Grace, Freedom, and the Human Response
Christians agree that salvation is entirely the work of God’s grace — yet it also calls for human response. How these two realities fit together has been a question of deep reflection since the earliest centuries of the Church.
Grace is the word Christians use to describe God’s freely given help and presence, enabling us to believe, to will what is good, and to grow in love. Even the first stirrings of faith are themselves a gift of grace — what theologians call prevenient grace, meaning the grace that “comes before.” No one can turn to God without God first reaching out in love.
Where Christians differ is in how they understand the relationship between this divine initiative and human freedom.
In Catholic, Orthodox, and most Anglican and Methodist traditions, grace and freedom are seen as cooperating. God’s grace awakens the human heart and empowers us to respond, but we remain truly free to accept or resist it. Salvation, in this view, is a relationship: God acts first, and we respond in faith and obedience. This view presupposes what philosophers call libertarian freedom — the genuine ability to choose otherwise. Because love cannot be compelled, God’s offer of grace invites, rather than forces, our response.
In the Reformed or Calvinist tradition, by contrast, grace is understood as irresistible for those whom God has chosen to save — the elect. Human will is seen as bound by sin until set free by God’s sovereign action. When God gives saving grace, it unfailingly brings a person to faith. This does not mean believers are coerced; rather, their will is transformed so that they freely and gladly choose what God desires. Thinkers in this tradition often describe human freedom as compatibilist freedom: we act freely when we act according to our renewed desires, even though God’s grace ultimately ensures that outcome.
Despite these differences, all Christians affirm that salvation begins and ends with divine love. Whether seen as an irresistible gift or an invitation that requires our consent, grace is always God’s initiative — a sign that no one earns salvation by their own effort. The diversity of views reflects the mystery of how divine sovereignty and human freedom intertwine in the drama of redemption.