Grace in Pauline Theology and its Socio-economic Implications for Post-COVID-19 Context in Nigeria

Abstract

The concept of grace, which features prominently in the Pauline epistles, needs a reconceptualization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a public health risk of unimaginable proportions that has caused a significant shift in ecclesial processes and theologies.  Scholars have treated the Pauline theology of grace synthetically in the Pauline corpus; thematically as central to Paul‘s theology;  doctrinally in juxtaposition with the themes of law and free will; and within the purview of other subject matters like Mormonism,  liberation theology, and hyper-grace teaching. Yet, these scholars have not paid attention to the socio-economic implications of Paul's  theology of grace, especially in the African context. Therefore, this study examines Paul's theology of grace and its socioeconomic  implications in the post-COVID-19 context in Nigeria and leans on theological reflection. Offline and online data were collected using  literature research and digital analytical methods respectively, and descriptively and theologically analysed. For Paul, grace does not  negate the ethic of hard work and self-sufficiency. These economic precepts show antipathy towards the pursuit and retention of wealth  and communal welfarism, but emphasise the theology of enterprise.