Get Yourself Saved NOW !!!

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and this not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

What is Grace?

If it is “by Grace” that “we are saved”, then what is this Grace?

We know it cannot be from ourselves as it is being given to us and therefore is something from God, as there is only God and ourselves in these verses. So how do we earn Grace from God so that we can be saved?

We cannot.

Grace, from the Greek word Charis appears 170 times in the New testament and in this context means the unmerited favour and mercy of God. He gives it to us as a gift.

Paul told the Romans “If it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.” (Rom 11:6)

“Grace” in this sense therefore proceeds from God and cannot be anything to do with the current condition or of any works of the person upon which it is bestowed. If it were then it would not be Grace at all:

“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, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”” (Rom 4: 4-8 quoting Ps 32: 1-2)

We do not deserve it.

Always remember who we are: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) and “there is none that is good, no not one” (Rom 3:10).

We cannot earn it for “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa 64:6)

And yet… “whilst we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8) That is Grace; Totally unmerited favour and mercy from God to you, “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:15)

Jesus is our Grace “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” (Tit 2:11)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith;” We see here, as plain as day, that it is our faith in the grace of God, that is Jesus, that saves us. Believe that Jesus died for your sins. It could not be plainer; or could it?

Jesus tells throughout the Gospel of John “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (3:16) and again “Verily, Verily I say unto you He that believeth on me HATH everlasting life” (6:47) and again, when Jesus was asked “What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them “This is the works of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent”” (6:29).

If ever there was a point in the history of the world for God, living amongst us “in the flesh” (1 Tim 3:16), to tell us exactly what He requires of us, this was it; His answer? “Believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

Believe in Jesus !!!

Therefore we realise that Belief (Faith) is the ONLY requirement for Grace, but it gets even more amazing than that !!!

Where does our faith come from?

“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is a gift from God” !!!

So: Not only do we not deserve it; Not only can we not earn it; Not only are there no works apart from having faith, but IT IS GOD WHO GIVES US THAT FAITH IN THE FIRST PLACE !!!

“…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (Heb 12:2)

Therefore we do absolutely nothing whatsoever !!!

This is GRACE !!!

It is Jesus, as God’s only begotten Son, who came to earth to die for our sins whilst we were still in them and could not save ourselves. It is Jesus as God, that gives us the faith to believe in Jesus His Son and the Gospel about our Salvation. Again, this is totally Grace !!!

“Not by works, so that no man can boast”

This confirms what we have so far discovered, that we do nothing whatsoever; and very plainly !!! There are no pre-existing conditions and no works that we perform to be saved, and neither could there be.

Can you imagine our boasting if it were otherwise; people standing in Heaven thinking that they achieved eternal life by their own merit, even some small work on their part? It would be unbearable and I suggest, even blasphemy.

Remember, the apostles asked Jesus “Who then can be saved? And Jesus answered them, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”” (Mark 10:26b-27)

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Rom 4:2-3 (Gen 15:6)

“The words, “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 4:23-5:1)

Now we have looked at the “plain as day” Scripture, let us look at Scripture that dissenters of our clear view use to negate its simple, solid clarity and beauty.

The most frequently offered rebuttal to Eph 1: 8-9 is James 2:17-24:

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”

Now, Scripture cannot contradict itself and yet we see that in Rom 4:25 “Jesus was raised to life for our justification. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” and yet in James 2: 24 it is “by works a man is justified and not by faith alone”

How can this be?

It really sounds like the two great men are in total disagreement and yet its importance is life and death itself. Which one is correct?

Both are correct; but we knew they would have to be, didn’t we?

There is nothing you can do to earn your salvation and by definition, Salvation by Grace is completely unmerited, therefore there are NO pre-salvation condition or works and NO complimentary works or conditions that earn you salvation.

You are saved by Grace, through faith and that is all.

And before the first dissenter could possibly shout “Aha, but faith is a work !!!” God told us plainly through Paul, as we have seen, that even our faith is a gift from Him too: Eph 1:8-9 and Heb 12:2

I think we have truly hammered this point home, so what is James on about?

If it is not pre-salvation works or works complimentary to the Grace of salvation, then it must occur after this “one time” (Eph 1:13-14) salvation event.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and this not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 is immediately followed by:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:10.

However, “By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” 1 Cor 15:10 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Phil 2:13

For “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5.

Thus showing that “these are they (the seed) which are sown on the good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” Mark 4:20 walking “worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” Eph 4:1

Thus we can see that James was correct when he says “I will show you my faith by my works”. To have that faith in the first place MUST mean he is saved and therefore the works come afterwards and are already ordained for you to accomplish.

Jesus was right (obviously) when He said that we shall “bring forth fruit”. It is worth noting also, that fruits grow from seeds that have been planted and watered and nurtured and that have grown and therefore, referring to the meaning of the parable, are most definitely saved when the seed landed in the fertile “good ground”.

Paul was also correct about the actual salvation moment. It is a gift of God’s Grace by the faith that He gives us and NOT BY WORKS…

“Lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:9)