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. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Contemporary American culture is human-centered, credibility based on our good deeds. Essentially, the pointing finger is in our direction whenever we speak. We give ourselves credit when we have a good idea; we talk and brag about what we have done for others.
But, here is the danger: we often get confused and fall into lies that our salvation is directly tied to our works.
There are 4 key sections to highlight in the upcoming message. In the 1st section, we are going to look at being saved by Grace. In the 2nd, we are going to look at Faith: the ongoing trust and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The 3rd part will focus on the fact that all this is accomplished not through our works, while the 4th will look at all this being accomplished through God’s works.
If we look at verse 8: “For by grace you have been saved,” we see that we have done nothing to deserve salvation. Let me put that in bold letters, YOU, WE, ALL have done nothing. There is nothing that we could have possibly done to earn our salvation.
Romans 11:6 says: “But if it is by grace it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”
To continue further, in contrast to many misconceptions, we know that faith is a gift from God. It is the ongoing trust and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Knowing what God has revealed and believing it to be true is a good thing, yes, completely good, but hardly complete! When reading James 2:14–19, we see that even demons know and assent to the truth of God’s revelation.
Merely knowing and believing necessary truths for salvation such as the oneness of God are insufficient for redemption. We need to notice, assent, and trust, all components of faith.
But wait, society says this is all about you, everything is all about you! Well..in verses 8-9 we read: “This is not your own doing, it is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast.” If society was correct about us being responsible for getting into heaven, then, when we got to heaven, we would stand on the hilltops and not worship God for eternity; we would shout: “Look at me! Look what I have accomplished!”
We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Our works glorify God so we enjoy him forever. We live for him because his Spirit is at work in our lives, motivating, compelling and empowering. Let us not cheapen God’s Grace and fall for Satan’s lies. If we are to boast, let us Boast in the Lord. Praise God for His Grace upon our lives and Faith in Jesus Christ!