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This article is about the theological concept. For other uses, see Grace (disambiguation)

Divine grace is a theological term which is present in many and varied spiritual traditions. However, there are significant differences between the way people of different traditions use the word.

Christianity [link]

Romans 5:1-2 (King James Version) "¹Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ²By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand..." Galatians 5:4 (King James Version) "⁴Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

Grace in this context is something that is God-given, made possible only by Jesus Christ and none other. It is God's gift of salvation granted to sinners for their salvation. The Christian teaching is that grace is unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave to humanity by sending his son to die on a cross, thus delivering eternal salvation.

In the New Testament, the word translated as grace is the Greek word charis (Greek χάρις), pronounced khar'-ece, for which Strong's Concordance gives this definition; "Grace, the state of kindness and favor towards someone, often with a focus on a benefit given to the object." ^[1][2] A Greek word that is related to charis is charisma (gracious gift). Both these words originated from another Greek word chairo (to rejoice, be glad, delighted). ^[3] In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term used is chen ^[4][5] (חֵן), which is defined in Strong's as "favor, grace or charm; grace is the moral quality of kindness, displaying a favorable disposition".^[6] In the King James translation, Chen is translated as "grace" 38 times, "favour" 26 times, twice as "gracious", ^[7] once as "pleasant", ^[8] and once as "precious". ^[9]

Within Christianity, there are differing conceptions of grace. In particular, Catholics and Protestants use the word in substantially different ways. It has been described as "the watershed that divides Catholicism from Protestantism, Calvinism from Arminianism, modern liberalism from conservatism".^[10] Catholic doctrine teaches that God uses the sacraments to facilitate the reception of His grace. ^[11] Protestants generally do not hold that view. ^[12] In other words, even without the sacraments, divine grace has been imparted by God to humanity.

Hinduism [link]

Hindu devotional or bhakti literature available throughout India is replete with references to grace (kripa) as the ultimate key required for spiritual self-realization.^{[13][additional citation needed]} Some, such as the ancient sage Vasistha, in his classical work Yoga Vasistha, considered it to be the only way to transcend the bondage of lifetimes of karma.[1] One Hindu philosopher, Madhvacharya, held that grace was not a gift from God, but rather must be earned.^[14]

Islam [link]

Dr. Umar Al-Ashqar, dean of the Faculty of Islamic Law, at al-Zarqa’ University in Zarqa, Jordan wrote that "Paradise is something of immense value; a person cannot earn it by virtue of his deeds alone, but by the Grace and Mercy of Allah." ^[15] This stance is supported by hadith: according to Abu Huraira, Muhammad once said that "None amongst you can get into Paradise by virtue of his deeds alone ... not even I, but that Allah should wrap me in his grace and mercy."^[16]

See also [link]

• Hana

Notes and References [link]

Sources [link]

• Strong, James (2001), The Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Zondervan, ISBN 978-0-310-23343-5 
• Stongnumbers.com, Online Parallel Bible Project (Biblos.com), https://strongsnumbers.com/ 
• Biblestudytools.com, Salem Web Network, https://www.biblestudytools.com