“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”.
This brief statement in Ephesians 2:8-9 is the message of the Gospel or the “Good News” in a nutshell! Upon this statement hinges your salvation and life in Christ. Today we are going to examine this statement more closely especially the six words; grace, saved, faith, gift, works, and boast. Show More
This is “Pastor Vic’s Nuggets of Truth”, podcasting from Historic Hyde Park, NY. I’m your host Dr. Vic Torres. My focus will be on the love, forgiveness and acceptance found in Jesus Christ which enables us to live the victorious life. For more information go to www.PastorVicsNuggets.com
Grace – “For by grace you have been saved through faith”
Now, what is this thing that we see in Ephesians called Grace? Grace in the biblical sense is the highest expression of love. The Greek word for Grace is “Charis” and is most often defined as an “unconditional gift”.
We could spend a lifetime trying to figure out what this magnificent thing called God’s grace is. Grace is so awesome, so unexpected and so undeserved. God’s grace in the area of salvation is that if we put our faith in Jesus, we are forgiven of all our sins and receive the guarantee that we will go to Heaven and spend eternity with Him. In other words, Heaven is actually a free gift to those whose faith is in Jesus!
To truly understand God’s Grace, you must understand God’s kind of love. In the New Testament there are three important words that are translated from the Greek into the word “Love”. This means that every time you see the word “love” in the New Testament it could be one of these three words.
- Storge: This is the type of love signifies the natural affection between family members. Siblings, relatives, parents. We all know that kind of love.
- Phileo: This Greek word for love signifies, to be a friend to…fond of an individual or object; having affection for; an or feeling.
- Agape: This Greek word for love appears most frequently in the New Testament. It is most often understood in the Bible as “unconditional love”, or a decision to love.
- Agape love is a love that is the outcome of a moral principle, rather than a feeling of liking or affection such as Phileo love. As a result, Agape love means to love the undeserving, despite disappointment and rejection. But, at the same time it does not mean to love as a duty or a cold religious obligation.
Parents of children can appreciate this kind of Agape love. You know that no matter what your children do, no matter how they may disappoint you or even hurt you… you still love them and want the best for them. That is the kind of love God has for you. No matter what you have done, no matter what kind of person you have become… God sent Jesus just for you, because He loves you!
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love (agape) toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Jesus paid the price for sin and the result, because we trust in what Jesus did, we are forgiven and cleansed of all of our sins.
God’s nature is Agape love, 1 John 4:8 tells us that, “He who does not love (agape) does not know God, for God is love (agape)”. This doesn’t mean that God is capable of love, it is more than that. He is the embodiment of Love! Everything He does is from the perspective and motivation of Agape love. God loves His creation even when that same creation rejects Him. This kind of love is quite foreign to our life’s experience. Honestly, most of us have experienced a performance type of love. If we are “good” we experience love. If we are not “good”: we are punished or rejected.
Saved – “you have been saved through faith”
The Greek word here is the word Sozo, which means to be healed, delivered, made safe, or rescued. What do I need to be rescued from you might ask? How about rescued from Hell! I know that the common thinking is “I hope that I’m going to heaven”, “I’m trying to be good.” Or, “I’ve never killed anyone or robbed a bank or anything like that”! Well, the fact of the matter is that while it is a good thing to try and be good and it is a good thing that you’ve not committed any major crimes. These are not the issues that determine salvation or being saved. The real issue is do you believe that Jesus is God, that He died for your sins and that He rose again from the dead? If you believe these three points, and are living your life in a way that reflects these facts,then you are saved or have salvation! Your final destination is Heaven and God has placed His Holy Spirit in you to teach you, guide you and comfort you in your time of need.
- Listen to what the Gospel of John 3:16-18 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
- Then verse 17 says, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
- And finally, verse 18, He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”.
Can you see it? Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn people to Hell. People are already destined to Hell because they refuse to believe in Jesus and what He did on the Cross of Calvary. Some people choose to live in denial of Jesus because they are afraid that they will have to change. The fact is you don’t change to become good enough to accept Jesus as Lord, you accept Jesus as
Now salvation assures us of two important things, 1- Heaven is ours, 2- God wants to lead us into an abundant life right here on earth!
Faith – “you have been saved through faith”
So here are love and grace, two things that are quite impossible to fully understand, God’s love, and God’s grace. They are difficult to understand with our natural minds or intellect because they are spiritual principles. How then do we comprehend them; it must be by faith! When we accept by faith that God loves us, it then naturally follows that we can then accept that He wants to bless us.
Now the word faith does not mean hoping or wishing. Faith in a spiritual sense is the “substance of things hoped for; the assurance of things unseen” that’s Hebrews 11:1. This verse is the perfect way to describe true faith. You see faith is the reality of things hoped for. It is as if you see it as existing before it actually exists. Faith is the assurance of things unseen which clearly describes the spiritual realm.
In Romans 4:20 Abraham is described in the following way, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform”. It is the promises of God that produce godly hope and faith is the assurance that He will perform it.
So, faith in operation is when a person behaves as if he has the promise before it has come to pass. Remember, the world says, show me and I will believe, Jesus said believe me and I will show you!
Gift – “It is the gift of God”
Ephesians 2 says that salvation, “is the gift of God”, The word “gift” makes it undeserved and unearned. In the Greek, it is the word- dōron; which means a present; a sacrifice or offering. Jesus was the sacrifice that
Works – “not of works”
The word “works” is taken from the principle of the Old Testament “works of the Law”. Righteousness or being in the right place with God under the Law, depended on obedience to the Laws of the Torah, the first five books of the Bibles. These Laws had to do with the performance or practices of certain or acts dictated by the Torah. Therefore salvation, under Old Testament Law, was based upon how well or honestly you observed the Laws.
The phrase “Not of works” clearly means that it is not based on your behavior or performance as to “how good you are”! For most of us we are taught and go through life believing that if we are good, we will be rewarded. While there is a practical and natural truth to this it does not apply to God’s view of us. John 3:16 clearly shows us what motivates God to give us wonderful gifts, “For God so loved or Agape the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. You see, God gives out of unconditional love. God’s love is unearned and undeserved, it is a gift of Grace.
Boast – “lest anyone should boast”
The phrase “lest anyone should boast” simply means that you can not take any credit for what God has so graciously given. You see, there is nothing you can do to save yourself, other than to put your trust or faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 makes it clear that none of us deserve salvation, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. It is that word “all” in all have sinned. You can look it up in the Greek or Hebrew, and no matter how you “slice it” all means all. When you put your faith in Jesus, God the Father sees you as innocent and clean!
Conclusion
“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”. Ephesians 2:8-9
Take these steps of faith today see yourself, not as the world sees you, but see yourself as God sees you… you are loved by the Father, forgiven by Jesus and accepted into the family of God by virtue of the Holy Spirit living in you.
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