Prayer: Lord God, we humbly come to you today, thanking you for the lives of these men and women of the Old Testament who are such great examples of living faith. Their lives are testimonies to us. They began as ordinary people, yet you were able to use them in extraordinary ways for your honor and glory. Use us God, that we might be examples for future generations as they seek to believe in and follow you. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.
Main Scripture: Read Ephesians 2:8-10.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Associated Scriptures:
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up (Mark 9:25-27).
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him" (John 14:5-7).
But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:8-9).
Correlative Quotes:
These verses explain "the incomparable riches of His grace" (v. 7), expanding the parenthetical statement in verse 5, It is by grace you have been saved, and adding that the means of this salvation is through faith. Hence the basis is grace and the means is faith alone (cf. Romans 3:22,25; Galatians 2:16; 1 Peter 1:5).[1] – John F. Walvoord
That we are God's "workmanship" may be intended as a contrast leading into good works. God's "work" of salvation and new creation overturns our "sinful works" and makes doing "good works" possible. …The new life that God gives cannot help but express itself in good works.[2]
Study:
There are four key words in Ephesians that all relate to our salvation and the purpose of the life we live after we have been justified. The words are “grace” (vs. 8), “faith” (vs. 8), “boast” (vs. 9), and finally “works” (vs. 10).
Basically Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that we are justified by grace through faith alone. Salvation is a gift and it cannot be earned. Since our salvation is a free gift from God, we cannot brag about the reality that we have received it. We were not special. We were dead in our sin and unrighteousness, destined for a lonely, horrible, tormented existence in Hell. There was nothing we did to earn our salvation; therefore, we cannot glory in it. God receives all the honor, all the glory, for the act of redemption and justification.
The proof of our salvation comes from our response to it. If we are truly saved, we will live a life that is directed by God (Romans 12:1-2). We will live according to His plan. Included in that plan are good works which God has already scheduled out for us (vs. 10). We need to carry out those works of righteousness as He has planned (vs. 10). In the end, since we were not responsible for our salvation or the good works that He will produce through us, God will receive all the glory and honor. In addition, others will see His good works and be encouraged to accept His free gift of salvation also.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).
Hell is a real place and the Bible speaks of it frequently. John MacArthur in his message entitled “The Truth About Hell,” makes this comment. Sadly, those who reject God and His way of salvation don’t find rest when they die. They enter into eternal hell where there’s no peace for the wicked. That’s a grim, terrible reality, and it’s what the Bible teaches.
Then the King will say to those on His left, “Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41)
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:43).
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15).[3] – John MacArthur
“Faith is,” according to (Hebrews 11:1), “the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”
The writer of Hebrews gives us a comprehensive look at faith by giving us two definitions. The first definition of faith is built on the confidence we can have in Jesus. Our certainty in Jesus rests on the word assurance (NIV) or substance (NKJV). The definition contains these words, “the assurance of things Hoped for.” Because we have faith we have an inner comfort, a substantive understanding, combined with the outward expression that carries with it the hope of everything promised to us, the “things” to come.
What could the "substance" or "nature" of things hoped for mean? I think it could mean that faith apprehends the goodness and the sweetness of what God promises so clearly that this goodness and sweetness are substantially present in faith. In other words, faith grasps - lays hold of - God's preciousness so firmly that in the faith itself there is the substance of the goodness and the sweetness promised.[4] – John Piper
This first definition of faith rests on the experience of the internal expression of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in us as a result of our salvation. The Spirit of God continually assures us of our salvation and direction. It is through his presence and his work in us that we sense the hope that God’s truth will prevail in the end.
The second definition is even more ambitious than the first. It defines faith as “the evidence of things not seen.” What is evidence that is not seen?
So the crucial question is: How is faith "evidence" of things unseen, namely, that God created the world by his word? I take my clue from the one other place in the New Testament where God's invisible attributes are said to be "clearly seen" by man, namely, Romans 1:20. "Since the creation of the world [God's] invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood by what has been made."[5] – John Piper
The scientific fact is that the universe was created. By itself, something cannot come from nothing. Just as spontaneous generation was proved a false science, Louis Pasteur proved that,[6] spontaneous creation has no legitimacy. For something to be created out of nothing it requires a creator. In the case of the universe, God is that Creator. We can have faith that there is a God-Creator who is unseen since we have the evidence of what is seen, namely the universe.
It is one issue to discuss the existence of something or someone that we have never seen, and yet there is another side of faith that deals with the once seen. For example, I believe that my grandmother existed even though I never saw her, met her, or even saw a picture of her. I know that she existed because my father was born to her. I saw the birth certificate. He talked about her, he touched her, and he heard hear speak (sometimes to his discomfort). In other words, he actually witnessed her life.
In 1John 1:1-3 we see John’s testimony of his time with Jesus. John says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. “
Even though we do not see Jesus or touch him or hear his voice directly, we believe that He existed and by faith that He still exists, sitting at the right hand of God. Similar to my father’s eyewitness of the existence of life of my grandmother, John is our eyewitness to the life and existence of Jesus.
The third answer to the question of faith is experiential. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9-10), we have experienced Him directly through initial justification and our continued transformation. If you are born again, you are not the same person you once where. This is “evidence of things not seen.” We have not seen Jesus but we have the evidence of His existence in our lives. We have come the “evidence of things not seen” witnessed by our own transformation.
Like grace, faith is a gift from God. However, we have to recognize that it is there and we have to take action on it. In order to fulfill the action requirement, faith gives believers two choices. For example, when we reach any crossroads in our life, our first choice is to rely on self. We can rely on our own strength, knowledge, and courage to make a choice or get us through a difficult time. This choice generally ends in dissatisfaction with the result or else complete failure.
Our second option is to choose God’s direction through the act of faith. We can have the faith that God will direct us through any crisis. Two choices self or the power of the Spirit of God. I choose God.
The third important word in Ephesians 2:8-10 is the word “boast.” There are all lot of things in life we can be proud of: Salvation is not one of them. There are many things in life that we have accomplished, and we can take credit for them. Salvation is not one of those either.
We cannot boast or take credit for what God has given us for free; Ephesians 2:9 makes that abundantly clear. In addition, 1 Corinthians 1:29-30 says this, “no one may boast before God. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus.”
We are God’s handiwork. God made us in His image and then when we were yet in our sin (Romans 5:8), He recreated us into His image again. It wasn’t a remodel, a “flip or flop,” we are now new creatures, a completely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). As new creations, God expects us to live a new kind of life.
This new life is built on obedience to His authority. We are to walk in His truth; His light (1 John 1:7). To accomplish this, we must walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). God expects His new creation to be in the process of transformation, being transformed into the image of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). But what does it mean to walk in obedience to Him. Here is a list of the six expectations, commands that God expects us to keep as we begin our quest for sanctification and ultimately purification at His coming.
Step one is to love God and love and serve others. Love God, Love others period. There are no strings attached to love. in Luke 23:34, Jesus, while dyeing on the cross said: “forgive them father for they know not what they do.” Jesus is our example.
These six areas of personal growth summarize the steps to spiritual growth and they outline the requirements for walking in the Word of God.
Summary Statement:
We who believe in Jesus Christ have been saved by grace through faith alone. By Grace through faith alone. Any good works that unregenerate mankind feels that they have accomplished means nothing to God. Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) says this about our works, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
However, even though works do not save us, we have been saved to do good works. We are to do the good works that God has established for us. These works are done as evidence of our salvation (James 2:18).
[1] John F. Walvoord, Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament Copyright © 1983, 2000 Cook Communications Ministries. All rights reserved.
[2] The Life Application Commentary Series Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by the Livingstone Corporation. Produced with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
[3] John MacArthur, The Truth About Hell, © 2016 Grace to You, All Rights Reserved, gty.org/blog/B110430/the-truth-about-hell
[4] John Piper, What Faith Knows and Hopes for, © 2016 desiringgod.com, All Rights Reserved, desiringgod.org/messages/what-faith-knows-and-hopes-for
[5] John Piper, Ibid.
[6] Origin of Life, © 2000-2016 Sandbox Networks, In., publishing as Infoplease, infoplease.com/cig/biology/spontaneous-generation.html