Paul reminded us that we were once dead due to our sins and that God, by sending His Son to die for us, would provide everything for our salvation, all possible through Him granting us mercy and providing us immeasurable riches through His grace (see Ephesians 2:1-7). Even though Paul made a clear case that it was entirely the result of Jesus’ love for us that we are alive, Paul continues to clarify this point. As a result of the following verses being straightforward and leave no doubt, they are often quoted.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Since many potentially misguided people (who may call themselves Christians as well as many non-believers) often focus on deeds and ‘works’, every true Christian should memorize these verses to defend the fact that Christianity and especially our salvation are not based on what we do (works). The central and foremost theme of these verses is the fact that salvation is a free gift. There is nothing we can add, period! Our righteousness is completely worthless without Jesus (Remember Isaiah 64:6).
Faith is critical in life as well as in our relationship with God. In the Hebrew language the word for faith implies being steadfast with the truth. We regularly practice our faith in things such as sitting on a chair or driving a car. However, as Christians, our faith in God includes not only knowing that God will indeed keep His promise of salvation, but also trust that He will keep all of His promises. The prophet Habakkuk wrote about living by faith, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV) We see that the righteous, not the proud, will live by faith. We learned in Chapter 4 that no one is righteous, so who is Habakkuk referring to? Plus, we can’t simply have faith in faith, so what is he talking about?
This verse from Habakkuk is quoted three times in the New Testament (see Romans 1:17; Colossians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38); let’s explore each of these quotes to see if they help us answer these questions. Paul in his letter to the Romans stated, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17, ESV) Here Paul identifies that our righteousness is not from our own efforts, it comes from having faith in what God did for our salvation. Paul reiterates in his letter to the church at Colossae that salvation is not possible through works and that the only way we can receive salvation is through faith, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Colossians 3:10-14, ESV) In the Book of Hebrews the author helps the reader connect the Old Testament to the New Testament. Just before what is often referred to as the “Hall of Faith,” where the author points out how many of the Old Testament saints, though not receiving what was promised at the time they lived, were ultimately saved through their faith in the coming Messiah, the author called believers to persevere in their faith (read Hebrews 10:19-39). Look carefully at verse 38, “but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” (ESV) note he states “my righteous one” referring to someone made righteous by God, will live by faith followed by a warning if one who doesn’t have faith, they will not be able to please God.
Therefore since no one will be saved in any other way other than through acceptance and faith in what God has done for us, there will be no boasting in heaven. If someone asks you to guess how he or she got into heaven you can simply say, “the same way I did, through the blood of Jesus!”
Paul uses the term ‘works’ to refer to works or labor that someone might do to seek compliance with the law for salvation. Such as following rules or rituals for prayer, worship, sacrifice, diet, ceremonial cleansing, etc. There are no ‘works’ involved with the concept of grace, therefore there is nothing we can add. Romans 11:6 tells us “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (ESV) Simply put, grace not only does not require works, any effort applied negates grace entirely.
Some Christian groups find the concept of grace difficult to accept as they may have been brought up in a “works based” (proper participation required) religion. There are no protocols or requirements in the New Testament that are necessary for salvation other than the confession of our sins and the belief that Jesus provided everything for our salvation (faith). Accepting a gift is very different than attempting to save ourselves through some action of our own.
It may be important at this point to clarify what the word ‘saved’ means in the context it is used here (see also Matthew 18: 12-14; Luke 15:1-7; 19:10). Being saved or salvaged doesn’t sound appealing unless you know you are lost. Sin has prevented us from saving ourselves. We have lost our way to God and to heaven. The only way to salvation is to know we can’t do it on our own and rely on our Savior Jesus, the Good Shepherd (see John 10:1-21) to find us and save us, therefore preventing our eternal condemnation (see Daniel 12:2 and Matthew 25:46).
Another word we may want to define at this point is the word, faith. The definition of the word is often taken for granted, however it is often misapplied or misused. Faith is believing something to be true. Faith is often associated with believing something that is either unseen or factually unknowable. Faith in Jesus is believing that He will provide everything we need for salvation (entry to heaven) after our death. Faith in Jesus also implies that we believe all of His promises, not just what is required for salvation.
Our faith in God begins with the understanding that there is a God. There is a lot of evidence that there is a God. Paul in his letter to the church at Rome said, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:19-23, ESV) As we discussed in Chapter 5, we then need to know that God is able to keep His promises. Paul again tells us, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8, ESV) Plus we need to know that God will keep His promises. The Bible teaches us that He never lies (see Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18) and He never changes (see Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17).
So does He exist? Yes! Is He able to fulfill His promises? Yes! Can He lie, die or change His mind? No! Can He save you when you die? Yes! So come to Him and confess your sins to Him and accept His free gift of salvation. Have faith in Jesus! Why does He offer salvation freely? Because He loves you! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) If you believe that Jesus died for you (yes, you) and have not yet accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation, stop what you are doing right now and talk to Him. Acknowledge to Him that you are a sinner and that you desire Him to be the Lord of your life. Open your heart to Him now, wait no longer!
Faith comes from hearing the Word of God (read John 16:7-15; Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit will open our hearts and minds to know the truth, that Jesus was born, suffered, died and rose again for our salvation. Real faith is only possible through the Holy Spirit. Paul would remind us, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-21, ESV) Sometimes there are other barriers that prevent someone from having faith in God, that is why we always need to pray for someone before we tell them about Jesus.
The word ‘boast’ implies pride and arrogance, it also implies that there was some accomplishment that was done by the boaster to get where they are. We should not boast about our own abilities, accomplishments or anything else that was done on our own, if we have to boast, let us boast in the Lord, for He is great! (read 1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17 and Jeremiah 9:23-24)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Paul uses the Greek word poiēma (the root word for the English word ‘poem’, which is used only twice in the Bible), translated here as ‘workmanship’, figuratively denoting the result of God’s work in us. He made us unique, our experiences have tailored us to provide services (things we are to do and note the word is plural, not singular) for His kingdom that He has planned for us from the beginning of time (see Jeremiah 29:11-13). Paul tells us that we should walk in them (the ministry that Jesus prepared for us); we need to know what God wants each one of us to do and then we should prayerfully do them.
Works versus faith has been a thorn in the side of many Christians for many years, in the previous two verses we were told that our salvation was not the result of us doing good works and now in verse ten Paul tells us that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. Hopefully this will aid in clarifying: good works done for the sake of gaining righteousness is meaningless! Plus these works are often focused on the worker (for the benefit of the person doing the works) and not for God. On the other hand works, that God prepared for us to do from the beginning of time are those for others to benefit from and are only in response (after receiving salvation) to what God has done for us. James tells us in his epistle that we should demonstrate our faith by doing something tangible for others (read James 2:14-26).
We need to understand that seeking salvation through doing good works is not possible. Some may point to the Old Testament where the Law clearly states the need to comply, however, there is a huge problem of trying to gain salvation through good works or the attempt to keep the Old Testament Law. First, Jesus made it clear that the only way to salvation was through Him, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV) Secondly, even though the term ‘legalism’ does not occur in the Bible, however, the idea of trying to gain God’s favor or salvation by following the Law, is stated in the Bible as being improper. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, ESV) John later adds, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17, ESV) and Paul clarifies, “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24, ESV)
Okay, now you might be asking, what are the ‘works’ we should we be doing? (read John 15:1-11) The Bible teaches that there are many things we should be doing in response to Jesus and what He did for us. Our first response should be obedience, we should also be aware of the Spiritual gifts He has given us (see Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28 and Ephesians 4:11) and be willing to bear the fruit of the Spirit (read Galatians 5:22-23).
In regards to verse 10 we see that God has prepared us uniquely for things that were set aside for us to do. If we are not aware of these we should pray diligently to find out. It should be humbling to know that God has prepared something for us to do long before we were ever born.