Author : Keith Sharp
In Ephesians 2:1-10 the apostle Paul discusses the salvation of the Ephesian Christians. He points out that at one time they had been “dead in trespasses and sins.” (verses 1-3). But, Paul reminds them, God has made them “alive together with Christ.” (verses 4-7). Thus, having once been spiritually dead, with only the dreadful prospect of a devil’s hell before them, they are now alive with the blessed hope of eternal bliss in heaven. Paul reveals how this wonderful change has taken place in verses 8-10. We, being under the New Testament just as were the Ephesian Christians, must be saved in the very same way they were. How were they saved? The apostle explains:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
But, what does it mean to be saved by grace through faith? Or, more to the point, “How can you be saved by grace through faith?”
“Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness….” (Romans 4:4-5).
Grace is well illustrated by the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). In this parable the Master paints for us a beautiful word picture of the love of God for lost sinners. Who can forget the tender scene of the loving father receiving back his wayfaring, undeserving boy and restoring him to a position of honor which he had forfeited and did not deserve to regain? But the matchless love of that daddy looked past the sins and mistakes to see a repentant boy whom he loved with all his heart. Could God’s grace be better illustrated?
Do you need this grace? You have sinned (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Since you deserve spiritual death, it is only in God’s grace His hope can be extended.
How can you gain access to the benefits of God’s grace? The Father revealed His love for us in sending “his Son to be the propitiation(payment of the penalty – KS) for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10) Jesus’ blood will take away the guilt of our sins (Matthew 26:28). God’s spiritual blessings for us are “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3), in “the church, which is His body.” (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Some people say that salvation is “wholly by grace.” They contend that if we do anything to obtain salvation we have earned it, and thus it would not be a gift (Ephesians 2:8). If salvation is wholly by grace, then one of three things must be true. Either God has selected a specific group of people to be saved without regard to anything they might do (as Calvinists teach), He will save everyone (as Universalists believe) or He will save no one (which no one believes).
We know the merciful Father has not predestined which individuals will be saved, for His saving grace is for all people ( Titus 2:11). Also, we know that not everyone will be saved (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Finally, Jesus promised that some would be saved (Matthew 25:34).Thus, since all three possibilities are eliminated, we know that salvation is not “wholly by grace.”
When the Israelites took the city of Jericho, they had to march around that city a total of thirteen times, they had to shout with a great shout, and the priests had to blow on rams’ horns before the walls would fall (Joshua chapter 6). Yet God told Joshua, “I have given Jericho into your hand.” (verse 2) Certainly they had to do something to obtain the city, for this was a conditional gift. Likewise, Solomon observed that the food we eat “is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13). But we must work to obtain it. Certainly, then, the fact that salvation is a gift does not prove that God has not set conditions we must meet to receive the gift.
What is “faith?” The author of Hebrews defines “faith” as “the substance (assurance, New American Standard Bible) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction, NASB) of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).
“Faith,” in relationship to “hope,” is that which “substantiates” or upholds it. It is “assurance” of that which we both desire and expect. Furthermore, it is based on “evidence” which yields “conviction” concerning things not seen. Also, faith includes trust, for “he who comes to God must believe that He is (conviction – KS), and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (trust – KS).” (Hebrews 11:6) The three elements of saving faith are belief based on evidence, trust, and assurance.
No Bible believer questions the fact that faith saves. It is the means by which we gain “access” into the grace of the loving Father, whereby we may “rejoice in hope” of eternal glory (Romans 5:1-2).
But, what kind of faith saves? Saving faith stands upon “the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). Faith in human philosophy, men’s opinions, our parents’ religion, church creeds and teachings, or our own good deeds will not do. Furthermore, the faith which “avails” is “faith working through love.” (Galatians5:6).
But, didn’t Paul say that salvation was “not of works, lest anyone should boast”? (Ephesians 2:9). Why, then, did he say that faith, to benefit, had to work? In spite of denominational doctrine, Jesus declared that faith is a work that we do (John 6:28-29). Did Paul contradict both himself and Jesus when he said salvation is “not of works”? No, the Scriptures, being truth, never contradict themselves. Rather, as Paul shows in Ephesians 2:9, he is eliminating the possibility that boastful works will save a person.
What works could lead a person to boast of having earned salvation? If a man could be saved by keeping the law of Moses, he could boast (Romans 3:27-28), for one would have to be sinlessly perfect to be saved by it (Galatians 3:10). Therefore, salvation by keeping the Mosaic law is eliminated by Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:9. Also, if a person, by his own human wisdom, could create a plan of salvation, he could glory. Thus, the apostle’s statement also stops the idea of salvation by some plan created by human wisdom (Romans 10:1-3).
But, are works of obedience to God also eliminated as conditions of salvation? No, the New Testament plainly teaches we must obey Christ in order to be saved (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9). Having so obeyed, we still have not earned salvation (Luke 17:10).
Is it any wonder, then, that Paul explained that our salvation by God’s mercy is the result of “the washing of regeneration”? (Titus 3:3-7). Is it any wonder that the vast majority of scholars of every age recognize “the washing of regeneration” is baptism?
My friend, it is by God’s grace that you are saved. But that grace would never have benefitted a single person had God not demonstrated it through an act of grace – the giving of His Son (John 3:16-17). Who can deny it?
Dear friend, it is by your faith you have access into God’s grace. But it is through an act of faith, water baptism, that one gains entrance into Christ where the benefits of God’s grace are enjoyed (Galatians 3:26-27). Who can deny it?
Have you been saved by grace through faith?
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16).
