Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 is a very familiar passage to most Christians—a pillar in biblical Christianity. For if salvation was based on our abilities rather than God’s grace, no person could find hope in Christ.
Yet at times this grace can be eclipsed by subtle, even unconscious works to gain God’s favor. From the box-checking of “Went to church, prayed, read my Bible this week…I’m good,” to the karma-like “If I don’t believe God for this, He’ll never let it happen!” Left unchecked, a turn away from grace can result in the deadly spiritual disease of legalism, and a miserable life.
In biblical terms, the term grace, from the Greek χάρις (charis), means, “a Divine gift of unmerited favor, blessing, and goodwill.” It refers to God’s unilateral act of love, through Jesus Christ, which provides a path of reconciliation we don’t deserve. Its companion is mercy; God also withholds from us the punishment we do deserve.
Not understanding divine grace encumbers our walk with, and are witness for, Christ. If at any point we believe we have something to do with our salvation other than accept it, or that God’s love in that salvation is predicated on our performance as Christians, we’re in trouble. Salvation in Jesus Christ is a covenant, not a contract. As the Bible tells us:
“[Even] if we are faithless, God remains faithful— for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
A contractual agreement would require that we keep up our end of the bargain—i.e., follow and obey God without failure. A covenant is empowered by the faithfulness of the one extending the covenant, in this case, God. We read this in John 6:44:
“For no one can come to Me [Christ] unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me…”
The initiation of our creation, and subsequent redemption, are one-sided acts of God. In his first epistle, the apostle John adds this:
“This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10)
We love Him because He first loved us. Our acceptance of this love results in a change of trajectory back toward the imago Dei (likeness of God) in which we were originally created. If there is any requirement on our part in this covenant, it is simply to remain reliant upon God ’s grace.
But this grace is not a ticket to ungodly beliefs and behaviors. It’s not, “We’re forgiven and saved, so now we can live as we please!” but instead, “We’re forgiven and saved, so now we can live as He pleases BY HIS GRACE!” Biblical grace motivates people to follow God’s ways, to exemplify a transcendent change through faith in Jesus Christ, as Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us. There is no box-checking or boasting—just an abiding gratefulness.
I encourage you to consider (or reconsider) the power of Divine grace. There is no more ardent or enduring love in the universe!
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Email Me: richardaallenjr@pondering.blog
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