(1) good works are not necessary to qualify us for believing in Christ, It is evident from the apostle's doctrine that "Which God hath before prepared that we should walk in them." This might be true in a double sense: either that, by the revelation of the moral law, he has fixed the firm and unalterable pathway of the believer's obedience - prepared, as it were, the sphere of our moral action or that, by creating us in Christ Jesus, he has preordained our disposition and aptitude for this obedience. Good works are the predestined way along which the saved walk. There is thus no merit in faith any more than there is in the hand of the beggar who receives an alms.ģ. It is in no sense the ground of salvation "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Christ Jesus" is the only ground of it, and it is therefore called "the gift of righteousness" Romans 5:17) but faith is the hand by which it is received. But the apostle uniformly represents faith as that which apprehends the salvation. We are not to suppose, however, that salvation is given as a kind of reward of faith, for, in a true sense, faith is part of the salvation itself. "By grace are ye saved, through faith " and thus the gospel becomes "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Power as well as pardon flows forth from Christ to every one that believeth. Faith is the instrumental cause of our salvation. The new man receives the power in the very structure of his spiritual being for, having died with Christ, he is risen with him that he should walk in newness of life.Ģ. unto good works." The old man cannot work. Now, we have learned to say of pardon that it is "not of works " equally true is it of our purification that it is not of works - that is, not of our working - for we are " his workmanship, created. Christ, that, though he was rich, for your sakes he became poor" ( 2 Corinthians 8:9) the application of it is of grace, for it is "grace that bringeth salvation" ( Titus 2:11) and it is according to this grace "we are called with an holy calling" ( 2 Timothy 1:9). The purpose of God is of grace, for "he hath saved us according to his own purpose and grace" ( 2 Timothy 1:9) the atonement is of grace, for "ye know the grace of. Grace is the fountain at once of pardon and of holiness.
EPHESIANS 2 8 FULL
HOW IS THIS FULL SALVATION TO BE OBTAINED? "By grace are ye saved, through faith." You are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."ġ.
Salvation, if it be salvation at all, is "unto good works " good works not being the root on which salvation grows, but the fruit which grows upon the tree of life. But the apostle teaches, in the tenth verse, that what is true of pardon through the death of Christ is equally true of power by his life - that if we are delivered from the punishment of sin by the atoning death of Christ, we are also delivered from the power of sin by the loving grace that streams from the fountain of the cross. We have learnt to believe that our works have nothing to do with our pardon - our evil works have not hindered it, our good works have not helped it our pardon is of pure grace. This was the Divine purpose in the mission of the Son God sent Christ to bless us "by turning every one of us away from our iniquities" ( Acts 3:26). "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." We are saved because we are thus created. POWER FOR GOOD WORKS IS INCLUDED IN SALVATION. Therefore, while believers may rejoice that they have received pardon through the blood of Christ, let them still more rejoice that Jesus " saves them from their sins" by a continuous supply of his living grace. Holiness is the most essential thing in salvation. To be saved from sin is the climax, the consummation, the essence of salvation. There must be likewise a deliverance from the power of sin. This is, indeed, the first step in salvation. The salvation was more than a deliverance from the guilt of sin, so as to exempt sinners from future punishment. It is not, " Ye shall be saved." They were already in an actual state of salvation they had passed from death unto life and the life was everlasting.Ģ. It is implied that the salvation is a present reality.
We are not saved by works, but unto works. Croskery One thought runs through these two verses like a thread of gold. The Respective Places of Faith and Works in Salvation The Mistake of Relying Upon Faith Considered Salvation in its Completeness: the Place of Faith and Works
EPHESIANS 2 8 FREE
Salvation by the Sovereign Love and Free Grace of God Faith: What is It? How Can it be Obtained
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