Question
What is grace?
Analysis
The word: charis (G5485)
charis carries the ideas of favor, kindness, gift, and graciousness. Its theological weight is captured in the word "unmerited", grace is precisely favor shown where it is not owed. The contrast Paul draws is sharp: "if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace" (Romans 11:6). Grace and earning are mutually exclusive categories. (For transliteration/spelling variants of charis.)
The idea is not new to the New Testament. The Hebrew chen (H2580, "favor / grace") and chesed (H2617, …) carry it through the Old Testament, Noah "found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8), and God reveals himself to Moses as "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness" (Exodus 34:6). The fuller revelation of grace in Christ (John 1:17) stands in continuity with God's gracious character throughout Scripture.
The core meaning, unmerited favor (uncontested)
| Facet of grace | Texts | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| Grace as the ground of salvation | Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:24; Titus 3:5-7 | Salvation is a gift received, not a wage earned. "Not of works, lest any man should boast." |
| Grace centered and embodied in Christ | John 1:14, John 1:16-17 | "Full of grace and truth"; grace reaches its fullness in the incarnate Son, "grace for grace" (grace upon grace). |
| Grace as the dynamic of the whole Christian life | Romans 5:1-2 ("this grace wherein we stand"); Romans 5:15-21 (grace reigns); 2 Corinthians 12:9; Titus 2:11-14 | Grace not only forgives but teaches, sustains, and empowers, "the grace of God… teaching us that, denying ungodliness… we should live soberly." |
| Grace as God's free initiative | Romans 5:6-8 ("while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"); Ephesians 1:6-7 | God moves first, toward the undeserving. |
| Grace's sufficiency in weakness | 2 Corinthians 12:9 | Grace is enough precisely where human strength fails. |
Romans 5 is the great grace chapter: peace with God through grace (Romans 5:1-2), the free gift contrasted with the trespass (Romans 5:15-17), and grace reigning "through righteousness unto eternal life" (Romans 5:21). Titus 2:11-14 ties the two dimensions together, grace that saves is also grace that trains a people "zealous of good works."
Grace and good works, the consistent biblical balance
All mainstream traditions hold both of these together, even while weighting them differently:
- Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9), works cannot earn it.
- Yet the saved are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:10), works are the fruit and goal of grace, not its cause.
Grace is therefore neither earned by works (against legalism) nor a license to ignore them (against antinomianism, "shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid," Romans 6:1-2).
Contested point, grace and the human will
Traditions agree grace is unmerited and necessary; they differ on how grace operates in relation to human freedom in salvation.
| View | Position | Held by (tradition) |
|---|---|---|
| Monergism (Reformed / Calvinist) | Saving grace is God's work alone; it is effectual, God regenerates and draws the elect, and this grace, being sovereign, accomplishes its purpose (often termed "irresistible" or efficacious grace). The human will responds because grace has freed it. | Reformed and Presbyterian traditions; confessional Lutheran on the bondage of the will; much of the Augustinian heritage. |
| Synergism (Arminian / Wesleyan) | Grace is necessary and comes first ("prevenient grace" enabling response), but it is resistible; God's grace genuinely enables the human will, which then freely cooperates by responding in faith. | Wesleyan-Methodist, many Pentecostal and free-church evangelicals, classical Arminians. |
| Sacramental grace (Roman Catholic / Eastern Orthodox) | Grace is God's unmerited favor and a real interior life infused into the believer, ordinarily conveyed through the sacraments (baptism, Eucharist, etc.), cooperated with by faith working in love; grace genuinely transforms the person, not only their legal standing. | Roman Catholic (Council of Trent and later teaching); Eastern Orthodox (with its own emphasis on grace as participation in the divine life / theosis). |
These map onto the broader debate. A point of convergence worth noting: the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (Roman Catholic + Lutheran World Federation, later affirmed by Methodists and Reformed) reached significant common ground that salvation is by grace, while preserving each tradition's distinctive emphases.
What grace is NOT (cross-tradition clarifications)
| Grace is NOT | Because |
|---|---|
| Earned or deserved | "Not of works… lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9); "if by grace, then is it no more of works" (Romans 11:6) |
| A reward for being good | It is shown "while we were yet sinners" (Romans 5:8) |
| A license to sin | "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid" (Romans 6:1-2) |
| Only forgiveness | It also teaches, empowers, and sustains a transformed life (Titus 2:11-14; 2 Corinthians 12:9) |
Common follow-on questions
- …, Obedience is the response to grace, not the price of it; grace itself trains us to godliness (Titus 2:11-12), and love for the Giver motivates the life (John 14:15). This is the answer all traditions give to Romans 6:1.
- "Can I lose grace / fall from grace?", Traditions differ (the perseverance-of-the-saints debate); Galatians 5:4 warns those seeking justification by law that they are "fallen from grace," while Romans 8:38-39 assures nothing can separate believers from God's love. This connects to the monergism/synergism divide above.
- "Is there grace for my sin?", The consistent biblical answer is yes: "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20); grace is shown to sinners as sinners (Romans 5:8).