Grace, in its simplest expression, is a demonstration of love between divinity and mortal beings. This loving relationship is asymmetrical in nature, as God is the supreme dispenser of this love while humans play a recipient role in the development and continuation of the relationship. God’s principal means to express His love comes in the form of gifts that He bestows upon mankind. These gifts range from the gift to know and love Him, to His capacity to forgive each of our sins.
The concept of grace first appears in the Old Testament, where God, although portrayed as a vengeful being, is said to temper his anger and avenging nature with compassion and gra-ciousness. In Christianity, particularly in the teachings of the Apostle Paul, God, through grace, freely sets up an amnesty of sins both inherited from Adam and created by our own free actions. This act of salvation to all sinners is the supreme expression of love. This favor from God has both an individual aspect—God forgives one’s personal sins—and a historical and eschatological aspect. God’s ultimate plan is the reestablishment of human relations with Him after original sin, and His preordained role in bringing about the salvation of mankind.
Within the Judaic-Christian tradition, a persistent dialogue arose as to the nature of God’s grace and whether one can or should do anything to “earn” God’s favor. The Apostle Paul established the prevalent view that humans are collectively tainted by the original sin of Adam and do not merit grace. Augustine elaborates upon this view, noting that God is not only the provider of an unmerited saving grace, but also bestows the will within humans to receive it (prevenientgrace). Owing to human’s inherent original sin and thus inborn incapacity to know and love God, it is only through the irresistible nature of grace that humans are drawn to God.
Other thinkers such as Pelagus, John Tauler, Melanchthon, Suarez, and most Roman Catholics view human will, sacraments, or asceticism as factors that play a part in God’s grace. Although the belief that God’s love and grace are given freely and are not “earned” is widely accepted, these latter exponents of Christianity believe that human actions affect God’s love and compassion—by bringing “more grace” to oneself by good acts, ascetic self-denial, and performance of the holy sacraments (sacramental grace), one becomes worthy of God’s grace and unbounded love.
Some saw the institution of these meritorious acts as dangerous, leading to false pride and the creation of a hierarchy of human beings, which separated those most worthy of grace from those “less worthy.” Passages in the Bible seem to support both sides of this debate, because warnings are given against the potential consequences of greed and selfishness. At the same time, some parables—for example, of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and the Field Workers (Matthew 20:1-16)— propound that God provides grace to good and bad people alike, even contending that the worst sinners who eventually repent stand the best chance of gaining heaven.
Even within Jesus’ lifetime people raised a second concern, namely, whether this account of unbridled grace could undermine observance of moral and spiritual precepts, judicial retribution, and all sense of accountability for one’s actions: Would this proclaimed general amnesty of sins lead to widespread lawlessness and anarchy? If God loves and treats good and bad people equally through His grace, why should one deprive oneself of pleasurable ends in attempting to live a good life, given that bad behavior provides equal if not better results in terms of the afterlife?
As the notion of grace became intertwined with the providence or predestination of God’s will, concerns over human free will and the ability to influence one’s salvation became a heated topic. This concern was further inflamed by the presumption that all human acts are tainted and fundamentally sinful as an extension of the sin of Adam—and no human is capable of salvation without the loving grace of God.
