Understanding and Applying the Doctrine of Unmerited Favor
The doctrine of unmerited favor, often synonymous with grace, describes God's benevolent disposition and actions toward humanity, which are not based on human merit or deservingness [3]. This concept is foundational in Christian theology, emphasizing that salvation and spiritual blessings are freely given by God rather than earned through human effort or righteousness.
The biblical understanding of unmerited favor is deeply rooted in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God's covenant with Israel, His deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt, and His continued provision are often presented as acts of His gracious favor, not as responses to Israel's inherent goodness [1, 2]. For instance, the law itself, while demanding obedience, is also seen as a gift from God intended for the people's well-being, and transgressions of it incur punishment [6]. The wisdom literature, such as Proverbs, suggests that "good understanding giveth favour," implying that wisdom and adherence to God's ways can lead to favor, though this is often understood in the context of human relationships and societal standing rather than divine salvation [10].
In the New Testament, the concept of unmerited favor becomes central to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, in particular, articulates this doctrine with clarity. He emphasizes that faith itself, along with the steadfastness to endure persecution, is an "unmerited gift of God" [3]. This perspective underscores that even the capacity to believe and persevere is divinely bestowed, removing any grounds for human boasting or self-righteousness. Paul's writings consistently present salvation as a gift received through faith, apart from works of the law, so that no one can claim to have earned it [3].
The early Church Fathers further developed this understanding. John Chrysostom, an influential Eastern Orthodox theologian, discusses the importance of good works, such as giving alms, as a means to "exhaust that fire" of punishment and gain "boldness" [4]. However, he clarifies that it is not simply the act of making friends (through almsgiving) that saves, but the "our own work" that is connected to it, suggesting a nuanced view where human actions are significant but ultimately framed within God's larger plan of salvation [4]. Chrysostom also highlights that the law, particularly the Decalogue, is good, but its precepts punish transgressors, making it "useless to us" if we fail to keep it perfectly, thereby pointing to the need for a different path to righteousness [6].
The doctrine of unmerited favor stands in contrast to any system that posits human beings can earn their salvation or divine approval through their own efforts, rituals, or moral performance. one tradition asserts that God's choice to bestow grace is sovereign and not contingent on human worthiness. John Gill, a Baptist commentator, explains this sovereignty by stating that God has the right "to do what I will with mine own," referring to external gifts, privileges, and especially "special grace," which He gives to whom He pleases [9]. This divine prerogative means that God can bestow blessings, including salvation, on individuals regardless of their prior actions or status, just as a judge, though unjust, can be moved by importunity to grant a request [5].
The application of this doctrine extends beyond the initial act of salvation to the ongoing Christian life. Believers are called to walk circumspectly, understanding "the will of the Lord" [7]. This understanding is not merely intellectual but involves a deep comprehension of God's purposes, which ultimately lead to sanctification and thankfulness in all circumstances [7]. The recognition of unmerited favor should foster humility, gratitude, and a desire to live in a way that honors God, not to earn His favor, but as a response to the favor already received. Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist commentator, notes that ill-gotten gains, though they may increase, "will not last long" and are often turned to charitable uses by God's providence, illustrating how divine favor can redirect even the consequences of human injustice [8].
The concept of unmerited favor also addresses the human tendency to believe that blessings are a result of personal merit. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, describes a situation where people believe they have been "vouchsafed great favors" because they were "found deserving of such great favors" [1]. This human inclination to attribute blessings to one's own worthiness stands in stark contrast to the theological understanding of unmerited favor, which posits that divine blessings are given irrespective of human deservingness. Josephus also notes that grants and benefits from a government, even if they lead to freedom, are still grants from an external authority [2]. In a theological context, this highlights that even the "freedom" from sin is a grant from God, not an inherent right or earned status.
Sources
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 2, section 4: to grant them, but have them taken from us by such as are no greater than ourselves, and by such as we know are as much subjects as we are; and certainly, if we have been vouchsafed great favors, it is to our commendation who have obtained them, as having been found deserving of such great favors; and if those favors be but small ones, it would be barbarous for the donors not to confirm them to us. And for those that are the hinderance of the Jews, and use them reproachfully, it is evident that they affront both the receivers, wh”
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 2, section 5: indeed those that take away what you have granted, can have no assurance but every one of their own grants made them by you may be taken from them also; which grants of yours can yet never be sufficiently valued; for if they consider the old governments under kings, together with your present government, besides the great number of benefits which this government hath bestowed on them, in order to their happiness, this is instead of all the rest, that they appear to be no longer in a state of slavery, but of freedom. Now the privi”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, section 9.5: that the Philippians may know that they have been called to the faith of Christ on this condition — that they endure persecutions on his account, as though he had said that their adoption can no more be separated from the cross, than Christ can be torn asunder from himself. Here Paul clearly testifies, that faith, as well as constancy in enduring persecutions, 91 91 “ Les afflictions et persecutions ;” — “Afflictions and persecutions.” is an unmerited gift of God. And certainly the knowledge of God is a wisdom that ”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on John & Hebrews: his works, and upon these depends our salvation or punishment. Let us make then to ourselves “friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” ( Luke xvi. 9 ), that is: Let us give alms; let us exhaust our possessions upon them, that so we may exhaust that fire: that we may quench it, that we may have boldness there. For there also it is not they who receive us, but our own work: for that it is not simply their being our friends which can save us, learn from what is added. For why did He not say, “Make to yourselves friends, that they may receive you into ”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 18:6: And the Lord said,.... The Lord Jesus Christ, who delivered out this parable to his disciples: hear what the unjust judge saith; and take encouragement from hence to be frequent and importunate in prayer with God; for if such a cruel, merciless, and unjust judge is to be wrought upon by importunity to do justice, who has no principle to influence him, how much more will not God, who is a just judge, the judge of widows, and of the oppressed, a God of great mercy and compassion, who delights in the prayers of his people, knows their cases, and is able to help them, and”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: 52. “Not knowing whereof they affirm.” For it is probable that they spoke of the law, and enlarged on its purifications and other bodily rites. The Apostle then forbearing to censure these, as either nothing, or at best a shadow and figure of spiritual things, proceeds in a more engaging way to praise the law, calling the Decalogue here the law, and by means of it discarding the rest. For if even these precepts punish transgressors, and become useless to us, much more the others. Ver. 8, 9 . “But we know that the law is good, if ”
- Ephesians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ephesians 5:17: Wherefore--seeing that ye need to walk so circumspectly, choosing and using the right opportunity of good. unwise--a different Greek word from that in Eph 5:15. Translate, "foolish," or "senseless." understanding--not merely knowing as a matter of fact (Luk 12:47), but knowing with understanding. the will of the Lord--as to how each opportunity is to be used. The Lord's will, ultimately, is our "sanctification" (Th1 4:3); and that "in every thing," meantime, we should "give thanks" (Th1 5:18; compare above, Eph 5:10).”
- Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 28:8: Note, 1. That which is ill-got, though it may increase much, will not last long. A man may perhaps raise a great estate, in a little time, by usury and extortion, fraud, and oppression of the poor, but it will not continue; he gathers it for himself, but it shall prove to have been gathered for somebody else that he has no kindness for. His estate shall go to decay, and another man's shall be raised out of the ruins of it. 2. Sometimes God in his providence so orders it that that which one got unjustly another uses charitably; it is strangely turned into the han”
- Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 20:14: Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?.... External gifts and outward privileges, such as enjoying the word and ordinances, are God's own; and he may, as he does, bestow them on whom he will, and when and where he pleases; as he gave them to the Jews, and continued them many hundred years, when the Gentiles were utterly with them destitute of them; and as he has bestowed them in a more abundant manner for a long time on the Gentiles, whilst the Jews despise and reject them. Special grace is his own, which he gives to whom he pleases; it is by his o”
- Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 13:15: Good understanding giveth favour,.... A good understanding in things natural and civil gives favour among men; and so a good understanding in divine and spiritual things gives a man favour among religious people, makes him taken notice of by them, and acceptable to them: and such an understanding no man has, unless it be given him; and such appear to have one that do the commandments of God, Psa 111:10. The Israelites, for having and keeping the statutes of the Lord, were accounted by others a wise and an understanding people; and Christ, as man, when he increased ”