The Theology of grace is the centerpiece of many Christian religions, which recognizes and celebrates the redeeming work of Christ. At the core of the Faith lies the doctrine of election, which holds that at the moment of Creation, all people were predestined in Christ’s presence to eternal life in His glory. Election is intimately associated with grace, for God, by His predestination, chooses us to partake of His supernatural grace. Grace is thus the “shield” that protects and secures our salvation from God’s justice and wrath. Through Christ, salvation can be experienced as if we are in the Presence of our Creator.

The theology of grace treats salvation as a gift, not a work, and maintains that God has an unalterable plan for every believer. Because God has predestined some persons to be saved from sin, they share in His free gift of grace through the unmerited favor of Christ. The idea that election is purely and unalterably predicated on God’s will against the will of man is an idea that arose in opposition to original sin and early Christian teaching. In light of modern scholarship, however, we know that election is nothing like the traditional understanding of the unvarying plan of God, which assumes that God simply gives people His free and undeserved favor in order to save them.

The theology of grace teaches that grace and sanctification are distinct concepts. Grace is that inner benefit whereby God grants favor or salvation to someone. This is the grace which Christ bestows on His followers and it remains unaltered by any act or intention of the sinner. Sanctification, on the other hand, is that inner sanctifying or merit which Christ imparts to those whom He calls from sin. We are sanctified or justified before God by our knowledge and faith in the saving grace of Christ, not by our own merit of our own actions. Therefore, the election is no more a mystery than our simple comprehension of what it means.

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