What does grace mean in Christianity?
Ephesians 2 places grace and good works together. What changes when forgiveness is a gift?
In Christianity, grace is God’s generous favour and help, freely given. Through Jesus Christ, God offers forgiveness, reconciliation and a new life sustained by the Holy Spirit.
A question follows almost immediately: if this is a gift, why does it matter how we live?
Read one verse further
Ephesians 2:1–10 puts the gift and its consequences together. The passage begins with people unable to give themselves the life they need. God acts in mercy through Christ. Verses 8 and 9 describe salvation by grace through faith, leaving no room to boast about earning it.
Then verse 10 speaks about good works.
Stopping before that verse would leave its account unfinished. Grace brings people into a life with God that has consequences for their neighbours. Faith receives the gift; the good that follows grows from it. Salvation means rescue from sin and life with God, so it reaches beyond a moment of reassurance.
The Anglican Articles of Religion XI and XII use the same order. Article XI grounds our being put right with God in Jesus Christ, received by faith. Article XII describes good works as the fruit of living faith.
What changes after forgiveness?
Imagine discovering that you have repeated an untrue story about someone. Asking God for forgiveness can be a beginning. There is also a correction to make, perhaps to the very people whose approval you wanted when you told the story.
Making that correction does not purchase God’s mercy. It takes the harm seriously. Grace gives us reason to face what we have done, and to ask for help in changing it.
This especially is important when someone else has been harmed. An appeal to God’s forgiveness must never be used to silence them, avoid accountability or demand their immediate trust. Repentance includes telling the truth and making amends where possible and appropriate. The person harmed should not be made responsible for proving that forgiveness has worked.
Help for the next step
Grace also describes the help we continue to need. Knowing that a correction is necessary does not automatically give us the courage to make it. We can ask God for that courage, then decide whom to contact and what needs to be said.
In another situation, the next step may be asking for support or beginning to pray again after a long absence. None requires an impressive spiritual record. Nor does a difficult day or a dry period in prayer, by itself, show that God’s love has been withdrawn.
A simple prayer is enough to begin: God of mercy, help me receive your forgiveness and act truthfully today.
Return to Ephesians 2 with both questions in view: what does God give, and what life follows from that gift? If you would like to discuss them, our Exploring Christianity page offers a place to continue.
For further reading, see what Christ Church believes.
