Ephesians 2:8-9 (Salvation)
“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” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
If there is one question every man, woman, and child must reconcile before they die, it is simply this: What must I do to be saved?
Salvation is arguably the most important decision God cares about concerning mankind, yet there is general confusion among believers on what it truly entails. Thankfully, Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly articulates how a person can be saved, and also, what does NOT qualify for eternal salvation and why.
The challenge is many people tend to insert themselves into the salvation equation under the umbrella of works, assuming their good deeds will influence God’s favor and gain their entrance into heaven. However, good works are simply a by-product of salvation which results from a born-again heart, not what saves a man.
Let us be clear, though. No one other than God knows whether a person is saved. Therefore, it is not our responsibility to judge the eternal destination of others. Rather, we are better served ensuring our personal actions, first and foremost, reflect the transformation of a redeemed soul sold out completely to Christ and His Word.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror” (James 1:22–23).
GRACE:
We have been saved by grace through faith, but what does that mean? Grace is simply unmerited favor. We cannot earn it, for it is freely given with no strings attached nor payment needed. Therefore, grace is often referred to as a gift because it is out of our control and completely at the discretion of the giver.
From Scripture’s perspective, grace is an extension of God’s love because His righteous law demands sin be atoned for. Therefore, grace is required to save us from God’s imminent wrath and secure our eternity in heaven rather than hell.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18).
However, saving grace is a limited time offer which requires acceptance of its validity and all-sufficiency, grounded by faith in the truth of God’s Word. In other words, one day we will die and His sovereign grace will only benefit us if we’ve accepted His free gift of salvation BEFORE judgment day arrives.
“For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?” (Job 27:8).
Waiting or prolonging a faith decision in Christ is simply foolish for none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Therefore, we must reconcile whether we believe God’s absolute truth which outlines His plan of salvation through faith in Jesus for the redemption of sins.
“Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1–2).
However, just because we’ve prayed a prayer of salvation does not mean we are truly saved. Rather, we must not only believe God’s Word is true but accept His free gift of salvation by grace through faith, living obediently to the authority of Scripture so that our good works testify to our faith conversion, not contradict it.
WORKS:
Let us be clear: Works do not save us. They are merely an outpouring of thankfulness and gratitude to God bathed in humility for the forgiveness of sins. However, some church denominations have taught that works are a component of salvation, which contradicts Ephesians 2:9 and confuses many followers of Christ with false doctrine.
In many ways, works are pay-it-forward opportunities whereby we extend love, grace, and mercy to others because God has infinitely blessed us. They do not supplant or minimize the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our behalf, but rather point others to Him as the true source of grace and mercy required for salvation.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16).
Keep in mind, our good works should testify that we are image bearers of Christ, reflecting His love to a lost world devoid of hope. However, they should never glorify ourselves but always point others to God who is the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
In the same light, we must guard against leading others astray. For if we’re living to glorify ourselves, whether we realize it or not, we diminish the eternal sacrifice Jesus made and present a false Gospel for others to mistakenly believe.
“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (Romans 14:13).
That is how false teachings such as “saved by grace—kept alive by works” have become stumbling blocks within the Christian church, but that is NOT what Scripture teaches. Rather, works testify to the power of salvation working in our hearts and through our behavior for the glory of God because only the gracious blood of Jesus saves us.
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” ( James 2:14–17).
PRIDE:
Countless people have passed from this life to the next believing their good works could save them. Rather than accept the free gift of salvation promised in Scripture, they chose to hedge their bet on a percentage majority of good works, thinking they could tip the morality scale in their favor to gain entrance into heaven.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 16:25).
Unfortunately, those same souls are anguishing in hell today because they assumed they could earn God’s favor. Their pride hindered them from relinquishing complete control of their lives to God and accepting His free gift of salvation. Therefore, their eternal fate was sealed the moment they chose to disbelieve God’s Word and reject the power of His divine grace through faith alone as sufficient to save them.
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:22–25).
From a fleshly perspective, it seems unreasonable for a loving God to sentence people to eternity in hell, but God’s law demands sin be atoned for. That is why John 3:16-18 is such an encouragement because it explains not only HOW we can be saved, but WHY God chose to sacrifice His beloved Son to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16–18).
For many people, salvation by grace through faith alone seems too good to be true. We feel we need to do something in return to earn our keep, but nothing could be further from the truth. Therefore, we must relinquish all pride and simply believe in God’s plan of salvation if we desire to spend eternity in heaven rather than hell.
“Perhaps the most difficult task for us to perform is to rely on God’s grace and God’s grace alone for our salvation. It is difficult for our pride to rest on grace. Grace is for other people – for beggars. We don’t want to live by a heavenly welfare system. We want to earn our own way and atone for our own sins. We like to think that we will go to heaven because we deserve to be there.”
Make no mistake, what we deserve as sinners in the hands of a righteous and holy God is death. We can argue otherwise and attempt to minimize our sins to justify our actions, but even if we’ve committed only one sin in our lifetime, we are guilty of breaking God’s entire law and in jeopardy of spending eternity in hell if we do not reconcile Ephesians 2:8-9 in our hearts before we die.
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).
BOTTOM-LINE:
Ephesians 2:8-9 is not meant to be a scare tactic to force a salvation decision, but rather the key to answering the most important question every man, woman and child must reconcile in their hearts before they die: What must I do to be saved?
Granted, some people will refuse to believe in a God who would sentence anyone to eternity in hell, but they fail to realize He is patient, longsuffering, and has provided the ultimate way of escape from eternal damnation through the blood of His Son whom He sacrificed on our behalf.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
All we must do is repent of our sins and accept His immeasurable grace through faith in Christ as our eternal propitiation (i.e. substitute) on judgment day. For God did not save us because we loved Him, but rather because He first loved us and prepared a way for us to reconcile our hearts back to Him free of charge.
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:2–3).
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Therefore, may we all accept God’s unending grace through faith in Christ, making Jesus Lord and Savior of our lives forevermore. For grace does not wait for us to come home but rather meets us right where we’re at, healing our broken hearts and reconciling our souls for eternity to the glory of Jesus’ name.
“Grace burst forth spontaneously from the bosom of eternal love and rested not until it had removed every impediment and found its way to the sinner’s side, swelling round him in full flow. Grace does away the distance between the sinner and God, which sin had created. Grace meets the sinner on the spot where he stands; grace approaches him just as he is. Grace does not wait till there is something to attract it nor till a good reason is found in the sinner for its flowing to him… It was free, sovereign grace when it first thought of the sinner; it was free grace when it found and laid hold of him; and it is free grace when it hands him up into glory.”
