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The word grace in the New Testament has been theologized to the point people don't understand the cultural context of the word. Some medieval church fathers saw grace as a work of God, an energy or activity. Some 16-71th century Protestants saw it as the attitude that God takes towards us (especially in the Calvinist form). So what is grace in the context of the first century, as the word was commonly used?
It is a favor understood in terms of the Greco-Roman patron-client system. At one time in the ancient world, it was customary for a person to engage in seeking a patron if they did not have resources for something, or if they needed social connections. A client would pledge their loyalty to the patron (pistis, faithfulness, the word we know as "faith") and the patron would do favors for the client (charis, grace). At various times the patron would ask the client to do things for them as a sign of their faithfulness and to meet the needs of the patron. This concept would even apply to Greek religion- people would pledge their devotion to a particular god and expect the god to shower them with gifts and favors. This concept penetrated all aspects of Greek culture, in formed part of the honor-shame dynamic present in their culture, and was not exactly equivalent to our moralistic notions of right and wrong. To be an honorable person was to show hospitality and to be gracious in giving people favors, with the unspoking obligation that people were bound in a relationship to you, obliged at some point to return the favor. These transactions of favors formed the glue of society, the "networking" as we call it today, that allowed people to access the resources and relationships they needed.
Today, in the west, we have legalistic and individualistic understandings of the self and community, but remnants of the patron-client system can be seen in the idea of brotherhoods or syndicates such as the Mafia, like in the movie The Godfather: people come to the Don with problems, he fixes them, then they are obligated to him. Not in a legal or financial sense but in a relational sense, a sense of honor or reputation (and of course the Don could always make them sleep with the fishes if he gets mad enough).
The Old Testament world was honor-bound cultures but the Hebrews did not have the same concepts, they understood their relationship to God as a king who creates a covenant with a people, with the king being the more powerful one in the relationship (suzerainty, vassalage). The king offered protection and the subjects were obligated to offer tribute. The king was expected to act with mercy towards his people, and the people were obligated to show loyalty in return. Heavenly blessings and curses were usually attached to obedience or disobedience to the treaty.
So what's the application from this? The New Testament's predominant (but not exclusive) emphasis is that our salvation is tied up in a relationship with God as a patron who does something for us, but we are indebted to him in turn. God settles something we owe to him (disobedience, sin), he deals with the bad guys that entice us to disobedience (death and the devil), with the obligation that we have loyalty and faithfulness as a consequence (faith) and that we in turn do him favors (good works).
http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/11683040.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzerainty#Ancient_Israel_and_Near_East
It is a favor understood in terms of the Greco-Roman patron-client system. At one time in the ancient world, it was customary for a person to engage in seeking a patron if they did not have resources for something, or if they needed social connections. A client would pledge their loyalty to the patron (pistis, faithfulness, the word we know as "faith") and the patron would do favors for the client (charis, grace). At various times the patron would ask the client to do things for them as a sign of their faithfulness and to meet the needs of the patron. This concept would even apply to Greek religion- people would pledge their devotion to a particular god and expect the god to shower them with gifts and favors. This concept penetrated all aspects of Greek culture, in formed part of the honor-shame dynamic present in their culture, and was not exactly equivalent to our moralistic notions of right and wrong. To be an honorable person was to show hospitality and to be gracious in giving people favors, with the unspoking obligation that people were bound in a relationship to you, obliged at some point to return the favor. These transactions of favors formed the glue of society, the "networking" as we call it today, that allowed people to access the resources and relationships they needed.
Today, in the west, we have legalistic and individualistic understandings of the self and community, but remnants of the patron-client system can be seen in the idea of brotherhoods or syndicates such as the Mafia, like in the movie The Godfather: people come to the Don with problems, he fixes them, then they are obligated to him. Not in a legal or financial sense but in a relational sense, a sense of honor or reputation (and of course the Don could always make them sleep with the fishes if he gets mad enough).
The Old Testament world was honor-bound cultures but the Hebrews did not have the same concepts, they understood their relationship to God as a king who creates a covenant with a people, with the king being the more powerful one in the relationship (suzerainty, vassalage). The king offered protection and the subjects were obligated to offer tribute. The king was expected to act with mercy towards his people, and the people were obligated to show loyalty in return. Heavenly blessings and curses were usually attached to obedience or disobedience to the treaty.
So what's the application from this? The New Testament's predominant (but not exclusive) emphasis is that our salvation is tied up in a relationship with God as a patron who does something for us, but we are indebted to him in turn. God settles something we owe to him (disobedience, sin), he deals with the bad guys that entice us to disobedience (death and the devil), with the obligation that we have loyalty and faithfulness as a consequence (faith) and that we in turn do him favors (good works).
http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/11683040.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzerainty#Ancient_Israel_and_Near_East