Fallen from Grace

What the Bible Says

The Bible does use the expression “fallen from grace” or “fallen away from grace,” but its meaning is very different from what we have seen. Contrary to the common but erroneous notions of what it means to fall from grace, the Bible clearly says, “You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4). The Bible does not say that those who have sinned by breaking a law or transgressing a moral code have fallen from grace. Nor does it associate falling from grace with losing one’s salvation. (For much more information about the impossibility of losing one’s salvation, read the booklet Perseverance of the Saints: Once Saved, Always Saved? downloadable from this page.)

Those “who desire to be justified by the law” are the ones who have fallen away from grace. In other words, Paul is not saying anything about falling from God’s favor because of a moral failure. He is speaking about falling away from reliance upon grace and into the error of reliance upon the law.

The concept is really quite simple. If you are looking to the law, you have turned from grace. You can’t have both at the same time: “For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Analyze that verse. You cannot be under law and under grace at the same time (if you think that Christians must at least be under the law of Christ, see “Are We Under the Law of Christ?“). Romans 6:14 also logically means that, if we are under law, sin does have dominion over us. Because the law is contrary to our natural inclinations (Colossians 2:14), relying on the law results in more sin (Romans 7:5-9; 1 Corinthians 15:56), and turning from the law to grace completely ends sin’s rule over us (Romans 6:14).

Wouldn’t this mean, then, that falling from grace and relying on the law would cause us to lose our salvation? No! If someone, despite past professions of faith, reveals that he or she is really trusting in the works of the law and never turns from this, that person was never really saved. In appearance, such a person may look like he or she has fallen from grace, but that person was never really under grace in the first place.

On the other hand, one of God’s elect, even after confessing faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, might temporarily slip into a mindset of trying to keep the law (often after hearing law-keeping touted by a legalist preacher). Paul pulls no punches in Galatians 5:4 about the state of this person while seeking righteousness from the law. He or she is katērgēthēte apo tou Christou—literally “idled down away from Christ.”

An elect person who falls from grace will ultimately and finally turn back and put his or her trust entirely in God’s unmerited favor given freely through Jesus Christ alone. In the meantime, however, while he or she is turned to the law, he or she is turned away from Christ and rendered powerless and useless. Why? Because, just like trying to power a cell phone with a dead battery, this person is putting his or her trust in something that is powerless and useless—the law.

It is a tragedy when brothers and sisters fall from grace and waste part of the time they have in this life “idled down.” That’s why we should pray for them, do what we can to restore them to full trust in Christ alone, and not shy away from exposing those who preach the false gospel of reliance on the law.