Free Grace Theology is the view that God saves mankind by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice alone. No works before, during, or after the moment of initial faith in Christ and his cross contribute anything to the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life that one receives through simple faith in Jesus Christ and his substitutionary death. The absence of good works during or after the moment of faith subtracts nothing from one's eternal position in Christ. However, good works determine whether one will receive eternal rewards.

Free Grace Theology is a critical response to the views of both Lordship Salvation, and Calvinism's Perseverance of the Elect.

Lordship Salvation teaches that an unbeliever must commit all areas of his life to Christ in order to be saved. This view teaches that a person must "turn from their sin" or "make a commitment to stop sinning" in order to be saved.

John MacArthur, a leading proponent of Lordship Salvation, wrote:

"Saving faith is a commitment to leave sin and follow Jesus Christ at all costs."

"It is a redirection of the human will, a purposeful decision to forsake all unrighteousness and pursue righteousness instead."

"A person not willing to turn from sin, possessions, false religion, or selfishness will find he cannot turn to Christ in faith."

"Thus in a sense we pay the ultimate price for salvation."

In contrast, the apostle Paul wrote:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)

Either salvation is a free gift or it costs us something. It cannot be both.

Calvinism's Perseverance of the Elect teaches that final salvation from the penalty of sin requires not only belief in Jesus Christ, but also perseverance in an undetermined amount of good works. According to this doctrine, the "elect" will persevere. But knowing whether or not you are one of the "elect" is a different story. No one can ever be completely sure that they are saved until they have actually persevered to the end of their life and have died "in faith." This teaching is contrary to what we find in God's Word. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 Jn. 5:11-12)

Free Grace distinguishes between salvation and discipleship. While some theological systems believe that all Christians are disciples, Free Grace understands that the condition for eternal salvation (believe) is distinct from the many conditions for discipleship (deny oneself, take up your cross, follow Christ, abide in His Word, love Christ more than your family, etc.). Since grace is absolutely free, it cannot demand these conditions or it ceases to be grace. Free Grace believes that the commitments of discipleship should be the result of salvation, not the requirement. To make them conditions of salvation inserts works and human merit into the gospel of grace.

Free Grace Theology is the result of a literal and plain sense approach to the Bible that considers God's various ways of administering His plan for the world through the ages, and the proper contexts of any Bible passage. The Free Grace system seeks above all to be biblical. Its first commitment is not to a theological system, but to what the Bible says, even if some particulars cannot be reconciled easily to other teachings or traditional interpretations. Therefore, the Free Grace position allows for various interpretations of some biblical passages as long as they are consistent with good principles of Bible interpretation and the clear teaching of God's free grace.