View source for Grace in Christianity

{{Short description|Concept in Christianity}}
{{For|the prayer before meals|Grace (prayer)}}
{{Main|Divine grace}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Grace in Christianity}}
{{Attributes of God}}

In [[Western Christianity|Western]] [[Christian beliefs]], '''grace''' is [[God in Christianity|God]]'s favor, and a "share in the divine life of God".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Diderot|first1=Denis|title=Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers|date=1757|pages=Vol. 7, pp. 800–803}}</ref> It is a spontaneous gift from God – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved"<ref>{{cite book |last=Quessnell |first=Q. |chapter='Grace' |pages=437–450 |editor-last1=Komonchak |editor-first1=Joseph A. |editor-link1=Joseph A. Komonchak |editor-last2=Collins |editor-first2=Mary |editor-last3=Lane |editor-first3=Dermot A. |title=The New Dictionary of Theology |date=1990 |publisher=Liturgical Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXEbAQAAMAAJ |isbn=978-0-8146-5609-9}}</ref> – that cannot be earned.<ref>"Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life." {{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6Z.HTM|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1996|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref> In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], grace is the [[Tabor Light|uncreated]] [[energies of God]]. Among [[Eastern Christians]] generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the divine [[nature (Christianity)|nature]] described in {{Bibleref|2 Peter|1:4}}<ref name="orthodoxebooks.org">Fr. Tadros Malaty, ''The Divine Grace'' [http://www.orthodoxebooks.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/THE%20DIVINE%20GRACE%20-%20Father%20Tadros%20Yacoub%20Malaty.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703125333/http://www.orthodoxebooks.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/THE%20DIVINE%20GRACE%20-%20Father%20Tadros%20Yacoub%20Malaty.pdf |date=2021-07-03 }}</ref> and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.<ref name="ODT" /><ref name=Grabbe>Gregory (Grabbe), Archbishop. ''The Sacramental Life: An Orthodox Christian Perspective.'' Liberty TN: St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1986</ref>

As an [[Attributes of God in Christianity|attribute of God]], grace manifests most in the [[salvation in Christianity|salvation]] of [[Christian views on sin|sinners]], and Western Christianity holds that the initiative in the relationship of grace between God and an individual is always on the side of God.

The question of the [[means of grace]] has been called "the watershed that divides [[Catholicism]] from [[Protestantism]], [[Calvinism]] from [[Arminianism]], modern [[theological]] [[Liberal Christianity|liberalism]] from [[theological]] [[Christian fundamentalism|conservatism]]."<ref name="Ryrie">Ryrie, Charles C. ''The Grace of God.'' (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963), pp. 10–11.</ref> The Catholic Church holds that it is because of the action of Christ and the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] in transforming into the divine life what is subjected to God's power that "the [[sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacraments]] confer the grace they signify": "the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through [each sacrament], independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the [[disposition]] of the one who receives them."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P33.HTM|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sacraments|url=https://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0458.html|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.catholiceducation.org}}</ref>

Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants agree that grace is a gift from God, as in {{Bibleref|Ephesians|2:8}}: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." [[Lutherans]] hold that the means of grace are "the gospel in Word and sacraments."<ref>{{Cite web|title=What We Believe|url=https://wels.net/about-wels/what-we-believe/|access-date=2020-08-24|website=WELS|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Means of Grace|url=http://clclutheran.org/shared/thoughtdocs/meangrac.htm|access-date=2020-08-24|website=clclutheran.org}}</ref> That the sacraments are means of grace is also the teaching of [[John Wesley]],<ref>[http://www.nph.com/vcmedia/2369/2369940.pdf What is a sacrament?]</ref> who described the [[Eucharist]] as "the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God".<ref>John Wesley, "Sermon on the Mount—Discourse Six", III.11, quoted in [https://versefortheday.com/this-holy-mystery-communion-John-Wesley.PDF "This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801061624/https://versefortheday.com/this-holy-mystery-communion-John-Wesley.PDF |date=2020-08-01 }}</ref>

Calvinists emphasize "the utter helplessness of people apart from grace." But God reaches out with "first grace" or "[[prevenient grace]]". The Calvinist doctrine known as [[irresistible grace]] states that, since all persons are by nature spiritually dead, no one desires to accept this grace until God spiritually enlivens them by means of [[Regeneration (theology)|regeneration]]. God regenerates only individuals whom he has [[predestination|predestined]] to salvation. Arminians understand the [[grace of God]] as cooperating with one's free will in order to bring an individual to salvation. According to Evangelical theologian [[Charles Caldwell Ryrie|Charles C. Ryrie]], modern liberal theology "gives an exaggerated place to the abilities of people to decide their own fate and to effect their own salvation entirely apart from God's grace."<ref name="Ryrie" />

==Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible==
''Grace'' is the English translation of the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|χάρις}} ({{transliteration|grc|charis}}) meaning "that which brings delight, joy, happiness, or good fortune."<ref name="Bible Dictionary">Roetzel, Calvin J., PhD. ''The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary'', Paul J. Achtemeier, General Editor. HarperCollins, 1996. Pp. 386–387</ref>

=== Old Testament ===
The [[Septuagint]] translates as {{lang|grc|χάρις}} the [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] word {{lang|hbo|חֵ֖ן}} ({{transliteration|hbo|ẖen}}) as found in Genesis 6:8<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|6:8|HE}}</ref> to describe why God saved Noah from the flood.<ref name="Bible Dictionary" /> The Old Testament use of the word includes the concept that those showing favor do gracious deeds, or acts of grace, such as being kind to the poor and showing generosity.<ref name="Bible Dictionary" /> Descriptions of God's graciousness abound in the [[Torah]]/[[Pentateuch]], for example in Deuteronomy 7:8<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|7:8}}</ref> and Numbers 6:24–27.<ref>{{bibleverse|Numbers|6:24–27}}</ref> In the Psalms, examples of God's grace include teaching the Law (Psalm 119:29)<ref>{{bibleverse|Psalm|119:29}}</ref> and answering prayers (Psalm 27:7).<ref>{{bibleverse|Psalm|27:7}}</ref><ref name="Bible Dictionary" /> Another example of God's grace appears in [[Psalm 85]], a prayer for restoration, [[forgiveness]], and the grace and mercy of God to bring about new life following the [[Babylonian Exile|Exile]].

==Roman Catholicism==
In the definition of the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]], "grace is favour, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life".<ref name="vatican.va">{{Cite web|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6Z.HTM|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> Grace is a participation in the life of God, which is poured unearned into human beings, whom it heals of sin and sanctifies.<ref name="vatican.va"/>

The means by which God grants grace are many.<ref name=OBOB>[http://www.iec2012.ie/downloads/One_Bread_One_Body.pdf Catholic Bishops' Conferences of England & Wales, Ireland and Scotland, ''One Bread One Body''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612134530/http://www.iec2012.ie/downloads/One_Bread_One_Body.pdf |date=2013-06-12 }}, p. 7</ref> They include the entirety of revealed truth, the [[sacrament]]s and the hierarchical ministry.<ref name=OBOB/><ref name="CE-Church">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Church |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> Among the principal [[means of grace]] are the sacraments (especially the [[Eucharist]]), prayers and good works.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Nq9Dfmjgh-UC&q=%22means+of+grace%22&pg=PA143 Matthew Bunson, ''2009 Catholic Almanac''] (Our Sunday Visitor 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-59276-441-9}}), p. 143</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rolfus |first=H. (Hermann) |url=http://archive.org/details/meansofgracecomp00rolf |title=The means of grace : a complete exposition of the seven sacraments, their institution, meaning, requirements, ceremonies, and efficacy : of the sacramentals of the Church, holy water, oils, exorcisms, blessings, consecrations, etc. : and of prayer, with a comprehensive explanation of the Our Father and the Hail Mary |last2=Brändle |first2=F. J. (Florian J. ) |last3=Brennan |first3=Richard |date=1894 |publisher=New York : Benziger Brothers |others=The Library of Congress |pages=25}}</ref> The [[sacramentals]] also are means of grace.<ref>Brennan (1894), p. 337</ref> The sacraments themselves, not the persons who administer or those who receive them, are "the means of grace",<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&dq=%22means+of+grace%22+catholic&pg=PA386 |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |date=1999 |publisher=Merriam-Webster Inc. |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |pages=386 |language=en}}</ref> although lack of the required dispositions on the part of the recipient will block the effectiveness of the sacrament.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P35.HTM |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

The Catholic Church holds that "by grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any [[Merit (Catholicism)|merit]] on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/GRACALON.htm Deal W. Hudson, "Grace Alone"]</ref> Both the [[Council of Orange (529)]] and the [[Council of Trent]] affirmed that we are "justified gratuitously, because none of the things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sola Gratia, Solo Christo: The Roman Catholic Doctrine of Justification by Richard A. White|url=http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a134.htm|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.philvaz.com}}</ref>

The Council of Trent declared that the free will of man, moved and excited by God, can by its consent co-operate with God, who excites and invites its action; and that it can thereby dispose and prepare itself to obtain the grace of justification. The will can resist grace if it chooses. It is not like a lifeless thing, which remains purely passive. Weakened and diminished by Adam's fall, free will is yet not destroyed in the race (Sess. VI, cap. i and v).<ref>{{cite book|last1=(reg)|first1=CO Now LLC, Chicago, IL|title=~The Council of Trent - Session 6~|url=http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch6.htm|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>

The [[Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification|joint declaration]] between Catholics and Lutherans on the doctrine of justification affirms:

{{blockquote|We confess together that all persons depend completely on the saving grace of God for their salvation. Justification takes place solely by God's grace. When Catholics say that persons "cooperate" in preparing for and accepting justification by consenting to God's justifying action, they see such personal consent as itself an effect of grace, not as an action arising from innate human abilities.<ref>{{cite book|title=Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>|author=Pontifical Councils, The Vatican|title=Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification}}

===Sanctifying and actual grace===
According to a commonly accepted categorization, made by [[St. Thomas Aquinas]] in his {{lang|la|[[Summa Theologica|Summa Theologiae]]}}, grace can be given either to make the person receiving it pleasing to God ({{lang|la|gratia gratum faciens}}) – so that the person is [[Sanctification in Christianity#Roman Catholicism|sanctified]] and [[Justification (theology)|justified]] – or else to help the receiver lead someone else to God ({{lang|la|gratia gratis data}}).<ref name="summa-i-iiae-a111-q1">{{cite book|last=Thomas Aquinas|title=Summa Theologiae|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2111.htm#article1|at=I-Iae, a. 111, q. 1.|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref>{{efn|For example, in when a man is ordained a priest, the Church teaches that he receives the power to confect the [[Eucharist]] (to celebrate Mass) and to forgive sins in the [[Sacrament of Reconciliation]]. This power does not sanctify the priest per se, but rather the people who benefit from these [[Sacraments]].}} The former type of grace, {{lang|la|gratia gratum faciens}}, in turn, can be described as sanctifying (or habitual) grace – when it refers to the divine life which, according to the Church, infuses a person's soul once they are justified; or else as actual grace – when it refers to those punctual (not habitual) helps that are directed to the production of sanctifying grace where it does not already exist, or its maintenance and increase it where it is already present. According to the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]:

{{Blockquote|text=Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.<ref name="ccc-2000">{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6Z.HTM |at=No. 2000 }}</ref>|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church}}

The infusion of sanctifying grace, says the Church, transforms a sinner into a holy child of God, and in this way a person participates in the Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ and receives the indwelling of the [[Holy Spirit (Christianity)|Holy Spirit]].<ref name="trent-justification">{{cite book|last=Council of Trent|title=Decree on Justification|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/councils/trent6.htm#1|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> For this reason, sanctifying grace is also called deifying grace and sanctification is [[Deification#Roman Catholic Church|deification]].<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_three/section_one/chapter_three/article_2/ii_grace.html Catechism of the Catholic Church 1999]</ref> 

Sanctifying grace remains permanently in the soul as long as one does not reject one's adopted sonship by committing a [[mortal sin]], which severs one's friendship with God. Less serious sins, [[venial sins|venial sin]], although they "allow charity to subsist, they offend and wound it."<ref name="ccc-1855">{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6C.HTM|at=No. 1855}}</ref> However, God is infinitely merciful, and sanctifying grace can always be restored to the penitent heart, normatively in the [[Sacrament of Reconciliation]] (or [[Sacrament of Penance]]).<ref name="ccc-1856">{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6C.HTM|at=No. 1856}}</ref>

===Augustine versus Pelagius===
{{See also|Augustinian soteriology|Pelagius#Evaluation}}
n the early 5th century, [[Pelagius]], an ascetic who is said to have come from Britain,<ref name="DNB">{{cite encyclopedia|first=Gerald|last=Bonner|publisher=Oxford University Press|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|title=Pelagius (fl. c. 390–418), theologian|year=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21784?docPos=1|access-date=28 October 2012|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/21784|url-access=subscription}} {{ODNBsub}}</ref> was concerned about the moral laxity of society that he witnessed in Rome. He blamed this laxity on the theology of [[divine grace]] preached by [[Augustine of Hippo]], among others.<ref name="Filippo">{{Cite web|title=St. Augustine and Pelagianism {{!}} Stephen N. Filippo {{!}} Ignatius Insight|url=http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2008/sfilippo_augustinepelag_jan08.asp|access-date=2020-04-14|website=www.ignatiusinsight.com|archive-date=2008-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409215444/http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2008/sfilippo_augustinepelag_jan08.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> He strongly affirmed that humans had free will and were able to choose good as well as evil. Augustine, drawing on the exaggerated statements of the followers of Pelagius rather than on Pelagius' own writings,<ref name="Clark">{{Cite web|date=2011-10-06|title=Pelagius|url=http://americanphilosophy.net/pelagianheresy.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006045016/http://americanphilosophy.net/pelagianheresy.htm|archive-date=2011-10-06|access-date=2020-04-14}}</ref> began a debate that was to have long-reaching effects on subsequent developments of the doctrine in Western Christianity. Pelagianism was repudiated by the [[Councils of Carthage|Council of Carthage]] in 418, largely at Augustine's insistence. However, what Pelagius taught was likely what has come to be called [[Semi-Pelagianism|semi-pelagianism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Beck|first1=John H.|date=2007|title=The Pelagian Controversy: An Economic Analysis|journal=[[American Journal of Economics and Sociology]]|volume=66|issue=4|pages=694|doi=10.1111/j.1536-7150.2007.00535.x|s2cid=144950796}}</ref>

In semi-Pelagian thought, both God and the human person always participate in the salvation process. Humans make free will choices, which are aided by God through creation, natural grace, "supernatural" grace, and God's restrictions on demonic influences. God continually brings the human person to real choices, which God also aids, in the process of spiritual growth and salvation. Semi-Pelagianism involves [[synergism]], which is the traditional [[Church Fathers|patristic]] doctrine. [[John Cassian]], in continuity with patristic doctrine, taught that though grace is required for persons to save themselves at the beginning, there is no such thing as total depravity, but there remains a moral or noetic ability within humans that is unaffected by original sin, and that persons must work together (synergism) with divine grace to be saved.<ref>Cassian, Inst. 12, Conf. 3, Conf. 13</ref> This position is held by the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and by many Reformed Protestants,<ref name="ODT2">Pomazansky, Protopresbyter Michael. ''Orthodox Dogmatic Theology.'' Platina CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1984. [[LCCN]] 84-051294, pp. 257–261.</ref><ref>Kallistos (Timothy Ware). ''The Orthodox Church.'' London: Penguin Books, 1963. pp. 226ff. {{ISBN|0-14-020592-6}}.</ref> and in the Catholic Church has been especially associated with the [[Society of Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maryks |first=Robert A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lx_-vOQ48iYC&dq=jesuits+jansenists+semipelagianism&pg=PA130 |title=Saint Cicero and the Jesuits: The Influence of the Liberal Arts on the Adoption of Moral Probabalism |date=2008 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-6293-8 |pages=130 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Espín |first=Orlando O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k85JKr1OXcQC&dq=unigenitus+jansenist+heresy+jesuits&pg=PA664 |title=An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies |last2=Nickoloff |first2=James B. |date=2007 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-5856-7 |pages=664 |language=en}}</ref>

===Catholic versus Protestant===
In 1547, the [[Council of Trent]], which sought to address and condemn Protestant objections, aimed to purge the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] of controversial movements and establish an orthodox Roman Catholic teaching on grace and justification, as distinguished from the Protestant teachings on those concepts. It taught that justification and sanctification are elements of the same process.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06710a.htm "Controversies on Grace"]; [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06701a.htm "Sanctifying Grace"]. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.</ref> The grace of justification is bestowed through the merit of Christ's passion,<ref name="CT06">{{Cite web|title=CT06|url=https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct06.html|access-date=2020-08-24|website=history.hanover.edu}}</ref> without any merits on the part of the person justified, who is enabled to cooperate only through the grace of God.<ref name="CT06"/> The grace of justification may be lost through [[mortal sin]], but can also be restored by the sacrament of Penance.<ref name="CT06"/> The sacraments are, together with revealed truth, the principal means of the grace, a treasury of grace, that Christ has merited by his life and death and has given to the Church.<ref name="CE-Church"/> This does not mean that other groups of Christians have no treasury of grace at their disposal,<ref>{{Cite book |last=VanderWilt |first=Jeffrey T. (Jeffrey Thomas) |url=http://archive.org/details/communionwithnon0000vand |title=Communion with non-Catholic Christians: risks, challenges, and opportunities |date=2003 |publisher=Liturgical Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8146-2895-9 |location=Collegeville, Minnesota, United States |pages=180}}</ref> for, as the Second Vatican Council declared, "many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of (the Catholic Church's) visible structure".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lumen gentium|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

===Jansenists versus Jesuits===
At about the same time that Calvinists and Arminians were debating the meaning of grace in Protestantism, in Catholicism a similar debate was taking place between the [[Jansenism|Jansenists]] and the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]]. [[Cornelius Jansen]]'s 1640 work {{lang|la|[[Augustinus (Jansenist book)|Augustinus]]}} sought to refocus Catholic theology on the themes of original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination, as he found them in the works of Augustine. The Jansenists, like the Puritans, believed themselves to be members of a gathered church called out of worldly society, and banded together in institutions like the [[Port-Royal-des-Champs|Port-Royal]] convents seeking to lead lives of greater spiritual intensity. [[Blaise Pascal]] attacked what he called moral laxity in the [[casuistry]] of the Jesuits. Jansenist theology remained a minority party within Catholicism, and during the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries it was condemned as a [[heresy]] for its similarities to [[Calvinism]], though its style remained influential in [[ascetic]] circles.

=== Grace and merit ===
Citing the Council of Trent, the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] states:

{{blockquote|With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator. The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit. [...] The charity of Christ is the source in us of all our merits before God. Grace, by uniting us to Christ in active love, ensures the supernatural quality of our acts and consequently their merit before God and before men. The [[saint]]s have always had a lively awareness that their merits were pure grace.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P70.HTM|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church}}

==Eastern Christianity==
{{Expand section|date=August 2022}}
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], grace is identified with the [[Tabor Light|uncreated]] [[Energies of God]]. Among [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christians]] generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4.<ref name="orthodoxebooks.org"/> The [[sacred mysteries|Holy Mysteries]] (Latin, "sacraments") are seen as a means of partaking of divine grace because God works through his Church, not just because specific legalistic rules are followed; and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.<ref name="ODT" /><ref name=Grabbe />

[[Eastern Orthodox Christian theology|Orthodox theologians]] reject Augustine's formulation of [[original sin]] and actively oppose the content and implications of [[John Calvin]]'s conceptions of [[total depravity]] and [[irresistible grace]], characteristic of [[Calvinism|Reformed]] Protestantism, as well as the [[Thomism|Thomistic]] and [[scholasticism|scholastic]] [[philosophical theology|theology]] which would become official Roman Catholic pedagogy until the [[Second Vatican Council]]. Eastern Christians typically view scholasticism and similarly discursive, [[systematic theology|systematic theologies]] as [[rationalism|rationalistic]] corruptions of the theology of the [[Cappadocian Fathers|Cappadocian]] and early [[Desert Fathers]] that led the [[Western Christianity|Western Church]] astray into [[heresy in Christianity|heresy]].<ref name="Timothy Ware 1992">Timothy Ware. ''The Orthodox Church, Revised Edition'' Penguin Books, 1992. pp.239ff.</ref> Orthodoxy teaches that it is possible and necessary for the human will to cooperate with divine grace for the individual to be saved, or healed from the disease of sin. This cooperation is called [[synergism (theology)|synergism]] (see also [[semipelagianism]] and [[monergism]]), so that humans may become deified in conformity to the divine likeness – a process called [[Theosis (Eastern Orthodox theology)|''theosis'']] – by merging with the uncreated Energies of God (revealed to the senses as the [[Tabor Light]] of transfiguration), notably through a method of prayer called [[hesychasm]].<ref name="ODT">Pomazansky, Protopresbyter Michael. ''Orthodox Dogmatic Theology.'' Platina CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1984. [[LCCN]] 84-051294, pp. 257–261</ref><ref>Kallistos (Timothy Ware). ''The Orthodox Church.'' London: Penguin Books, 1963. pp.226ff. {{ISBN|0-14-020592-6}}</ref>

===John Cassian===
[[File:John Cassian.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[John Cassian]] ({{c.|360–435}} AD), modern Greek icon.]]In the works of [[John Cassian]] ({{c.|360–435}} AD), ''Conference'' XIII recounts how the wise monk Chaeremon, of whom he is writing, responded to puzzlement caused by his own statement that "man even though he strive with all his might for a good result, yet cannot become master of what is good unless he has acquired it simply by the gift of Divine bounty and not by the efforts of his own toil" (Chapter 1). In Chapter 11, Cassian presents Chaeremon as speaking of the cases of "Paul the persecutor" and "Matthew the publican" as difficulties for those who say "the beginning of free will is in our own power", and the cases of Zaccheus and the [[good thief|good thief on the cross]] as difficulties for those who say "the beginning of our free will is always due to the inspiration of the grace of God". Chaeremon thus concludes; "These two then; viz., the grace of God and free will seem opposed to each other, but really are in harmony, and we gather from the system of goodness that we ought to have both alike, lest if we withdraw one of them from man, we may seem to have broken the rule of the Church's faith: for when God sees us inclined to will what is good, He meets, guides, and strengthens us: for 'At the voice of thy cry, as soon as He shall hear, He will answer thee'; and: 'Call upon Me', He says, 'in the day of tribulation and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me'. And again, if He finds that we are unwilling or have grown cold, He stirs our hearts with salutary exhortations, by which a good will is either renewed or formed in us."<ref>[https://ccel.org/ccel/cassian/conferences/conferences.iii.iv.xi.html ''Conferences of John Cassian'', Part 2, Conference 13, Chapter 11.]</ref>

Cassian did not accept the idea of [[total depravity]], on which [[Martin Luther]] was to insist.<ref>{{cite book|last=Elton|first=Geoffrey Rudolph|title=Reformation Europe, 1517–1559|year=1963|publisher=Collins|pages=136}}</ref> He taught that human nature is fallen or depraved, but not totally. Augustine Casiday states that, at the same time, Cassian "baldly asserts that God's grace, not human free will, is responsible for 'everything [that] pertains to salvation' – even faith".<ref>{{cite book|last=Casiday|first=A. M. C.|title=Tradition and Theology in St John Cassian|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-929718-4|pages=103}}</ref> Cassian pointed out that people still have moral freedom and one has the option to choose to follow God. Colm Luibhéid says that, according to Cassian, there are cases where the soul makes the first little turn,<ref>{{cite book|author-first1=John|author-last1=Cassian|editor-last1=Luibhéid |editor-first1=Colm|title=Conferences|year=1985|publisher= New York : Paulist Press|isbn=9780809126941|pages=27}}</ref> but according to Casiday's interpretation, any sparks of goodwill that may exist, not {{em|directly}} caused by God, are totally inadequate and only {{em|direct}} divine intervention ensures spiritual progress;<ref>{{cite journal|first=Rodney|last=Moss|date=May 2009|url=http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/faculties/theology/chssa/docs/BookReviews-XXXV_1_-May-23-07-2009.pdf|journal=Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae|volume=XXXV|issue=1|page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306042848/http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/faculties/theology/chssa/docs/BookReviews-XXXV_1_-May-23-07-2009.pdf|archive-date=6 March 2012|title=Review of Casiday's Tradition and Theology in St. John Cassian}}</ref> and Lauren Pristas says that "for Cassian, salvation is, from beginning to end, the effect of God's grace".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI9329276/ |first1=Lauren|last1=Pristas|year=1993|title=The Theological Anthropology of John Cassian |publisher=Boston College|access-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610223355/http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI9329276/ |archive-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Protestant Reformation==
The [[Protestant Reformation]] reacted against the concepts of grace and merit as they were understood in late medieval Catholic theology.

===Luther and Lutheran theology===
[[Martin Luther]]'s posting of his [[ninety-five theses]] to the church door in [[Wittenberg]] in 1517 was a direct consequence of the perfunctory [[sacrament]]alism and treasury doctrines of the medieval church. The act was precipitated by the arrival of [[Johann Tetzel]], authorized by the [[Holy See|Vatican]] to sell [[indulgence]]s.

The effectiveness of these indulgences was predicated on the doctrine of the treasury of grace proclaimed by [[Pope Clement VI]]. The theory was that merit earned by acts of piety could augment the believer's store of sanctifying grace. Gifts to the Church were acts of piety. The Church, moreover, had a treasury full of grace above and beyond what was needed to get its faithful into heaven. The Church was willing to part with some of its surplus in exchange for earthly gold. Martin Luther's anger against this practice, which seemed to him to involve the purchase of salvation, began a swing of the [[pendulum]] back towards the Pauline vision of grace, as opposed to James's.

Luther taught that men were helpless and without a plea before God's justice, and their acts of piety were utterly inadequate before his infinite holiness. Were God {{em|only}} just, and not merciful, everyone would go to [[hell]], because everyone, even the best of mankind, deserves to go to hell. Mankind's inability to achieve salvation by its own effort suggests that even the best intentions are somehow tainted by mankind's sinful nature. This doctrine is sometimes called [[total depravity]], a term derived from [[Calvinism]] and its relatives.

It is by faith alone ({{lang|la|[[sola fide]]}}) and by grace alone ({{lang|la|[[sola gratia]]}}) that men are saved. [[Good works]] are something the believers should undertake out of gratitude towards their Savior; but they are not sufficient for salvation and cannot earn anyone salvation; there is no room for the notion of "merit" in Luther's doctrine of redemption. (There may, however, be degrees of reward for the redeemed in [[heaven]].) Only the unearned, unmerited grace of God can save anyone. No one can have a claim of entitlement to God's grace, and it is only by his generosity that salvation is even possible.

As opposed to the treasury of grace from which believers can make withdrawals, in Lutheranism salvation becomes a declaration of spiritual [[bankruptcy]], in which penitents acknowledge the inadequacy of their own resources and trust only in God to save them. Accepting Augustine's concern for legal justification as the base metaphor for salvation, the believers are not so much made righteous in Lutheranism as they are considered covered by Christ's righteousness. Acknowledging that they have no power to make themselves righteous, the penalty for their sins is discharged because Jesus has already paid for it with his blood. His righteousness is credited to those who believe in and thus belong to him.

===Calvin and Reformed theology===
[[Calvinist]] theology of salvation is characterized by divine [[monergism]].{{sfn|Barrett|2013|p=xxvii|ps=. "[D]ivine monergism is the view of Augustine and the Augustinians. [...] Calvinism appeals to Augustine for its view of efficacious grace."}} It defines salvation as a process in which God alone is the author of every stage, working entirely through His grace and without any human participation.{{sfn|Horton|2011|loc=ch. Perseverance of the saints|ps=. "The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints reflects a consistently monergistic view of salvation as entirely due to God's grace alone from beginning to the end".}}{{sfn|Barrett|2013|p=xx}} The French reformer [[John Calvin]] was profoundly influenced by [[Augustinian soteriology]] and systematized it further in his ''[[Institutes of the Christian Religion]]'' (1536).{{sfn|McMahon|2012|pp=7–9|ps=. "This is why one finds that every four pages written in the ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' John Calvin quoted Augustine. Calvin, for this reason, would deem himself not a Calvinist, but an Augustinian. [...] Christian Calvinist, should they be more likely deemed an Augustinian-Calvinist?"}}{{sfn|McKinley|1965|p=19}}

The Calvinistic interpretation of [[predestination]] rests on [[theological determinism]].{{sfn|Helm|2010|p=230|ps=. "[I]t is reasonable to conclude that although Calvin does not avow determinism in so many words, he nevertheless adopts a broadly deterministic outlook."}}{{sfn|Helm|2010|p=268}}{{sfn|Clark|1961|pp=237-238|ps=. "God is the sole ultimate cause of everything. There is absolutely nothing independent of him. He alone is the eternal being. He alone is omnipotent. He alone is sovereign."}} It teaches that God has foreordained both those who will be saved and those who will be damned—a concept known as "[[predestination (Calvinism)|double-predestination]]".{{sfn|Calvin|1845|loc=3.21.5}}{{sfn|Calvin|1845|loc=3.23.1|ps=. "Those therefore whom God passes by [does not elect] He reprobates, and that for no other cause than He is pleased to exclude them."}}{{sfn|Calvin|1845|loc=3.21.7|ps=. "By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death."}} In accordance with this view, Calvin affirmed the doctrine of [[perseverance of the saints]], arguing for the unconditional preservation of the elect.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=217}} This doctrine reflects a consistently monergistic understanding of salvation, viewing it as entirely dependent on the grace of God from beginning to end.{{sfn|Horton|2011|loc=ch. Perseverance of the saints|ps=. "The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints reflects a consistently monergistic view of salvation as entirely due to God's grace alone from beginning to the end".}}

Within [[Reformed theology]], two forms of divine grace are distinguished in relation to conversion—one extended universally, the other reserved for the [[Election (Christianity)|elect]]. The first, [[common grace]], denotes God’s benevolent influence that restrains sin and bestows various temporal blessings upon all people. However, it neither overcomes humanity's [[total depravity]] nor possesses salvific intent.{{sfn|Cox|1969|p=144}}{{sfn|Pinson|2022|p=197}}{{sfn|Shelton|2015}} The second form of grace unfolds through two successive operations: [[effectual calling]], by which God inwardly summons the elect, and [[irresistible grace]], which regenerates and enables them to respond in faith.{{sfn|Cunningham|2022|ps=. "[...] contrasting [the Arminian doctrines of universal vocation and sufficient grace] with the doctrines generally held by Calvinists, in regard to effectual calling and efficacious grace."}}{{sfn|Grudem|1994|p=692}}

=== Classical and Wesleyan Arminian theology ===
In the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch theologian [[Jacobus Arminius]] formulated [[Arminianism]] and departed from Calvin's theology in particular on [[Election in Christianity|election]] and predestination.{{sfn|Stanglin|McCall|2012|p=190}} Arminianism affirms the compatibility between human [[free will]] and [[divine foreknowledge]], and its incompatibility with [[theological determinism]].{{Sfn|Wiley|1940|loc=Ch. 14}} Predestination in Arminianism is based on divine foreknowledge, unlike in Calvinism.{{Sfn|Wiley|1940|loc=Ch. 26}} Thus, the offer of salvation through grace does not act irresistibly in a purely cause-effect, deterministic method but rather in an influence-and-response fashion that can be both freely accepted and freely denied.{{sfn|Forlines|2001|pp=313–321}} In Arminianism, God takes initiative in the salvation process and his grace comes to all people. This is done through [[prevenient grace]] which acts on all people to convince them of the Gospel, draw them strongly towards [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]], and enable the possibility of sincere faith.{{sfn|Picirilli|2002|pp=154-}}{{sfn|Olson|2009|p=165|ps=. "[Arminius]' evangelical synergism reserves all the power, ability and efficacy in salvation to grace, but allows humans the God-granted ability to resist or not resist it. The only "contribution" humans make is nonresistance to grace."}}

Later, [[John Wesley]] also rejected the Calvinist doctrine of predestination, and had the same Arminian understanding as expressed in [[Wesleyan theology]]. It remains the standard teaching of [[Methodism|Methodist]] churches.{{sfn|Cracknell|White|2005|p=100}} Wesley also appealed to prevenient grace, stating that God makes the initial move in salvation, but human beings are free to respond or reject God's graceful initiative.{{sfn|Shelton|2015}} The doctrine of prevenient grace remains one of Methodism's most important doctrines.{{sfn|Cracknell|White|2005|p=100}}

John Wesley distinguished three kinds of [[divine grace]] in the process of salvation: 1. "Prevenient grace" which is an enabling grace preceding [[Regeneration (theology)|regeneration]] ("prevenient" means preceding). 2. "Justifying grace" which can bring regeneration but which is resistible. 3. "Sustaining grace" which helps a person to remain into regeneration, and to reach [[sanctification]] and final salvation.{{sfn|Shelton|2015}} In particular Wesley taught that Christian believers are to participate in the [[means of grace]] and to continue to grow in the Christian life, assisted by God's sustaining grace.{{sfn|UMC|2018}}
===The Protestant Reformation and ecclesiology===
Protestantism in all three major schools of theology – Lutheran, Calvinist, and Arminian – emphasize God's initiative in the work of salvation, which is achieved by grace alone through faith alone, in either stream of thinking – although these terms are understood differently, according to the differences in systems.

Classical Calvinism teaches that the sacraments are "signs and seals of the covenant of grace" and "effectual means of salvation", and Lutheranism teaches that new life, faith, and union with Christ are granted by the Holy Spirit working through the sacraments. However, for a large portion of the Protestant world, the sacraments largely lost the importance that Luther (and to a slightly lesser degree, Calvin) attributed to them. This happened under the influence of ideas of the [[Anabaptist]]s which were ideas also seen in the Donatists in North Africa in 311 AD,<ref>Jack Hoad, The Baptist, London, Grace Publications, 1986, page 32.</ref> and these ideas then spread to Calvinists through the [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]] and [[Baptist]] movements, and to Lutherans through [[Pietism]] (although much of Lutheranism recoiled against the Pietist movement after the mid-19th century).

Where the sacraments are de-emphasized, they become "ordinances", acts of worship which are required by Scripture, but whose effect is limited to the voluntary effect they have on the worshipper's soul. This belief finds expression in the [[Baptist]] and [[Anabaptist]] practice of [[believers Baptism|believer's baptism]], given not to infants as a mark of membership in a Christian community, but to adult believers after they have achieved the [[Age of reason (canon law)|age of reason]] and have professed their faith. These ordinances are never considered works-righteousness. The ritual as interpreted in light of such ideas does not at all bring about salvation, nor does its performance bring about the forgiveness of sins; the forgiveness which the believer has received by faith is merely pictured, not effectively applied, by baptism; salvation and participation in Christ is memorialized ("this do in remembrance of me" in the Lord's Supper and baptism picturing a Christian's rebirth as death to sin and alive in Christ), not imparted, by the Eucharist. The Church to the Baptists becomes an assembly of true believers in Christ Jesus who gather together for worship and fellowship and remembering what Christ did for them.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
* [[Prevenient grace]]
* [[Salvation (Christianity)]]
* [[Sacrament]]
* [[Charism]]
* [[Merit (Catholicism)|Merit]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Barrett |first=Matthew |title=Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration |location=Phillipsburg |publisher=P & R Publishing |date=2013| isbn=978-1596386433}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Calvin |first=John |translator=Henry Beveridge |translator-link=Henry Beveridge (1799-1863) |title=Institutes of the Christian Religion; a New Translation by Henry Beveridge |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Calvin Translation Society |year=1845 |volume=2 |at=books 2, 3 |url=https://archive.org/details/institutesofreli02calvuoft}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Clark |first=Gordon H. |title=Religion, Reason, and Revelation |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Presbyterian and Reformed |date=1961}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last1=Cracknell |first1=Kenneth |last2=White |first2=Susan J. |title=An introduction to world Methodism |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2005}}
* {{cite journal |language=en |last=Cox |first=Leo G. |title=Prevenient Grace - A Wesleyan View |journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |year=1969 |pages=143–149 |url=https://evangelicalarminians.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Cox.-Prevenient-Grace.pdf}}
* {{cite web |language=en |last=Cunningham |first=William |title=Efficacious Grace Vs Arminian Prevenient Grace |website=Monergism |date=2022 |url=https://www.monergism.com/efficacious-grace-vs-arminian-prevenient-grace |access-date=2022-12-01}}
* {{cite journal |language=en |last=Davis |first=John Jefferson |title=The Perseverance of the Saints: A History of the Doctrine |journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |date=1991 |volume=34 |issue=2 |url=https://evangelicalarminians.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Davis-History-of-the-Perseverance-of-the-Saints.pdf}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Forlines |first=F. Leroy |title=The Quest for Truth: Answering Life's Inescapable Questions |year=2001 |publisher=Randall House Publications}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Grudem |first=Wayne |title=Systematic Theology |location=Grand Rapids |publisher=[[InterVarsity Press|IVP]] |year=1994}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Helm |first=Paul |title=Calvin at the Center |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2010}}
* {{Cite book |language=en |last=Horton |first=Michael |title=For Calvinism |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=Zondervan Academic |date=2011 |url=https://archive.org/details/michael-horton-the-christian-faith-a-systematic-theology-for-pilgrims-on-the-way/}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=McKinley |first=O. Glenn |title=Where Two Creeds Meet |location=Kansas City, MO |publisher=Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City |date=1965 |url=https://www.whdl.org/sites/default/files/resource/book/9780834126688.pdf}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=McMahon |first=C. Matthew |title=Augustine's Calvinism: The Doctrines of Grace in Augustine's Writings |location=Coconut Creek, FL |publisher=Puritan Publications |date=2012}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Olson |first=Roger E. |title=Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities |location=Downers Grove |publisher=InterVarsity Press |date=2009}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Picirilli |first=Robert |title=Grace, Faith, Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation |publisher=Randall House |location=Nashville |year=2002}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Pinson |first=J. Matthew |title=40 Questions about Arminianism |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=Kregel Publications |year=2022}}
* {{cite web |language=en |last=Shelton |first=Brian |title=Prevenient Grace: Two Helpful Distinctions |url=https://seedbed.com/prevenient-grace-4-helpful-distinctions/ |agency=Seedbed |date=2015 |access-date=2022-05-01}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last1=Stanglin |first1=Keith D. |last2=McCall |first2=Thomas H. |title=Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace |date=2012 |publisher=OUP USA |location=New York}}
* {{cite web |language=en |last=UMC |title=The Wesleyan Means of Grace |url=https://www.umc.org/en/content/the-wesleyan-means-of-grace |publisher=[[The United Methodist Church]] |date=2018 |access-date=February 18, 2021}}
* {{cite book |language=en |last=Wiley |first=H. Orton |title=Christian theology |location=Kansas City, MO |publisher=Beacon Hill Press |date=1940 |type=3 volumes |url=http://wesley.nnu.edu/other-theologians/henry-orton-wiley/christian-theology-by-h-orton-wiley/}}

==Further reading==
=== Orthodox ===
* [[Timothy Ware|Bishop Kallistos (Ware)]], ''The Inner Kingdom: The Collected Works'' (St. Vladimir's Seminary, 2000) {{ISBN|0-88141-209-0}}
* ''[[The Way of a Pilgrim]]'' and ''A Pilgrim Continues on His Way'', Olga Savin, trans. (Shambhala, 2001) {{ISBN|1-57062-807-6}}

===Roman Catholic===
*{{cite book|chapter=[[s:A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion/Chap. I. Grace in General|Chap. I. Grace in General]]|title=A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion|year=1912|publisher=Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss|first= Joseph|last=Deharbe|translator=Rev. John Fander|author-link=Joseph Deharbe}}
* ''Catholic Teaching on Sin & Grace'' (Center for Learning, 1997), {{ISBN|1-56077-521-1}}
* George Hayward Joyce, ''The Catholic Doctrine of Grace'' (Newman, 1950), {{ASIN|B0007E488Y}}
* {{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Grace |volume=6 |first=Joseph  |last=Pohle}}
* Stephen J. Duffy, ''The Graced Horizon: Nature and Grace in Modern Catholic Thought'' (HPAC, 1992), {{ISBN|0-8146-5705-2}}

===Protestant===
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Grace|volume=12|pages=309–310}}
* Randy Maddox, ''Responsible Grace'' (Kingswood, 1994) {{ISBN|0-687-00334-2}}
* [[Glen Pettigrove]], "Forgiveness and Grace", in ''Forgiveness and Love'' (Oxford University Press, 2012) 124–150.
* [[R. C. Sproul]], ''Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology'' (Baker Book House, 1999) {{ISBN|0-8010-1121-3}}
* [[Philip Yancey]], ''[[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]'' (Zondervan, 1997) {{ISBN|0-310-24565-6}}
* Paul F. M. Zahl, ''Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life'' (Eerdmans, 2007) {{ISBN|978-0-8028-2897-2}}

{{Christian Soteriology}}
{{Christian theology}}

[[Category:Grace in Christianity| ]]
[[Category:Attributes of God in Christian theology]]
[[Category:Christian soteriology]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]