Grace (Christianity) - Churches of Christ

Churches of Christ

The Church of Christ believes that the grace of God that saves is the plan of salvation, rather than salvation itself. This plan includes two parts, 1) the perfect life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, 2) the gospel/New Testament/the faith.

Concerning Ephesians 2:8 which states: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God", it is noted that the word "it" is a pronoun and refers back to a noun. As the word "saved" is a verb, "it" does not refer to "saved" but to grace, giving the definition of grace as "the gift of God". Furthermore, as the book of James distinguishes between a dead faith (a faith without works) and a living faith (a faith accompanied by works of obedience), it is believed that by God's gift operates through an individuals living faith resulting in that individual being saved.

  1. Grace is contrasted with the Law of Moses (Romans 6:14; Hebrews 10:4; John 1:17) and the church of Christ believes that Paul's contrast between work and faith is as described under the Efforts to resolve the tension section, a contrast between works of the Old Covenant and obedient faith under the New Covenant.
  2. Grace saves (Eph. 2:5); justifies (Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7).
  3. Grace can not be added to (Gal. 5:4).
  4. Grace teaches (Titus 2:11); can be preached (Eph. 3:8).
  5. Grace calls us (2 Tim. 1:9; Gal. 1:15).
  6. Grace is brought by revelation (1 Pet. 1:13).
  7. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (St. John 1:17)
  8. Grace is sufficient for us (2Cor. 12:9)

The Galatians were removed from the calling of the gospel (Gal. 1:15; 2 Thess. 2:14) unto another gospel (another message) which verse 7 says is not a gospel at all but a perversion.

The church of Christ believes that grace provides the following plan, which, if followed, results in salvation:

  • One must hear the gospel/word (Rom. 10:17).
  • Believe the gospel (Mark 16:15-16).
  • Repent of their past sins (Acts 2:38).
  • Confess their faith in Christ before men (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10)
  • Be immersed in water into Christ for the remission of those sins (1 Pet. 3:21; Romans 6:3-18; John 3:3,5; 1 John 5:6,8; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; etc.)
  • Live faithfully even to the point of death (Rev. 2:10; Rom. 11:17-22; James 5:19-20)

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