Conditional Grace

Is God’s grace conditional? The first response that comes to mind may be that grace cannot be conditional because grace is unmerited favor – no conditions. However, that answer may be too quick and too simple. The explanation of why that is so, is found in an understanding of God’s character. The Creator of the universe is a personal being; as a person He has character traits – a personality.

One important trait of His personality is morality. In the Old Testament, God is often portrayed as the Lawgiver. This is another way of saying that He establishes moral principles which one must follow if they wish to please Him. Another trait of God’s personality is justice; He always does what is right. Put morality and justice side-by-side and you can see the necessity of judgment; To be moral and just, God must exact a payment from those who spurn His moral code.

Another trait of God’s personality is mercy – He is merciful toward His children. His mercy is revealed to us through His grace. His mercy allows Him to suspend judgment when He wishes; His grace allows Him to grant favor to His undeserving children. The most obvious demonstration of this is found in the plan of redemption. When Adam disobeyed God, his punishment was much more expansive than the expulsion of him and his wife from the Garden of Eden. With his sin, Adam placed a burden on all humanity: God’s justice demanded a payment from all Adam’s descendants for his moral failure. God accomplished this by graciously providing the payment – a redemption.

The Greek word often translated “redemption” is used outside of Scripture to refer to paying a ransom to release someone from bondage, especially those under the yoke of slavery. Leon Morris explains: “Redemption is substitutionary, for it means that Christ paid the price that we could not pay, paid it in our stead, and we go free.” (John MacArthur, First Love, MacArthur Study Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 74.)

Free, yes, but because our freedom was paid for by the sacrifice of our dear Savior, our human moral conscience demands a grateful response. Certainly, our first response is love; how could we not love the One who gave us such an incredible gift. It follows naturally, then, as Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Just as our faith in Jesus is demonstrated by our works, our love for Him calls us to do what He has asked us to do: love God and love our neighbors.

 This is not to say that God’s love for us is conditional. John 3:16 says God loved the world so much that He offered redemption through His Son so that believers could have eternal life with Him. Here is the primary condition placed on redemption: belief. God loves the world unconditionally (while we were still sinners), but only those who believe on the Son have life. The debate over how this works has gone on for centuries: does one choose to believe of human free will, or does God usher one into faith through His sovereign call? Whichever is true, the fact remains: salvation is conditioned upon belief.

We can see this same conditionality played out in the Old Testament. God promised Abraham’s descendants a land to call their own forever. However, the “forever” in that promise was predicated on the children of Abraham remaining faithful to God. They failed in that respect, and God took them from their land, first with the Assyrians, and then with the Babylonians. Although they returned from the Babylonian captivity, they were never again fully sovereign in their land. This same concept explains how God could say he would dwell in Solomon’s temple “forever,” yet allow the Babylonians to destroy it in 586 B.C. and then the Romans to demolish the rebuilt temple in 70 A.D. At that point in their history, Israel had committed the ultimate atrocity of unbelief by crucifying their Messiah.

Back to the current state of affairs. A.W. Tozer says it like this: “The present state of the human race before God is probationary. The world is on trial. The voice of God sounds over the earth, ‘Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Choose you this day!’” The word “choose” points to the optional nature of God’s call. Those who choose to heed the voice of God (option A) find His favor. Those who choose Option B bear the consequences of spurning God’s grace.

Of those who choose Option A, Tozer says, “Toward those who embrace the provisions of mercy that center around the death and resurrection of Christ one phase of judgment is no longer operative.” (A. W. Tozer and Gerald B. Smith, Evenings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings, Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015, 213.) As Paul said, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” For those who choose Option B, the writer of Hebrews warns there is only, “a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire.” I believe it is my choice to avoid that fiery judgment, but I also believe God sovereignly chooses those whom He will call. I have no clue how that works; I just know that is what the Bible teaches.

In the book of Revelation there is a wonderful scene in Heaven where the Spirit of God says, “The one who wants, let him take the water of life freely.” They have to want it, and they have to take it; those are both choices. Another way to say that would be to say anyone who desires eternal life with God can come and get it free of charge. Eternal life is a free gift from God, but it was not free for God. We must never forget that as we ponder the wonder of God’s so-called unconditional grace.

Related Posts: Necessary Obedience; Choose Life; Election: God’s Choice