Grace, Salvation and Works
- Jul 9
- 3 min read
Few passages in Scripture are quoted more often than Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith... not of works." These verses beautifully declare the mercy of God, but this week's Bible study encouraged us to look beyond the familiar words and ask an important question: What was Paul actually addressing when he wrote them?
The study began by reminding us that Scripture is always best understood in its context. Throughout the New Testament, Paul repeatedly confronted a mindset that had become deeply rooted among many in Israel. They believed that their righteousness before God came through keeping the Law of Moses. Circumcision, feast days, ritual observances, and the works of the law had become the foundation of their confidence before God. Even after Christ came, some continued teaching that Gentile believers could not truly be accepted unless they also kept these requirements.
That is the issue Paul was addressing.
When he declared that we are saved by grace and "not of works," he was not teaching that the Christian life requires no obedience or that salvation ends the moment someone believes. Rather, Paul was explaining that our initial justification before God does not come through the works of the law. It is God's grace. No amount of religious effort can erase past sins or place God in our debt. Forgiveness is His gift, received through faith in Jesus Christ.
The study spent considerable time following this theme through Acts, Galatians, and Romans. Again and again, Paul returns to the same point. A person is "justified by faith apart from the works of the law." His concern was not with a life of holiness, but with the mistaken belief that observing the Law of Moses made someone righteous before God.
Abraham became Paul's greatest example. Long before Moses received the law, Abraham believed God's promise, and "it was counted unto him for righteousness." His standing before God came through faith, not through works of the law. Paul uses Abraham to demonstrate that justification has always rested on trusting God rather than earning His favor.
The study also emphasized that this truth should never be separated from the rest of Scripture. While justification is by grace through faith, the New Testament continually calls believers to grow, obey, and persevere. Paul himself wrote, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Jesus likewise declared, "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." These passages are not in conflict with Ephesians. They address a different part of the believer's walk.
The study explained it this way: God's grace reconciles us to Himself and forgives what we could never erase on our own. Nothing we have done before coming to Christ could ever obligate God to forgive us. That forgiveness is entirely His mercy. Yet once we have received that grace, believers are called to continue following Christ. Salvation is not presented in Scripture as a moment detached from the rest of life, but as a relationship that continues as we learn to walk with Him.
Romans 5 illustrates this distinction beautifully. Paul first speaks of being justified by faith and having peace with God. Later, he explains that believers "shall be saved by His life." The study highlighted the progression: grace restores our relationship with God, and the life of Christ becomes the pattern for those who continue to follow Him.
The lesson concluded by returning to Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Wages are earned. Gifts are received. Eternal life is never something humanity can place God under obligation to give. It remains His gift from beginning to end.
This study served as an important reminder that Scripture should be read as a whole. Grace and faith do not oppose obedience, nor does obedience replace grace. Rather, Paul was correcting a false confidence in the works of the law while pointing believers to the only true foundation of justification: faith in Jesus Christ. From that foundation, the Christian life continues as believers walk with Him, endure in Him, and grow into His likeness.
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