Is God’s Grace Unconditional?

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

James 4:6

Dear Friends,

Scripture clearly teaches that God's grace is undeserved. But is God's grace without condition – that is UNconditional?

Unconditional grace is actually never even one time mentioned in Scripture, nor do any of the church fathers use the phrase. We must ask the question: where did this idea come from?

James, in his hard-hitting Epistle, wrote that God’s grace was given freely – but only to humble hearts…not just willy-nilly. The phrase appears to be just another pop religious catch phrase that strips the power right out of the words of James.

A typical complaint that we, as bible believing Christians hear, is that we are intolerant. Many say today, “God’s grace is unconditional,” thus justifying homosexuality, divorce--or whatever--no matter what they believe. Some even go as far as to suggest that God's unconditional grace means that all go to heaven regardless if they have repented or not.

Now, to be sure when some Christians say unconditional grace we know they do not mean it in the exact, literal sense. They may have not thought the wording through. But we must be careful that we don’t strip the bible of its impact by falling into religious pop.

Let us shout from the housetops that God's grace is completely undeserved! But, let us also heed the conditions clearly set forth by our Lord so that we can be at peace with Him.

Humbled By His Grace,

Dr. Tim Pollock, Senior Pastor