Explaining Grace, Faith and Works

In this article I want to explain a well known yet widely misunderstood scripture and that is Ephesians 2:8&9

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.

This article can also be read on ‘the godly life’ website which contains an abundance of sound material, just click on the link below

https://thegodlylife.org/2019/11/19/explaining-saved-by-grace-through-faith-not-of-works/

Now the word grace is often described as God’s unmerited favour towards mankind and yes God is merciful, kind, loving and forgiving. However, if we look at the Greek word behind that English word Grace we get a much better and fuller understanding of what grace actually means.

The Greek word is khar-ece and means…

The merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ…it also means…the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life…

So many in the church world, see grace as just “God forgave me of my sin even though I did absolutely nothing to deserve his forgiveness”.

However, khar-ece is God’s divine influence upon the heart or, in other words, God, through his Word and Sprit, convicting a person of their sin, bringing them to a place of brokenness which the bible calls Godly sorrow, motivating them to turn from sin and turn to Christ.

What is sin? There’s the obvious sins like adultery, fornication, murder, theft, lying and drunkeness but even if you don’t do those things but in your heart you think you don’t need God, you think your way is best, that is also sin! It’s the pride of life.

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

So, let’s talk about faith.

For by grace are ye saved through faith…

What is faith? Is it simply giving mental ascent to what Jesus did for us on the cross? Is it an abstract concept?

Again, if we look at the Greek word behind the English word faith, we get a much better, fuller understanding of what faith is.

The Greek word is pis-tis

It does mean belief and conviction but it also means faithfulness and fidelity which reminds me of a marriage.

Therefore, true faith means entering and abiding within a covenant relationship with God, forsaking all others to love and serve him.

To further expand upon our understanding of faith, lets look at James 2:26

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Works means an act or deed. According to James, faith is evidenced through actions or demonstrated through deeds, therefore, true faith produces repentance and steadfast obedience to God.

Lets now look at Acts 26:20

…that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance

Here works, again, means deeds or actions and meet means worthy of. Therefore, one could read this verse as saying…that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds worthy of repentance.

Yes, to receive salvation one has to DO something.

James 4:8&10

Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners, purify your hearts ye double minded.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up.

So I hear you ask, if we demonstrate our faith through works, why then does Ephesians 2:9 say…not of works lest any man should boast

Well, the works here are referring to dead works. 

Old Testament believers performed many ceremonies and rituals such as animal sacrifice, diverse washings and circumcision.

These are dead works in that, under new testament salvation, they mean nothing to God and cannot make a person righteous.

Hebrew 9:13&14

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Animal sacrifice was replaced with Jesus’s death on the cross. Only by partaking in HIS death and resurrection can one be saved.

How does one partake in it?

By grace through faith!

When God, by Grace, convicts one of sin and one responds to this Grace by repenting from sin and submitting one’s will to God’s will, one is crucified WITH Christ and resurrected WITH him to walk in newness of life which is being born-again by the Spirit. 

In conclusion,

Rather than seeing Grace as God’s unmerited favour towards mankind…let’s see grace as God’s divine influence upon the heart, convicting a person of their sin and drawing them to Christ.

Rather than seeing faith as an abstract concept…let’s see faith as entering and abiding within a covenant relationship with God that includes faithfulness and fidelity.

Finally, rather than seeing not of works as meaning we do nothing in order to receive salvation…I hope you can see that works in this verse is referring to the dead works of animal sacrifice, diverse washings and other ordinances performed under the old covenant, which are not able to make a person righteous.

Those old rituals and ceremonies point to the spiritual reality of forgiveness and relationship with God through partaking in his death and resurrection…being crucified and resurrected WITH Christ.

Let us each work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God bless.