Saved by Grace Alone

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:8-10).
 
Apart from John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9 is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. Scripture teaches that we are saved by God’s grace alone. Grace is not an impersonal force but is the disposition of our heavenly Father to those whom he is bringing to Christ. It is God’s undeserved favor. This is God’s inclination towards those who are without any merit or virtue to ask anything of God. We need grace because we are sinners. Our very nature is corrupt and turned in on itself. We do what we want for our benefit, enjoyment, or pleasure. By nature, we pursue pleasure and avoid pain regardless of what God might want for our lives. How should God react towards rebellious sinners? If God gave us what we really deserved we would all suffer punishment for our sins separated from him for eternity. That sounds harsh but keep in mind apart from God we will perpetually remain in a state of active rebellion towards him for all eternity.
 
This passage also teaches that it is through faith. Faith is the means by which we receive forgiveness and eternal life. We are declared not guilty and fully righteous through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ through faith. Faith is the way or means by which we are justified. Let me explain by way of illustration. If I want to get from point A to point B I need to find a way to get there. I might take a car to get there so the car is the instrument I used to get from point A to point B. I might take a bicycle or a scooter or a skateboard. In any case, it would be the instrumental means by which I got from point A to point B. In that sense, it is by faith, and faith alone that we receive eternal life. But just having faith won’t save us unless it is faith in the right thing, or more correctly, the right Person. We rest in or trust in the finished work of Christ alone in his life, death, and resurrection to be complete payment for all my sin and the basis on which I am declared righteous.
 
All of this is a gift! Is faith a gift of God? Surely it is. It is not of our own doing that we receive Christ. But God’s grace to us in the first place is also a gift. We do not earn that either. In fact, all of salvation from beginning to end is an expression of God’s grace and is a gift from him that we receive. If we could work for it to earn it or if we deserved it, it would not be a gift but a payment for our effort.
 
Notice the last sentence. What happens to the person who places his faith in Christ Jesus alone for salvation? God begins to live in that person through the Holy Spirit and we are made genuinely new creatures in Christ. We who were spiritually dead and lost in our sins are now spiritually alive and joined together with Christ. God rescued us for a purpose, that we might glorify him by living a life of good works that he has already set up in advance for us to walk in them. God wants us to do good and love others in Jesus’ name. He has set up “divine appointments” in advance with others who are ready to hear the gospel from us. This very familiar passage not only tells us how we are saved from our sins but also why God saved us, that we should live for God by walking in good works.