What is grace?

Salvation & the GospelIn theological review

The short answer

Grace is God's free and undeserved favour toward sinners, given in Jesus Christ and received by faith. It cannot be earned, repaid or topped up by good works. In the Bible it is not only pardon for the past but God's active kindness that saves, teaches and changes people.

The fuller answer

Grace is one of the Bible's central words, and its force lies in one direction: it comes from God to people who have not earned it. If a gift could be deserved, it would be wages. If it had to be repaid, it would be a loan. Grace is neither. It is the kindness of God shown to the guilty and the helpless, above all in sending his Son, and it reaches people while they are still unable to rescue themselves.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:8 (BSB)

Paul guards the word carefully. Salvation is by grace, through faith, and even this is not from yourselves. Faith is the open hand that receives; it is not a work that puts God in our debt. That is why grace produces humility rather than pride. No one who understands it can look down on another sinner, because the ground at the cross is level. The saved person has a great Saviour to thank, not a great record to display.

And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

Romans 11:6 (BSB)

Paul states the logic bluntly in Romans: if salvation rests on grace, it cannot also rest on works, otherwise grace would stop being grace. Mixing the two systems sounds generous, as if God does his part and we add ours. In fact it destroys both comfort and honesty. Works are never good enough to finish the job, and a gift with conditions attached is no longer the gift the apostles preached. Grace stands alone as the ground of salvation.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

Titus 2:11 (BSB)

Grace is not permission to live carelessly. The same grace that brings salvation trains people to say no to ungodliness and to live upright, godly lives while they wait for Christ. John speaks of grace upon grace received from the fullness of Christ, an ongoing supply rather than a single transaction. Grace pardons, adopts, teaches and sustains. It begins the Christian life, and every day of that life afterwards is lived from it, never beyond it.

Sources

Berean Standard Bible (BSB)

Review status: in-theological-review. Every Contend page passes a human theological review against the Statement of Faith before it is published as approved teaching. This section is in that queue.

Dig deeper

No answer here is a dead end. Follow the question on, test it in practice, or work the method yourself on the Dig deeper page.

What is the gospel?The gospel is the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ: he died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. It is news before it is advice: a death that pays for sin, a resurrection that proves it, and a living Lord who is to be confessed, believed, and followed.How can I be saved?By grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by anything you contribute. Ephesians says it outright: it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. To be saved is to turn from your sin, confess Jesus as Lord, and trust that God raised him from the dead for you. The rest of your life is learning to live from that gift.What is faith?Faith is trusting God's word and God's Son with your whole weight. Hebrews defines it as the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. It is not believing without evidence, and it is not mere agreement that something is true. It is the hand that receives what grace gives.What is justification?Justification is God's act of declaring sinners righteous on the basis of Christ's righteousness, received by faith alone. It is a legal verdict, not a process of becoming better: the justified person is pardoned, accepted and counted righteous before God, once and for all, because of Jesus.What is the difference between grace and mercy?Mercy is God not giving sinners the punishment they deserve, while grace is God giving them blessings they do not deserve. The two meet in the cross: in mercy God withholds judgement, and in grace he freely gives pardon, adoption and new life in Christ.Bible Character: PaulThe Pharisee who persecuted the church until the risen Jesus stopped him on the Damascus road, and who became his apostle to the Gentiles, travelling the Roman world and writing many of the New Testament letters.Bible Character: JesusThe Son of God, born of Mary in Bethlehem, who preached the kingdom of God, was crucified for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was raised on the third day.Lesson: The big story of the BibleThe Bible is one story, not sixty-six separate ones. Walk the whole arc once, from creation to new creation, and every book you open will have a place to sit.