Grace is God's free, undeserved favor toward sinners, given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ and received by faith alone. It is not a reward for good behavior, and it is not help to finish what we started. It is God doing for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Few words are sung, preached, and printed more often in Christian circles than "grace." Churches carry it in their names. Believers say it before meals. Yet when you ask someone to define it, the answer often comes out vague: a kind feeling from God, a second chance, or a little divine boost to help us try harder.
The Bible gives us something far richer and far more settled than that. In this article, we will define grace from Scripture, look at the words God used for it, see how grace stands at the center of the message given to the apostle Paul, and walk through the key verses every believer should know. We will do this the way the Bible tells us to study it: by "rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV).
What Is Grace? The Biblical Definition
In the Bible, grace means favor that is freely given and completely unearned. The classic short definition is "unmerited favor," and it is a good one. But Scripture pushes it further: grace is favor shown to people who deserve the opposite.
Favor, kindness, or acceptance shown by a superior to someone who has no claim on it.
A favor done freely, without expecting repayment. Used more than 150 times, mostly by Paul.
The Old Testament word: chen
The main Hebrew word translated "grace" in the Old Testament is chen (pronounced "khane"). Its first appearance sets the tone:
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.Genesis 6:8
Noah did not find grace because the world was good; the verses around it describe a world filled with violence. Grace showed up where judgment was due. A related word, chesed, often rendered "mercy" or "lovingkindness" in the KJV, speaks of God's loyal, covenant-keeping love toward His people.
The New Testament word: charis
The Greek word is charis. It appears more than 150 times in the New Testament, and the large majority of those uses are in the letters of the apostle Paul. In ordinary Greek, charis described a favor done freely, a kindness given without expecting repayment. The New Testament fills that word with the full weight of what God has done in Christ.
The same root gives us charisma, "gift," and charizomai, "to give freely" or "to forgive." Grace and gift are bound together. As Paul puts it:
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 6:23
Grace and mercy: what is the difference?
The two are close companions, but they are not the same:
Mercy
God withholding what we deserve: judgment for our sin.
Grace
God giving what we do not deserve: forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life, and a place in His family.
Mercy keeps us from the penalty. Grace lifts us into blessing. Paul joins them in one sentence: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Grace is God's undeserved kindness and favor, freely given to sinners through the finished work of Jesus Christ, by which He saves, justifies, and keeps all who trust Him, apart from any works of their own.
Its source is God, its channel is Christ, and it is received through faith. It is never earned, never repaid, and never mixed with merit.Grace Rightly Divided: The Dispensation of the Grace of God
God has always been gracious, but He has not always dealt with mankind in the same way. Rightly dividing the Word means noticing those differences instead of blending every passage into one program. When we do, grace comes into sharp focus.
Grace under the law
God's grace was real in the Old Testament. He chose Israel, not because they were greater than other nations, but because He loved them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). Yet the covenant He gave at Sinai came with conditions: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me" (Exodus 19:5). Faith under the law was expressed by doing what God commanded, including sacrifices, feasts, and the Sabbath.
The law was holy and good (Romans 7:12), but it could not save. Its purpose was to expose sin: "for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20), and "the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20).
Grace revealed through Paul
After Israel rejected their risen Messiah, God did something the prophets never announced. He saved Saul of Tarsus, the chief persecutor of the church, and sent him as "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13). To Paul, God committed a new stewardship:
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery...Ephesians 3:2-3
This "mystery" was "kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:25) and "hid in God" (Ephesians 3:9). It reveals that, through the cross, God now offers salvation to Jew and Gentile alike, on equal terms, apart from the law, and forms them into one new body, the Church, the Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16; 3:6).
Paul himself is the pattern. He called himself the chief of sinners and said, "the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant" toward him, so that he would be "a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting" (1 Timothy 1:14-16). His message is "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
Why the distinction matters
When we mix the terms God gave Israel under the law with the terms He gives us today, grace gets diluted. People start adding rituals, rule-keeping, or performance to the cross. Rightly dividing keeps the gospel of grace clear: Christ "died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and we are saved by trusting that finished work.
| Compare | Israel under the law | The Body of Christ under grace |
|---|---|---|
| Key spokesman | Moses, the prophets, the Twelve | The apostle Paul |
| Basis of blessing | Covenant with conditions (Exodus 19:5) | Christ's finished work (Romans 3:24) |
| How faith responded | Obeying God's commands, sacrifices, water baptism | Believing the gospel, with no works added (Romans 4:5) |
| Relationship to law | Under the law | "Not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14) |
| Revealed | Spoken since the world began (Acts 3:21) | Kept secret since the world began (Romans 16:25) |
In every age, people have been right with God by believing what He said to them. What changed is what He said, and the program He was carrying out. Today, God speaks to us through Paul's epistles, Romans to Philemon, about the grace in which we stand.
Key Bible Verses About Grace
These verses, drawn mostly from Paul's epistles, show what grace does for the believer. Read them slowly, and read them in their context.
Grace savesEphesians 2:8-9
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
This is the clearest statement of how a person is saved today. Grace is the source, faith is the channel, and works are ruled out. If salvation could be earned, we would have something to boast about. Grace leaves all the glory to God.
Grace justifies freelyRomans 3:23-24
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
To be justified is to be declared righteous by God, the Judge. The word "freely" means without a cause in us. The cost was real, but Christ paid it through His redemption, His blood shed on the cross (Romans 3:25).
Grace and works cannot mixRomans 11:6
"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
Grace plus works is not a stronger kind of grace; it stops being grace at all. This verse is the guardrail that keeps the gospel pure.
Grace counts faith for righteousnessRomans 4:4-5
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Wages are owed; gifts are not. God does not pay sinners what they earned. He credits righteousness to the ungodly who simply believe.
Grace redeems and forgivesEphesians 1:7
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
Forgiveness is not measured by our repentance or our record. It is measured "according to the riches of his grace," and those riches never run short.
Grace gives us a standingRomans 5:1-2
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
Grace is not only the door we came through; it is the ground we stand on every day. Our acceptance does not rise and fall with our performance.
Grace abounds over sinRomans 5:20
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
No sin is bigger than God's grace. The law showed how great our sin was; the cross showed how much greater His grace is.
Grace frees from sin's ruleRomans 6:14
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Law demands but gives no power. Grace delivers us from the dominion of sin and gives us a new identity in Christ.
Grace teaches us to live godlyTitus 2:11-12
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."
Grace is not only a gift; it is a teacher. The same grace that saves also trains the believer to say no to sin and yes to godliness.
Grace strengthens in weakness2 Corinthians 12:9
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
Paul asked three times for his "thorn in the flesh" to be removed. God's answer was not removal but sufficiency. Grace meets us in suffering and carries us through it.
Grace was planned before time2 Timothy 1:9
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
Grace was not God's backup plan. It flows from His eternal purpose in Christ.
Grace transforms a life1 Corinthians 15:10
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
Grace does not make believers lazy. It produces a life of willing service, and even that service is credited to grace.
More verses on grace to study
- John 1:17 — "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 — Christ became poor so that we might be rich.
- Ephesians 1:6 — We are "accepted in the beloved" to the praise of His grace.
- Ephesians 2:7 — God will show "the exceeding riches of his grace" in the ages to come.
- Titus 3:7 — "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
- 2 Timothy 2:1 — "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."
- Colossians 4:6 — "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt."
Grace Versus Works and the Law
Grace and works are two different ways of relating to God, and Scripture never lets them be combined for salvation. One says, "Do, and you will be accepted." The other says, "It is done; believe and be accepted."
Paul defended this truth fiercely in Galatians, where some taught that Gentile believers had to keep the law to be fully right with God. His answer was direct:
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.Galatians 2:21
If we could be made righteous by keeping rules, the cross would have been unnecessary. Adding works to grace does not honor God more; it insults the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. Paul even warned that those who seek justification by the law "are fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:4). In context, this does not mean losing salvation. It means stepping off the ground of grace and onto the ground of performance, which can never justify anyone (Galatians 2:16).
Three contrasts help keep the difference clear:
- Wages versus a gift. Works earn wages; grace gives a gift (Romans 4:4; 6:23).
- Boasting versus glorying in God. Works give room to boast; grace removes it (Ephesians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 1:31).
- Doubt versus assurance. Works leave us wondering whether we have done enough; grace rests on what Christ has done, so the promise is "sure to all the seed" (Romans 4:16).
None of this means good works are unimportant. Paul says we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:10). The order matters:
Works are the fruit of salvation, never the root of it. We do not work to be saved; we work because we are saved.
What Grace Teaches: Living Under Grace
Grace does not leave the believer where it found him. Titus 2:11-14 shows that grace saves us, trains us, and points us forward to Christ's return:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.Titus 2:11-14
Here is what that looks like in daily life:
Rest in your standing
You are "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). You do not need to win God's approval each morning; you already have it in Christ. Serve from acceptance, not for it.
Say no to sin
Paul's pattern is to "reckon" yourself dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11). Godly living grows from knowing your identity in Christ, not from fear of losing it.
Lean on grace in hard seasons
Illness, loss, and disappointment do not mean God's favor has left. His grace is sufficient, and His strength shows best in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Extend grace to others
"Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32). Let your words carry grace too (Colossians 4:6).
Serve with gratitude
Like Paul, we can labor abundantly, knowing that it is "not I, but the grace of God" at work (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Grow in the Word
Study Paul's epistles, the letters written directly to the Body of Christ, and let them shape how you think and live (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17).
Keep looking up
Grace gives us a "blessed hope": the appearing of our Saviour. That hope steadies us in "this present world."
Common Misunderstandings About Grace
Frequently Asked Questions About Grace
What is the simplest biblical definition of grace?
Grace is God's unmerited favor: His kindness freely given to people who have not earned it and cannot repay it, through Jesus Christ.
What is the best Bible verse about grace?
Ephesians 2:8-9 is the most widely quoted: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
What is the difference between grace and mercy?
Mercy is God not giving us the punishment we deserve. Grace is God giving us blessings we do not deserve, such as forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life.
Who is the apostle of grace?
The apostle Paul. God revealed to him "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Ephesians 3:2) and sent him as "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13). The word charis appears more often in his letters than anywhere else in the New Testament.
How do I receive God's grace?
By faith, believing that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Paul writes, "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace" (Romans 4:16). Faith receives; it does not earn.
Can a believer lose God's grace?
Scripture says believers stand in grace (Romans 5:2) and are sealed by the Holy Spirit "unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). Our security rests on Christ's finished work, not on our performance.
Amazing, Sufficient Grace
Grace is God's free favor toward sinners who deserve judgment, given through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and received by faith alone. It saves us, justifies us, gives us a standing before God, teaches us to live godly, and strengthens us in every weakness.
When we rightly divide the Word of truth, we see that we live today in "the dispensation of the grace of God," revealed through the apostle Paul. That means our relationship with God does not rest on rituals, rule-keeping, or our best efforts. It rests entirely on what Christ has already done.
Receive the gift today
If you have never trusted Christ as your Saviour, the invitation is open. You cannot earn this gift, but you can receive it. Believe that He died for your sins and rose again, and God declares you righteous, "freely by his grace" (Romans 3:24).
And if you already know Him, take Paul's words as your daily encouragement:
"Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." — 2 Timothy 2:1