What is grace?

¹You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins,

²in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;

³among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,

⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

⁶and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

⁷that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus;

⁸for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁹not of works, that no one would boast.

¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

³For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,

⁵not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

⁶whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior;

⁷that, being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

¹⁵But the free gift isn’t like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

¹⁶The gift is not as through one who sinned: for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification.

¹⁷For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.

¹⁹For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous.

²⁰The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;

²¹that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹¹He said, “A certain man had two sons.

¹²The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them.

¹³Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living.

¹⁴When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need.

¹⁵He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

¹⁶He wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any.

¹⁷But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger!

¹⁸I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.

¹⁹I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰“He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

²¹The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.

²³Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate;

²⁴for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ They began to celebrate.

²⁵“Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

²⁶He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on.

²⁷He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’

²⁸But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and begged him.

²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.

³⁰But when this, your son, came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

³¹“He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

³²But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’”