For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Many people today are lamenting the fact that we no longer live in a Christian nation. It is debatable whether we ever did. But there is no doubt that, in the past, as a nation we were Christian in our world view. Such is no longer the case.
It is still true that the majority of people in America call themselves Christians. That fact notwithstanding, polling data shows that many are only Christians in name. Their view of life, the world, and even Christianity is not a view based on the Bible. It is certainly not the view Christ put forward in His teaching. Because it is much the same view as the non-Christian people around them, our nation can truly no longer be called a Christian nation.
That is not what troubles me. I can live in a pluralistic society and still follow Christ. What troubles me is not the Christianity of our nation but the Christianity of our churches. Are churches filled these days with people who are really not saved? Is Christianity, to some, merely a social attachment to an organization which bears the name of Christ? Can we trace the impotence of so many churches and denominations to the fact that a fair percentage of their members are not truly born again? Is this not in fact the real reason why our nation is fast becoming anti-Christian?
It should be apparent to many of us that there are certainly churches that exist with many people who are unsaved, but members. We tend to think it is the church down the street, not ours. But I remember a comment made to me by someone who attended our church from another country and culture. In their country, church-going was not a fashionable thing to do. Therefore, only true committed Christians attended church. After attending our services, this person made a very interesting comment to me. This person said, not in a judgmental way, "Why is it that you seem to have non-Christians attending your services?" At first I didn't understand what was meant by this statement. I thought that perhaps in their culture they didn't allow non-Christians to even attend their services. I found that was not the case. This person was talking, not about people we were trying to reach, but about some of our members who showed no signs of conversion. Could it be that some of our own members here at Emmanuel are not really saved?
Let me put it more directly: Are you saved? If so, how do you know? What is your understanding of how a person becomes a Christian, and on what basis? Do you understand the basis upon which you are saved? Do you really understand what the Bible says about true salvation?
If our churches are to be truly Christian, then we must have a practical understanding of the focus of our text. These issues are addressed in these two verses in Ephesians. In this passage we find what the Bible really teaches about salvation by God's grace. It is obvious that many have not understood or applied this truth to their lives. Perhaps that is part of the reason we have some in the church today who have wrong notions of what salvation really is.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (2:8-9)
In our text we see several important things. We see how God has saved us. It is by grace. Then we see the channel through which God brings this salvation to us. It is through faith. And we also see how God has not saved us. It is not as a result of works.
By dealing with the last point first, we may be able to better understand the message of our text. Let's look first at salvation: man's way.
There are basically two, and only two, methods by which people attempt to be saved. Either people attempt to be saved according to God's terms or their own. And this is precisely what Jesus indicated would happen. He said in John 10:9, "I am the Door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved." In the verse immediately prior to this He said, "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers." The implication here is that He is the only way. There is one door. He is that door. If you go through that door you will be saved. Any other door does not lead to salvation. This is consistent with what Jesus said in John 14:6: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." In other words, there is a right way, and there is a wrong way. But it is not enough to say that Jesus is the right way. We must determine what that really means. And it is not what that means to you, as some mistakenly say. Truth is not truth as you see it. Truth is truth as it really is. Christianity is not what we think it is: Christianity is what it really is.
Let's begin with what Christianity is not. This is man's attempt at salvation. And it is based in works. By works, humankind has made consistent and valiant attempts at earning salvation.
This is the philosophy of the frog which fell into a large milkcan. It tried as hard as it could to leap out, but found it was trapped. With nothing else to do, it just kept paddling and paddling, until it had finally churned a pat of butter --- and presto! --- saved itself by leaping from this self-made launching pad. It is amazing that many so-called Christian have this very philosophy of Christianity. This is what someone called "American folk religion." It can be summed up in statements like "I'm not perfect, but I'm doing the best I can." --- "I try to do what's right and consider myself a pretty good person --- there are plenty of persons worse than me." --- "I think I've done more good than I've done wrong; I should be okay." This may be the philosophy of American folk religion, but it is diametrically opposed to what the Bible teaches about true salvation.
History is replete with examples of how people have tried to earn their salvation by self-effort. This self-effort takes many forms. Some have tried to save themselves by self-affliction. The Hindus are well known for tormenting their bodies in an effort to deliver their souls. Even in Christianity you find occurrences of this. But long pilgrimages crawling on your knees, extended periods of starvation, self-flagellation with whips, or lying on beds of nails does not make us closer to God or earn us salvation. There may be something within us which feels the guilt of sin and a need to punish ourselves for it, but none of these means, however severe, are able to secure our deliverance.
Another way that people try to earn salvation is by good works. They think that by doing enough good works they can counterbalance the bad works they have done. If they end up with more good works than bad works, everything will work out, so to speak. Many people buy into this concept. Outwardly, it makes some sense. Many of our contemporary concepts of justice, fairness, and equity are based on logic like this.
The problem is that we are dealing with eternal things. We are not dealing with breaking someone's model airplane and paying for a replacement. We are dealing with an eternal death in our souls. And that cannot be patched up by doing nice things. According to the verses preceding our text, we were born with a sin nature. We are described as dead, disobedient, depraved, and doomed. It will take more than a few surface works to clean up this mess. We are talking about spiritual transformation here. That is what's needed.
Seeing that fact, some redirect their good works into a spiritual arena. They try to save themselves by religious ritual. They substitute religious ceremonies for ordinary good works. They think that if they get baptized they will be saved. Or they think that if they are confirmed they will be saved. Or they think they will be saved by the sacraments. Or they think they will be saved by joining the church. But these are merely other forms of good works. They are religious works. And, in many ways, they are the most subtle and damning of all.
Because they are religious, they have a spiritual air about them. Clothed in God-talk, they seduce us into thinking that they are God-ordained. In fact, they deceive us into believing that since we are engaging in church approved activities, God will accept us. Several years ago, I came across a book with the title, Damned Through The Church. Written by John Warwick Montgomery, a learned legal and theological scholar, the book confronted the church with the reality that it may unwittingly contribute to a false assurance of salvation by failing to be certain of the true conversion of its members. By allowing people to join in a casual way, without questioning them about their savlation, we end up with many who are not converted. But they are not only not Christians, they are deceived into thinking they are, because they have been accepted by the chuch. They are damned through the church which should have led them to Christ.
We do not do people a favor by being timid about our faith or theirs. We must find out whether people are trusting religious works or Christ for their salvation. A true Christian is never ashamed to give testimony to that fact. If someone is offened by your asking if they know Jesus, there is something wrong. They may not know Jesus at all. They may be trusting in religious ritual.
But all works, even religious works come up short. We cannot do enough to make ourselves acceptable to a holy God. God is holy, and any sin is inconsistent with His nature. Furthermore, He cannot ignore it. If you were having guests over for dinner and found that on one plate there was a spot of hardened food from its last use, however small and insignificant, you would replace the plate. Our problem is even more severe. Unlike a plate which can be cleaned, the blight of sin is thoroughly ingrained into our being. We cannot be cleaned up. We must be replaced. Good works, even religious works only dust off the outside. We are like the Pharisees Jesus described in Matthew 23:27 as "white-washed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." In the end, for all of our attempts at good works, we find that we are still unable to really do good. As the Bible says, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one" (Romans 3:10-12). The sum total of all our works add up to less than zero when compared to a holy God.
The reason God gives why His salvation is not as a result of works is that no one should boast. None of us will be able to say, "I saved myself." We must all come to Jesus at the same level. We must all come to Jesus in the same way. No matter what our education, station in life, title, degree, riches, or ability, we must all come in humility, acknowledging our need for Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (2:8-9)
Because God knew that we could not earn our way to heaven, He provided another way. In fact, it is the only way. It is His way. We are told that it is by grace you have been saved through faith. If this is God's way, then it is important for us to understand both grace and faith.
Grace is how God saves us. The word comes from the Greek word charis which means "the undeserved favor of God." The idea is that we receive from God in a positive way what we do not deserve. When we deserve damnation, we receive salvation. But we do not receive it on the basis of any good works which we have done. This grace by which you have been saved is the gift of God. In other words, God bestows on us this undeserved favor, this grace, as a gift.
But on what basis? We have already seen that it is not on the basis of our works. If not our works, and if God cannot simply ignore sin, then on what basis can He give us this gift? It is on the basis of the work that Jesus did on the Cross. On the Cross of Calvary, Jesus bore the penalty for our sin. God does not ignore sin, but our sin has been borne by another. Speaking of Jesus, in 1 Peter 2:24 we read, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the Cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." Far from ignoring our sins, Jesus came to this earth to pay the penalty for our sins that we might receive the gift of God which is salvation by grace . . . through faith.
A large prestigious church had three mission churches under its care. On the first Sunday of the New Year all the members of the mission churches came to the big city church for a combined Communion service. In those mission churches, which were located in the slums of the city, were some outstanding cases of conversions --- thieves, burglars, and so on --- but all knelt side by side at the Communion rail.
On one such occasion the pastor saw a former burglar kneeling beside a judge of the Supreme Court of England --- the very judge who had sent him to jail where he had served seven years. After his release this burglar had been converted and become a Christian worker. Yet, as they knelt there, the judge and the former convict, neither one seemed to be aware of the other.
After the service, the judge was walking out with the pastor and said to him, "Did you notice who was kneeling beside me at the Communion rail this morning?" The pastor replied, "Yes, but I didn't know that you noticed." The two walked along in silence for a few moments, and then the judge said, "What a miracle of grace." The pastor nodded in agreement. "Yes, what a marvelous miracle of grace." Then the judge said, "But to whom do you refer?" And the pastor said, "Why, to the conversion of that convict." The judge said, "But I was not referring to him. I was thinking of myself." The pastor, surprised, replied: "You were thinking of yourself? I don't understand." "Yes," the judge replied, "it was natural for the burglar to receive God's grace when he came out of jail. He had nothing but a history of crime behind him, and when he saw Jesus as his Savior he knew there was salvation and hope and joy for him. And he knew how much he needed that help.
"But look at me. I was taught from earliest infancy to live as a gentleman; that my word was to be my bond; that I was to say my prayers, to go to church, take Communion and so on. I went through Oxford, took my degrees, was called to the bar and eventually became a judge. Pastor, it was God's grace that drew me; it was God's grace that opened my heart to receive it. I'm a greater miracle of his grace." [1]
Whoever you are, if you have received the true salvation of God, you have received it as a gift of God's grace. Pascal said, "Grace is indeed required to turn a man into a saint; and he who doubts this does not know what either a man or a saint is." [2]
Finally, we are told that the channel through which the grace of God comes to us is faith. But what is faith?
Faith is not merely intellectual knowledge. Sometimes we think this because we exhort people to faith by telling them to believe. Indeed, the words believe and faith are used to refer to the same thing. But true biblical faith is not believing in Christ as we believe in Abraham Lincoln. Both Christ and Lincoln are historical figures. But biblical faith is not knowledge about Christ.
True biblical faith is not sentiment either. Many people equate faith with feelings. Feelings are not faith. Because of our background in church, or some religious experiences which we have had, we may equate faith with the nostalgic and fond memories we attach to these things. But faith is deeper than that.
A basic element of faith is trust. Faith begins with knowledge. There is a certain understanding about Christ we must have. We must know that He died on the Cross for our sins, that He paid the penalty there to purchase our salvation. But then we must trust in Him as the only hope we have for salvation. Faith begins with knowledge but culminates in commitment. We must trust Christ with our lives.
A well known story illustrates the importance of trust and commitment. The world-famous acrobat, Blondin, was born in France in 1824. His real name was Jean Francois Gravalet. Over the years, he became famous throughout Europe and America. In London he onced played a violin on a tightrope 170 feet above the ground. On this side of the Atlantic, he became famous for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope 1,100 feet long and 160 feet above the water. Once he pushed a wheelbarrel across while blindfolded. Another time, he stood on his head on the wire. I understand that today in London there are Niagara and Blondin Avenues named for these amazing achievements. One day he carried a man across Niagara Falls on his back. When he had put the rider down, he looked into the crowd and asked a man standing near, "Do you believe I could do that with you?" "Of course," the man answered, "I've just seen you do it." Then Blondin said, "Hop on, I'll carry you across." The man called back, "Not on your life!" [3]
The man wouldn't go across with Blondin because he didn't really believe. He had intellectual understanding. But he didn't have real faith because he didn't have trust. The evidence of faith would have been to trust himself to Blondin to carry him safely across. He believed that Blondin could do it, but he wasn't willing to stake his life on it.
True faith in Jesus means that we stake our lives on Him. We commit ourselves to Him as our only hope for salvation. We give ourselves totally to Him, and burn our bridges behind us. Without trust, there is no faith. Without faith, there is no reception of grace. Without grace, there is no salvation.
[1]. R. Kent Hughes, Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990), p. 76.
[2]. W. H. Auden and Louis Kronenberger, The Viking Book of Aphorisms (New York: Dorset Press, 1966), p. 89.
[3]. Hughes, p. 78.
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