Five Myths About Grace

A lot of churches get some things right about grace—but they also get a lot wrong. The result? A confusing mash-up of true and false ideas about what grace really means.

Since grace is at the heart of salvation, getting it right isn’t just important—it’s essential. That’s why we’ve put together a short list of some flawed teachings to watch out for.

Some of these ideas may feel like gospel truth because they’ve held near-sacred status in the religious community for so long. And that might make it hard to see them for what they really are: myths.

But Scripture is to be our guide, not “the tradition of men” (Colossians 2:8; 2 Timothy 3:16). Holding onto misconceptions distorts our view of the true grace God extends.

Let’s clear the air and get a fuller picture of grace by addressing these myths head-on.

Myth #1: “Grace is only a New Testament concept”

Biblical grace relates to how God gives people undeserved, life-changing blessings, and so it actually shows up everywhere in the Old Testament.

Look at the story of Noah.

In just 1,600 years, the world had plunged into moral ruin. What God had called “very good” at creation was now completely corrupted. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man” (Genesis 6:5-6).

This should have been the end of humanity—no question about it. Generation after generation had rejected God’s way, leaving a trail of sin that infected every corner of the earth. By any standard of justice, it would have been entirely fair for God to turn the final page on humanity.

When we understand it biblically, grace changes everything. It radically changes our relationship with God. It reshapes how we see ourselves. It puts our struggles into the right perspective. And it empowers us to live out the purpose God has in mind for us. Thankfully, the story took a hopeful turn: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (verse 8, emphasis added throughout).

Noah stood out, but he also had sin (verse 9; Romans 3:23). And yet, God chose him.

He gave Noah the honor of escaping the Flood with his family to repopulate the earth and to continue the story of God’s salvation. It was an act of grace—for Noah and, more importantly, for all humanity.

Thanks to God’s grace at this pivotal moment, humanity wasn’t abandoned as some failed experiment. It’s one of the clearest examples of God’s graciousness.

Yes, grace is often used as shorthand for Jesus’ sacrifice and the redemption He brought. And, yes, that one-of-a-kind event took place in the New Testament. But the mercy, kindness and compassion behind His sacrifice?

That’s always been part of who God is. Noah’s story is one of many Old Testament examples that remind us of that.

Myth #2: “Grace replaces law”

Based on statements by Paul that are taken out of context, some claim that grace frees us from having to obey the 10 Commandments.

One problem with this view is that it treats law and grace as if they’re in opposition. But this is a false dichotomy. Law and grace aren’t contradictory. It isn’t a matter of one or the other. The truth is, they’re complementary.

God’s law reflects His character and exposes all the ways we fall short of it (Romans 7:7). Without it, what benchmark would we have for striving toward “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)? Would the Bible’s call for us to be “holy” in all our conduct make sense if we weren’t expected to follow God’s definition of holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16; Leviticus 19:2)?

Then there’s grace.

Slipups are real. On the journey to becoming more like God, we’re going to trip and sully ourselves with sin. It’s uncomfortable. It’s discouraging. But grace grounds us in the hope that, even after all we’ve botched, if we repent, we can move forward.

To say that grace replaces law would be like arguing that soap makes mirrors unnecessary. The logic doesn’t follow. Soap (grace) can clean the dirt and grime, but it doesn’t find or identify it. A mirror (God’s law) is still needed.

That’s why we need both. The law shows us how to think and act like God, but grace offers a reservoir of forgiveness to depend on when we inevitably fall short.

Law and grace aren’t at odds—they serve different, but complementary, purposes.

Myth #3: “Grace is earned”

Nowhere does the Bible teach that our merit earns us anything with God. In fact, God challenges this very idea when He rebukes Job: “Who has a claim against me that I must pay?” (Job 41:11, New International Version).

Obedience isn’t currency, and God doesn’t hand out checks for salvation based on how well we follow the rules.

This kind of thinking has its roots in first-century legalism. The legalist camp was largely made up of Jews who thought favor with God came from strict conformity to laws and the man-made hedges around those laws. The stricter you were, they reasoned, the more spiritual you became—and, in their minds, the holier you were before God.

But here’s the problem with works-based righteousness: not even the most meticulous attention to rules can erase a single sin from our past. That’s why we need grace.

Look at Paul. Back when he was a staunch Pharisee, he spent years chasing righteousness through the law. But eventually he learned something: by championing his own obedience, he was ignoring his past sins. No amount of obedience could cover the fact that he was a sinner. Only Jesus’ death could do that.

Paul later told the Galatians: “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21, NIV).

Our sins are like massive debts, so severe they demand our lives (Romans 6:23). And, yes, when we recognize the weight of our sin and what it’s earned us, God calls for us to make a complete change in how we live. We are to totally surrender to God and His commandments—that’s Christianity in a nutshell.

But in the end, obedience can’t erase those debts. And without someone to pay them for us, collection day is inevitable.

This is where grace comes in.

It’s God’s solution. It’s His gift—Jesus’ sacrifice to wipe away those past debts. It’s not something we can earn, and it’s certainly not something we deserve. It’s freely given, completely independent of anything we’ve done.

Paul couldn’t have been clearer: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We can’t brag about earning what’s been freely given to us. That’s the whole point of grace.

Myth #4: “Once grace is yours, you can’t lose it”

This is also known as the doctrine of eternal security. The name says it all: it’s the belief that once you genuinely receive grace, it can’t be lost, damaged or revoked. Your salvation is effectively locked away in a heavenly vault—secure forever, no matter what.

But this is a textbook case of cherry-picking verses and misapplying them to the rest of Scripture.

Take Romans 8:38-39, for example: “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There it is. Nothing can affect our salvation, right?

Not so fast. Just a few chapters later, Paul warns Church members that God “may not spare” them if they become unfaithful (Romans 11:20-21). That doesn’t make it sound like God offers anyone unconditional grace—it sounds like each person has his or her part to play.

Or take Philippians 1:6: “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” This verse is sometimes used as a blanket promise of salvation—no ifs, ands or buts about it. But is it? It doesn’t line up with Paul’s warning not to “receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1).

Philippians 1:6 shows that God is committed to working with us. He’s intent on fulfilling His promise to grant us salvation at Jesus’ return—but our faithfulness is also a factor here (verses 9-11). Yes, God is actively helping us as we seek the Kingdom of God. But that assurance isn’t the same as an ironclad promise that our salvation is guaranteed no matter what we do.

Paul, even after decades of working to build godly character, wrote, “I do not count myself to have apprehended [to have attained the resurrection, verse 11]; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

It was clear to Paul, as it should be to us, that salvation is an ongoing process. We can lose grace if we neglect to do our part.

God is faithful. God is gracious—but we can still reject that grace and fall away.

Myth #5: “With grace, sin can no longer harm our relationship with God”

Being shown grace doesn’t make us immune to the effects of sin.

When the Israelites turned their backs on their covenant with God, Isaiah boldly explained why God didn’t step in to rescue them. “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

There’s a principle here. Sin drives a wedge between us and God. And if we don’t deal with that separation, the fallout can be devastating. Sure, grace offers forgiveness. But if we keep walking down the wrong path and refuse to turn to God, we’ll bear the full weight of our choices.

The author of Hebrews is even more direct about the danger of sin: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

It sounds harsh, but here’s the good news: God is always willing to work with us. The key is repentance.

John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Grace without confusion

False teachings about grace have been around since the first century, and they aren’t going anywhere now. We can spend all day dissecting the ways people have distorted grace, but by now you’re probably wondering: What is grace, really?

It’s helpful to know what grace isn’t, but our understanding needs to go deeper. Because at the end of the day, knowing the truth about grace is more than just a theological exercise—it’s about building a correct foundation for how we live.

When we understand it biblically, grace changes everything. It radically changes our relationship with God. It reshapes how we see ourselves. It puts our struggles into the right perspective. And it empowers us to live out the purpose God has in mind for us.

There’s more to discuss, which is why we’ve put together a resource to help you. Our new booklet God’s Gift of Grace is designed to answer your questions and give you a clearer picture of this amazing gift.

God calls us to discern the true grace from the false grace. It takes studying. It takes effort. But getting grace right matters so much, dear reader.

And the reward? A deeper, richer and more meaningful relationship with our Creator.