50 Great Examples of Grace in the Bible

The Grace of God is the one aspect of Christianity that separates itself from all other religions. We see God’s graces scattered all throughout the Old and New Testaments. Let’s look at 50 great examples of grace in the Bible.

1. Grace to the Graceless

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments.” (Luke 23:34 ESV)

While Jesus was on the cross, people made fun of Him, yelled at Him, and even stripped Him naked. Yet He asked God to forgive them. He gave them grace in His darkest moment.

2. Eternal Life

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1st John 5:11-12 ESV)

We did not deserve eternal life because of our sin. If you genuinely examined your heart, you would see that you are full of sin, which breaks God’s perfect standard. However, God gave us eternal life at Christ’s expense.

3. Saved by Grace

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

Many think they can be saved by being a good person or trying to be better. The apostle Paul teaches us here that there is absolutely nothing we can do to save ourselves. The gift of God’s grace in Jesus saves us.

4. Continual Access to God

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19&22 ESV)

In the Old Testament, the holy place was in the temple, and only certain people at certain times could enter it to be in the presence of the living God. However, due to the resurrection of Jesus, all those who have faith in Jesus can go to the living God. By an act of grace, we can have continual access to God.

5. The Greatest Free Gift

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ESV)

We deserve death and judgment because of our sin. However, God offers us the free gift of life because of Jesus. This is a gift of grace because we do not deserve this gift.

6. Justified by Grace

“And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 ESV)

Justified is a fancy word that means to be made right with God. We are made right with God because of the grace of God. Jesus died for our sins when we did not deserve it.

7. God’s Gift of Jesus

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)

John 3:16 captures God’s greatest gift to human beings, which is Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus, the Son of God, get the gift of eternal life! This is grace because we do not deserve a gift like this, but out of love, God sent Jesus to live a perfect life, die a death we deserve on the cross for our sin and rise from the grave.

8. The Gift of God to All Humanity

“The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7 ESV)

Grace is not just given to us through eternal life but also through the creation of life. God breathed life into the first humans, Adam and Eve. All life comes from Him. It is by grace that humanity even exists.

9. Throne of Grace

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 ESV)

God sits on the throne of grace. As the maker of all things, God does not have to give grace. Yet, we can draw near to Him to find grace in our time of need.

10. God’s Presence in Pain

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2nd Corinthians 12:8-9 ESV)

While we do not know precisely what Paul’s problem is, we know that he has pleaded with God to take it away numerous times. God’s promise to Paul is not that He will take away his pain, but that His grace is enough. He promises to be present in the pain through Christ.

11. Grace Is for the Humble

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'” (James 4:6 ESV)

Those who are proud do not see their sin, so they do not see their need for grace. However, humble people see their sin and need for grace.

12. Relationship with Each Other

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13 ESV)

We have a lavish amount of grace and forgiveness because of the work of Christ. Due to the forgiveness we receive, we are to forgive others. People now have a relationship of grace with each other due to the grace God has given them.

13. The Gift of a New Heart

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV)

The prophet Ezekiel talked about a time when people would be given new hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone. All humans have stone hearts (desires and actions) that cannot be shaped or molded. However, by God’s grace in Christ Jesus, we now have a new flesh heart (desires and actions) that can be shaped and molded.

14. The Gift of the Holy Spirit

“I will send you the Helper from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me.” (John 15:26 ESV)

Jesus is about to leave His disciples, but He promises to give them a helper once He goes. This helper is the Holy Spirit that lives inside of every follower of Jesus. He could have left His believers alone; however, by grace, He gives all believers the Holy Spirit!

15. Receiving the Righteousness of God

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (1st Corinthians 5:21).

Even though Jesus was sinless, by grace, He became our sin and was punished on the cross. Now by grace, we have right standing with God. God looks at us as righteous even when we are not righteous.

16. God Saves Noah

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8 ESV)

The Hebrew word for “favor” is the same word we use for grace. In other words, Noah was saved from the flood because God gave him grace. Because of the favor of God, Noah and his family were saved from the flood.

17. God Blesses the Family of Jacob

“Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:14-15 ESV)

Multiple times Jacob puts his chance for family in harm’s way by his bad decisions. Over and over again, God steps in and, by grace, saves them and shows His unconditional love. Here God is promising Jacob that he will have a family, land, and a relationship with God no matter what!

18. The Giving of the Bible

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2nd Timothy 3:16-17)

The scripture, which is our entire Bible, has been breathed out (or given to) by God. Bible verses are used to teach and correct us. By grace, God has given us the Bible to show us what it looks like to follow Him.

19. Jesus Heals and Forgives a Paralyzed Man

“‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.’ And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “‘We never saw anything like this!'” (Mark 2:11-12 ESV)

Many sick people came to see Jesus. Jesus did not owe these people anything, but out of grace, He would often heal them. Here Jesus heals and forgives a man who could not walk.

20. God’s Shaping Presence in Trials

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 ESV)

God does not cause bad things to happen to us. However, He uses these bad things to create more faith in us and make us more like Jesus. By grace, what Satan meant for evil, in our time of need, our Lord God uses for good.

21. Changing Grace

“for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8 ESV)

We were all part of the darkness that comes from sin. Yet, those in Jesus now walk in the light! God’s grace changes us from dark to light.

22. Strength in Weakness

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)

We often feel weak with nothing left in the tank. God promises to hold up His people in those moments. His grace will be our strength.

23. The Giving of the Promise Land

“I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.'” (Exodus 6:8 ESV)

While God’s people (Israel) are in slavery, He comes to Moses and promises to lead Isreal to the promised land. This is the land He swore to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. God did this out of grace and love for His people.

24. God’s Presence in the Wilderness

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.” (Exodus 13:21-22 ESV)

God led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and now they are heading to the promised land. They are stuck in the wilderness (between Egypt and the promised land) because of their sin. However, God gives them grace by His presence never leaving them.

25. Grace Even When You Cannot See It

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 (ESV)

All the Jews were about to be killed. However, Esther steps in and saves them at just the right time. The word God is never used in the book of Esther. Yet God’s grace is still working in the background the whole book!

26. The Calling of the Apostle Paul

“Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'” (Acts 9:3-4 ESV)

Saul (who later changed his name to Paul) traveled, and God showed up to him. Saul ends up being a Christian because God showed up to him. It was because of God’s grace that God would even show up to Saul, who was at the time actively trying to kill Christians.

27. Grace for Good Works

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

Those who have trusted in Jesus are now made by God to go do good works. We do not do good works to get the grace of God but because we have the grace of God and are now His workmanship.

28. Grace to Work Hard

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1st Corinthians 15:10 ESV)

Paul states he has worked hard for the Lord. He has become this person because of the grace God has given to him!

29. Grace to Moses

“When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.” (Exodus 2:3 & 5 ESV).

Pharaoh wanted all the Israelite babies to be killed, which included Moses. Moses was put in a basket and set in a very dangerous river in hopes that he would live. God’s grace was with Moses as He protected Moses and led him straight to the house of Pharaoh.

30. The Saving of Daniel

“As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, ‘O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?’ Then Daniel said to the king, ‘O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.'” (Daniel 6:20-22 ESV)

Daniel was forced to go into the lion’s den of no fault of his own. God’s grace was with Daniel as the mouths of the lions were shut. The living God was with him!

31. Unconditional Love to Peter

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.'” (John 21:15).

When Jesus was on trial, Peter rejects even knowing Jesus. However, Jesus gives Peter grace after His resurrection. While the wording may be complex in John 21:15, what Jesus is saying to Peter is, even though you rejected me, I still love you and am calling you to go tell others about Me (feed my sheep).

32. Christ Jesus Heals Many

“Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them” (Luke 4:40 ESV).

Even though Jesus had a long day, He continued to heal many. Great crowds would often come up to Jesus. Out of grace for those people, He healed everyone who showed up.

33. Grace to the Afflicted

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair” (2nd Corinthians 4:7-8 ESV)

While our bodies are weak like jars of clay, our bodies point to the greatness of God. While we may be breaking, God’s grace is shown through our life.

34. Hope Because of Grace

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1st Peter 1:13 ESV)

We can have hope only because of the grace that we get in Jesus. When you feel hopeless, you can look at the grace of God for hope.

35. Grace as a Greeting

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

and also

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:20 ESV)

At the start of almost every letter Paul wrote in the Bible, he would say, “Grace to you.” God’s grace was such a controlling factor in his life he would want the people of God to know that God’s grace was with them as well.

Paul would often greet people with grace and leave people with grace. He would ask that God’s grace be with them.

36. Grace to Believe

“And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed.” (Acts 18:27).

Apollos came to a Greek town to talk about the gospel. He teaches those in the city who, through grace, had believed. This shows us that grace gives us the eyes to believe.

37. Grace to Minister

“Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.” (Romans 1:5 ESV)

Paul is talking to the church in Rome. He states that he received grace to teach the obedience of faith. Grace gives believers the ability to minister.

38. Under God’s Grace

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15 ESV)

Some people in the church of Rome thought they could continue to sin because they were no longer under the works of the law. Paul corrects them and says those under God’s grace live a righteous life motivated by the love God has given them!

39. Every Good Thing

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17 ESV).

Every good gift (or “thing,” as other translations put it) is from God. Due to His great grace, He gives us no bad gifts because God is incapable of doing so. He is always the father of goodness, and that will never change.

40. No Condemnation

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 ESV)

We should feel condemnation due to the sin in our life. However, those in Jesus, that is those who have put their faith in Jesus, do not need to feel condemned. By God’s grace, Jesus was already condemned on the cross on our behalf.

41. Grace for All Needs

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Every need we will ever have, God will meet because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Due to the grace of the cross, all of our needs will be met.

42. Grace to Nineveh

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.'” (Jonah 1:1-2 ESV)

The people of Nineveh were enemies to God’s people. They were a threat to destroy Israel. However, by grace, God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh and share a message of grace with them.

43. God Is a God of All Grace

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1st Peter 5:10 ESV)

The people Peter were writing to were under extreme persecution. They were under threat of losing their lives for following Jesus. God is still the God of all grace and is giving grace to His people even in the midst of persecution.

44. Grace in the Life of Abraham

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.'” (Genesis 12:1-2 ESV)

Out of all the people in the entire world, God showed up to Abraham and promised to make his name great. He was very blessed by God. His biggest blessing is that through Abraham’s bloodline, Jesus would come.

45. Grace for the Broken

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said” (Job 38:1 ESV)

Job is a man who lost his house, farm animals, and family. He is seeking God to find out why all this happened, and God shows up at the end of the book in a whirlwind. While God does not always give us answers to our questions, He gives us grace by being present in our brokenness as He was for Job.

46. Grace to a Broken Church

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,” (1st Corinthians 1:4 ESV)

The church that the book of Corinthians was written to was a broken-up church. They had forbidden relationships in the congregation, people getting wasted at church, and extreme favoritism. Yet, they still have the grace of God due to Christ Jesus.

47. Grace When It Hurts

“casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1st Peter 5:7 ESV)

When we are hurting, we can run to God. He can handle our hurts because He cares for us. His grace is there for us when we are hurting.

48. Unmerited Grace

“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:16 ESV).

We receive unmerited grace in Jesus. Unmerited means there is nothing we can do to deserve it. If we could earn God’s favor, it would no longer be grace.

49. The 2nd Chance of Jonah

“And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17 ESV)

God tells Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh, but Jonah is scared. Instead of listening to God, Jonah runs in the other direction and ends up floating in the ocean. God sends a whale to eat Jonah. What many may think is judgment is actually a sign of grace because He saved Jonah from the sea and gave him a second chance to go to Nineveh.

50. The 3rd Chance of Jonah

“Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.” (Jonah 4:6-7 ESV)

Jonah eventually goes to Nineveh, and the people listen to what he has to say. This makes Jonah very mad because he does not want these people he sees as his enemy to get forgiveness. God gives Jonah shade and then kills the shade by grace, making Jonah mad. He shows Jonah that if this plant dying makes Jonah upset, how much more so would God be upset for the Ninevites. By grace, God works on Jonah’s heart.

Conclusion

God’s grace that comes through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the central message of the Bible. His grace is not limited to the cross but the grace of the cross is needed by all due to the deep sin in our life. Praise God that He made a way for us to know Him through faith by His marvelous grace.

The important concept in these examples of the kind of grace God has for His children is that through His divine powers and through God’s love for His children, we are recipients of God’s unmerited favor and unmerited love. This attribute of God and our understanding of grace is such good news that we should all be joyful to be His children.