When we say “free grace,” what do we speak of? Broadly, we speak of the gospel itself and thus free grace and the gospel are to be identified with one another. The gospel is the free grace of God wherein the Father forgives our sins through the blood and righteousness of His Son, and this is freely applied, apart from works of the law, to all God’s elect by the Holy Spirit of promise. This is clearly seen in places like Romans 5:15-17, where it is written:
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
The term free gift needs to be understood within the context of vv. 6-11, where it says, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly (v. 6).” And in v. 8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The free gift, then, is the Lord Jesus Christ given for His church, body, and bride.
Yet in terms of the individual and how they experience free grace, it appears in regeneration which then immediately results in conversion (repentance and faith). At the time of regeneration, a person receives the free forgiveness of sins, trusting that their sins have been adequately dealt with in the cruciform work of Christ, and they receive the free imputed righteousness of Christ which results in justification—a legal declaration of righteousness on God’s part. In Acts 26:17-18, Paul recounts the words of Jesus:
I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
In Colossians 2:14, Paul says Christ “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Thus, the sins of the believer have been put upon Christ, and this freely so. Moreover, the righteousness of Christ is then put upon the believer as is seen when Paul writes:
But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin (Rom. 4:5-8).”
Paul then concludes in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And all this, as difficult as it is to imagine, is freely bestowed upon us apart from our works or worthiness and thus constitutes what we have called God’s free grace. There is more to this free grace which flows from regeneration and justification, such as sanctification and glorification. In fact, it is the project of grace to move the elect to glory, and this is achieved not by works on our part, but by the free grace of God in Christ.
Victory Baptist Church | A Sovereign Grace Church in Kansas City 