned, undeserved favor that not only saves but sustains. The believer who understands grace no longer serves from fear but from love.

In biblical counseling, grace is the foundation for both the Ministering Servant and the Disciple in Care. The Ministering Servant must model the graciousness of Christ — patient, gentle, slow to anger, quick to forgive. The Disciple in Care must learn to rest in the unchanging love of God rather than striving to earn His approval.

At the Calvary Chapel Fellowship of Biblical Counselors, we teach that grace is not leniency; it is divine enablement. Grace teaches, corrects, and empowers. As Titus 2:11–12 declares, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”

Pastor Bob Hoekstra explained, “Grace provides what law commands.” The law can expose sin but not cure it. Grace delivers both forgiveness and power to overcome.

The counseling process must therefore be rooted in grace from start to finish. It begins with mercy toward the broken and ends with glory to God. The Ministering Servant continually points the Disciple in Care to the cross of Christ, where grace and truth meet perfectly.

“Of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

John 1:16