Abstract
"God owes us nothing"; this statement is by no means universally accepted even within Christianity. But what is God supposed to owe us? Life, eternal life, life in eternal happiness. Does he really? From the standpoint of the Almighty, the Creator of all, nothing is owed to anyone; everything is a matter of divine grace. From the standpoint of man the answer is not so obvious. If God owes us nothing, then our actions have no bearing on the afterlife, on eternal happiness. We cannot in any way earn the entrance to God's presence; this entrance is bestowed only by God's grace. And this is a position of Augustine. On the other hand, as Pelagius maintained, man can earn the afterlife, thus God owes it to man. A middle course is called semi-Pelagianism according to which man's action counts since man cooperated with God's grace. Thus God owes us, if only a little bit.