A word behind the word
Charis, Grace
The Greek word charis, translated grace, runs through the New Testament as one of its central themes. It carries the ideas of favor, kindness, and gift, and it names the very heart of the gospel.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”Ephesians 2:8
What the word actually means
What the word actually means. Charis means favor, gracious kindness, or a gift freely given. In ordinary Greek it could mean charm or gratitude, and the New Testament sometimes uses it for thanks, as in the phrase thanks be to God in 1 Corinthians 15:57. But its great theological use is God's unearned favor toward sinners. Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, and the next verse rules out works, so that no man should boast. Romans 11:6 sets grace against works: And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. Titus 2:11 says the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Charis also names the concrete gifts God's favor produces, the gifts of grace in Romans 12:6, and the enabling help God supplies, as in 2 Corinthians 12:9, My grace is sufficient for thee. So charis moves from God's kind disposition toward us, to the free gift of salvation, to the ongoing supply of strength for daily life.
The myth to clear up
The myth to clear up. A well-worn definition says grace is simply God's unmerited favor, and that is true and worth keeping. The error is not in that summary but in a couple of distortions built on it. Some turn grace into mere leniency, as if it means God overlooks sin without cost, forgetting that grace came at the price of the cross and that Titus 2:12 says grace teaches us to deny ungodliness. Others treat grace as an impersonal force or substance to be accumulated. In the New Testament charis is relational, the favor of a Person freely given, and it always produces gratitude and transformed living, not license. Romans 6:1-2 answers the abuse directly: Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. The sober correction: grace is God's free favor in Christ, and that free favor changes those who receive it.
How the word opens onto Christ
How the word opens onto Christ. Grace has a face and a name. John 1:17 says, the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and John 1:14 says he was full of grace and truth. Grace is not an abstract policy; it is what God does in his Son. Second Corinthians 8:9 shows its shape: For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. That is grace defined by the incarnation and the cross, a gift so costly to the Giver and so free to the receiver. Every letter of Paul opens and closes with the same benediction, grace be unto you, and often grace be with you, because the whole Christian life begins and ends in the favor of God given in Jesus. To be under grace is to belong to Christ and to live from his gift rather than our merit.
Questions people ask
Does grace mean God just overlooks sin?
No. Grace is God's free favor given at the cost of the cross, not indifference to sin. Titus 2:11-12 says the same grace that saves also teaches us to deny ungodliness.
Is grace something I earn or grow into?
Grace is a gift, not a wage. Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 11:6 stress that it cannot be earned, though God's grace does supply ongoing strength, as in 2 Corinthians 12:9.