November 15, 2002, Vol.2,
No.22.
Two new articles every two weeks.
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us.
THIS ISSUE: "By
Grace you have been Saved through Faith"
(see below)
and "Must 'in the name
of Jesus' be said at baptism?"
By Grace You Have
Been Saved
Through Faith
by Keith Sharp
In Ephesians 2:1-10 the apostle Paul discusses the salvation
of the Ephesian Christians. He points out that at one time they
had been "dead in trespasses and sins." (verses 1-3).
But, Paul reminds them, God has made them "alive together
with Christ." (verses 4-7). Thus, having once been spiritually
dead, with only the dreadful prospect of a devil's hell before
them, they are now alive with the blessed hope of eternal bliss
in heaven. Paul reveals how this wonderful change has taken place
in verses 8-10. We, being under the New Testament just as were
the Ephesian Christians, must be saved in the very same way they
were. How were they saved? The apostle explains:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them."
But, what does it mean to be saved by grace through faith?
Or, more to the point, "How can you be saved by grace through
faith?"
By Grace You Have Been Saved
The term "grace" means primarily "goodwill,
lovingkindness, favor" (J.H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon
of the New Testament. 666). Thus, Jesus as a child "increased
in ... favor (grace - KS) with God." (Luke 2:52) But when
the word is used of our salvation it means "kindness which
bestows upon another what he has not deserved." (Ibid) Thus,
the apostle Paul explains:
"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...." (Romans 4:4-5).
Grace is well illustrated by the Parable of the Prodigal Son
(Luke 15:11-32). In this parable the Master paints for us a beautiful
word picture of the love of God for lost sinners. Who can forget
the tender scene of the loving father receiving back his wayfaring,
undeserving boy and restoring him to a position of honor which
he had forfeited and did not deserve to regain? But the matchless
love of that daddy looked past the sins and mistakes to see a
repentant boy whom he loved with all his heart. Could God's grace
be better illustrated?
Do you need this grace? You have sinned (Romans 3:23), and
"the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) Since you
deserve spiritual death, it is only in God's grace His hope can
be extended.
How can you gain access to the benefits of God's grace? The
Father revealed His love for us in sending "his Son to be
the propitiation (payment of the penalty - KS) for our
sins." (1 John 4:9-10) Jesus' blood will take away the guilt
of our sins (Matthew 26:28). God's spiritual blessings for us
are "in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3), in "the church,
which is His body." (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Some people say that salvation is "wholly by grace."
They contend that if we do anything to obtain salvation we have
earned it, and thus it would not be a gift (Ephesians 2:8). If
salvation is wholly by grace, then one of three things must be
true. Either God has selected a specific group of people to be
saved without regard to anything they might do (as Calvinists
teach), He will save everyone (as Universalists believe) or He
will save no one (which no one believes).
We know the merciful Father has not predestined which individuals
will be saved, for His saving grace is for all people ( Titus
2:11). Also, we know that not everyone will be saved (2 Thessalonians
1:7-9). Finally, Jesus promised that some would be saved (Matthew
25:34).Thus, since all three possibilities are eliminated, we
know that salvation is not "wholly by grace."
When the Israelites took the city of Jericho, they had to
march around that city a total of thirteen times, they had to
shout with a great shout, and the priests had to blow on rams'
horns before the walls would fall (Joshua chapter 6). Yet God
told Joshua, "I have given Jericho into your hand."
(verse 2) Certainly they had to do something to obtain the city,
for this was a conditional gift. Likewise, Solomon observed that
the food we eat "is the gift of God." (Ecclesiastes
3:13). But we must work to obtain it. Certainly, then, the fact
that salvation is a gift does not prove that God has not set
conditions we must meet to receive the gift.
Through Faith
What are the conditions upon which God, by His grace, will
give the gift of salvation? Paul says it is "through faith."
(Ephesians 2:8).
What is "faith?" The author of Hebrews defines "faith"
as "the substance (assurance, New American Standard Bible)
of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction, NASB) of things
not seen." (Hebrews 11:1).
"Faith," in relationship to "hope," is
that which "substantiates" or upholds it. It is "assurance"
of that which we both desire and expect. Furthermore, it is based
on "evidence" which yields "conviction" concerning
things not seen. Also, faith includes trust, for "he who
comes to God must believe that He is (conviction - KS), and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (trust - KS)."
(Hebrews 11:6) The three elements of saving faith are belief
based on evidence, trust, and assurance.
No Bible believer questions the fact that faith saves. It
is the means by which we gain "access" into the grace
of the loving Father, whereby we may "rejoice in hope"
of eternal glory (Romans 5:1-2).
But, what kind of faith saves? Saving faith stands upon "the
word of God." (Romans 10:17). Faith in human philosophy,
men's opinions, our parents' religion, church creeds and teachings,
or our own good deeds will not do. Furthermore, the faith which
"avails" is "faith working through love."
(Galatians5:6).
But, didn't Paul say that salvation was "not of works,
lest anyone should boast"? (Ephesians 2:9). Why, then, did
he say that faith, to benefit, had to work? In spite of denominational
doctrine, Jesus declared that faith is a work that we do (John
6:28-29). Did Paul contradict both himself and Jesus when he
said salvation is "not of works"? No, the Scriptures,
being truth, never contradict themselves. Rather, as Paul shows
in Ephesians 2:9, he is eliminating the possibility that boastful
works will save a person.
What works could lead a person to boast of having earned salvation?
If a man could be saved by keeping the law of Moses, he could
boast (Romans 3:27-28), for one would have to be sinlessly perfect
to be saved by it (Galatians 3:10). Therefore, salvation by keeping
the Mosaic law is eliminated by Paul's statement in Ephesians
2:9. Also, if a person, by his own human wisdom, could create
a plan of salvation, he could glory. Thus, the apostle's statement
also stops the idea of salvation by some plan created by human
wisdom (Romans 10:1-3).
But, are works of obedience to God also eliminated as conditions
of salvation? No, the New Testament plainly teaches we must obey
Christ in order to be saved (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:8-9). Having
so obeyed, we still have not earned salvation (Luke 17:10).
Is it any wonder, then, that Paul explained that our salvation
by God's mercy is the result of "the washing of regeneration"?
(Titus 3:3-7). Is it any wonder that the vast majority of scholars
of every age recognize "the washing of regeneration"
is baptism?
My friend, it is by God's grace that you are saved. But that
grace would never have benefitted a single person had God not
demonstrated it through an act of grace - the giving of His Son
(John 3:16-17). Who can deny it?
Dear friend, it is by your faith you have access into God's
grace. But it is through an act of faith, water baptism, that
one gains entrance into Christ where the benefits of God's grace
are enjoyed (Galatians 3:26-27). Who can deny it?
Have you been saved by grace through faith?
"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized,
and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
(Acts 22:16).
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