Series: Ephesians
Title: Grace, Salvation, & Faith
Text: Ephesians 2: 8-9
Date: September 29, 2013
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Our
text is one that can be used to determine whether any doctrine you hear is true
or false. This text declares our gospel.
Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
Proposition:
Salvation is of the Lord in its entirety, in every aspect, beginning to end, so
that God gets all the glory and the saved sinner has no room to boast about
anything.
Title: Grace, Salvation & Faith
I. GOD SAVES BY GRACE—V8: BY GRACE are ye
saved…
Salvation is all of grace.
·
God elected a people to salvation by grace.
Grace is opposite to works. (Rom 11: 5-6)
·
The stewardship of every preacher is a
“dispensation of the grace of God.” (Eph 3: 2-8)
·
The gospel we preach is “the gospel of the
grace of God.” (Acts 20: 24)
·
We are justified freely by God’s grace. (Rom
3: 24)
·
We are called by God’s grace. (Gal 1:
15)
·
It is “grace wherein we stand” (Rom 5: 2)
·
Every believer is what he is by the grace of
God: including any labor in the cause of Christ. (I Cor 15: 10)
Romans 5: 20:…where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
What is Grace?
So what
is grace? Now let me have your undivided attention. You must understand what
grace is if you would have a right understanding of how and why God saves
sinners. You need to understand what grace is to be able to understand the
scriptures. Grace is God’s glory.
Moses
asked to see God’s glory. Three things were involved in showing his glory. First,
God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee”—God’s goodness is his
glory. Secondly, God said, “I will proclaim the name of the LORD before
thee;”—God’s name is his glory. Thirdly, God said, “and will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”—God’s
grace is his glory.
Ephesians 1: 6: To the praise of the glory of his grace,…
Every
sinner who boasts that God chose him for some foreseen reason in the sinner,
attempts to rob God of his glory. Every
sinner who boasts of his will, of his faith, that he brought himself to God, is
attempting to rob God of his glory. But God says, “my glory will I not give to
another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Is 42: 8)
God is an Absolute Proprietor
It is
God’s prerogative as God over all his creation to be gracious TO WHOM HE WILL
be gracious because God is an absolute proprietor—everything is God’s property.
He created all things, including every person in mankind. Therefore God can do
with his own what he will.
You do
what you will with your property. If
your neighbor said you were unrighteousness to do with your own property what
pleases you then you would think your neighbor is absurd. Christ said, “Is it not lawful for me to do
what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” (Mt 20: 15)
God
alone puts a difference between sinners. He does so by being gracious to whom
he will. God’s reasons for being gracious are within himself—not by any merit
in his creatures. God is not a debtor to any nor accountable to any.
Grace, No Cause; Damnation, Cause
Let me
give you one more very important point about grace. It is never said, "I
will damn who I will damn.” God chose to
be gracious to some without a cause in them; but God never condemns anyone
without a cause in them. God is just. And it would be unjust if he randomly
chose to damn some for no reason. God’s
damnation of sinners is always the just wage earned by a guilty sinner for
breaking God’s law.
Be sure
you understand this: Grace can never be earned by the sinner but damnation is
always earned by the sinner. Grace is unmerited free favor bestowed according
to God’s own sovereign prerogative to do with his own what he will but
damnation is the just due earned by the sinner. By grace are ye saved.
II. LET’S CONSIDER THIS SECOND WORD—“SAVED”—V8: by grace are
you SAVED…
It was
not enough for God to simply choose who he would be gracious to—God also had to
do everything necessary to actually save us and that, in way consistent with
his holiness.
I love
to think of how infinitely wise God is! I am amazed by it. God purposed to do
three things:
·
To manifest his glory
·
To give his Son all preeminence;
·
To save his people from our sins
All
three are accomplished in Christ and him crucified. In Christ crucified is
where God “reserves mercy for thousands” and at the same time “by no means
clears the guilty.”
Psalm 85: 10; Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Righteousness
is freely imputed to God’s elect and God is just because Christ paid all the
debt we owed to divine justice on Calvary’s tree and justified us. Christ
justified a multitude-many!
Saved Then Called
God
regenerates his people and calls us. The good news is that our salvation has
already been accomplished by God by his Son.
2 Timothy 1:9: Who hath saved us, and called us with an
holy calling,…
2 Thessalonians 2: 13: But we are bound to give thanks
alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he
called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Salvation is more than
escaping hell and going to heaven. Salvation is
being made perfect in the eyes and presence of God through faith in His
Son.
III. FAITH. GOD’S GIFT OF FAITH IS THE MEANS
THROUGH WHICH WE RECEIVE SALVATION ALREADY PURCHASED FOR US BY GRACE, BY
CHRIST—V8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God.
I have
heard men debate over what is meant by the gift of God in this verse. It applies to faith—I started to say, “Because
faith is the one thing mentioned that sinners would attempt to boast in.” But
sinners foolishly try to boast that all three things mentioned here are of
themselves. Yet, everything mentioned here is a gift of God.
·
Grace is a gift: grace is given from without
us for no reason in us—and yet sinners foolishly boast that grace was given
because God foresaw something in them. No. Grace is a gift.
·
Salvation is a gift—“Salvation is of the
Lord”—yet sinners foolishly boast that some aspect of their salvation was
performed by them. No. Salvation is a gift.
·
Faith is a gift—it is “faith” of which the
Holy Spirit speaks here particularly, saying, “and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God.
Context, Context, Context
Always
pay attention to the context. From
chapter 1 to this verse, the Holy Spirit has been declaring through the apostle
Paul, that every blessing the believer has was given us from God the Father in
Christ Jesus.
He says
in Ephesians 1: 3: “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he chose us in Christ from before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”
·
Verse 5: He “predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.”
·
Verse 6: He “made us accepted in the
beloved.”
·
Verse 7: “In Christ we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace.”
·
Verse 8: “he abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will.”
·
Verse 9: He gave us “an inheritance” in
Christ
·
Verse 13: You trusted “AFTER that ye heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” and were “sealed by the Holy
Spirit of promise.”
·
Verse 19: He compares the power to regenerate
and convert us to the “exceeding greatness of his power” in raising Christ from
the dead.
In
chapter 2, he says you and I were dead in sins like every other sinner fallen
in Adam, Ephesians 2: 1: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins;” Then here in verse 8 he says and even your faith is not
of yourselves, it too, is the gift of God.
1 Corinthians 4:
7: Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst
receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
Everything
a believer has is the gift of God—even our faith. Preacher, why are you laboring on this point?
Because a person has only confessed he is a sinner when he confesses he can do
nothing to save himself. Those who say
they are sinners but then speak of what they contribute to their salvation have
not yet truly confessed they are a sinner.
Those who speak of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in
Christ alone but then brag about their faith, saying it was their decision for
Jesus that made the difference, have not yet believed salvation is of the
Lord. As long as a sinner believes that
something he did contributes to his salvation he has not believed that
salvation is of the Lord.
Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of
works, lest any man should boast.
How is Faith Given?
Faith
is given when God draws his child to Christ and teaches us in the newly creatd
heart who Christ is and what Christ, by himself, has accomplished for his
people. God shall do so for every child
whom Christ redeemed. Turn to John 6.
John 6: 29: Jesus answered and said unto them, This is
the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent…35: And Jesus said
unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and
he that believeth on me shall never thirst…37: ALL that the Father giveth me SHALL
COME TO ME; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out…
This is
Christ’s gospel: all that the Father gave to Christ, before the foundation of
the world shall come to Christ—because “by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH.” When they heard Christ preach this, they
began to murmur. Just like two or three
will hear me preach this truth which Christ preached—that all God’s elect shall
be brought to saving faith in Christ. I preach it and they read it right here
in the scriptures. Then in their hearts or privately with someone, they murmur
about why they don’t believe that “all” the elect shall be given faith. Is God
not sovereign to do it? They have no
good excuse for not believing Christ’s gospel—he preached it. But they even murmured when Christ preached
it in person.
John 6: 43: Jesus therefore answered and said unto them,
Murmur not among yourselves. 44: No man can come to me, except the Father which
hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45: It is
written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man
therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
It says
“they shall be all taught of God.” It says, “Every man, THEREFORE, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me.” That is why Christ said “all that the Father
giveth to me shall come to me.” That ends my murmuring. How about you?
What is Faith?
So, what
is it to have “faith in Christ?” Faith
involves three vital things.
First,
faith involves “knowing” Christ in spirit and in truth. This “knowing” is more than just believing
facts about Christ. It is to know Christ BECAUSE we have been “known of God.”
Galatians 4:9: But now, after that ye have known God, or
rather are known of God,…
Faith is only as valuable as its
object. So God first knows his child then God makes
his child to know his Son. Cults have worthless
objects of faith therefore, their faith is worthless. Great faith in a
powerless object is the same as no faith at all. So first, faith is to know God
our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Secondly,
faith involves “being persuaded he is able to keep” everything you commit to
him. When the Holy Spirit makes us to
know him then we will be persuaded he is able.
Thirdly,
faith involves “committing” everything to him—complete surrender to Christ.
When God makes us to know him and persuades us he is able, then we will commit
all to him.
2 Tim 1: 12: I know whom I have believed and am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against the day.
Righteousness through
Faith
Through faith in Christ, Christ our Righteousness is
received by us and God reckons us righteous.
We do not earn righteousness.
Through faith, the person who believes in God’s Son, is counted perfect before
God in the Lord Jesus our Righteousness.
IV. ONE MORE POINT, NONE OF THIS IS BY OUR WORKS—V9: Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
Not of Works
First, grace is not of works
or it ceases to be grace.
Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then is it no more of
works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Secondly, salvation is not of
works.
2 Timothy
1:9: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in
Christ Jesus before the world began,
The work was given to Christ:
to fulfill all righteousness, to justify his people, to declare God just and Christ
said, “It is finished!” So salvation is
not of our works.
Romans
4:2: For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not
before God.
When the Holy Spirit says
through James,
Jamess
2:21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac
his son upon the altar? 22: Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by
works was faith made perfect?
It was not a work to legally
justify Abraham before God, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
whereof to glory; but not before God.” James
means that Abraham’s was justified in his claim of truly believing God and
truly being persuaded God was able to raise his people from the dead. What manifest Abraham’s faith as being true
faith?—He committed the salvation of his own son to God—his faith was perfectly
justified as genuine faith by Abraham laying his son on the altar and drawing
back the knife to slay him—that is what James means by works—committing all to
Christ.
Lastly, faith is not of
works—we just read “that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Romans 3:27:
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the
law of faith.
Any man that boasts in his
faith does not have true faith. True faith excludes boasting.
Titus 3: 3: For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish,
disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and
envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4: But after that the kindness
and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5: Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6: Which he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7: That being justified by
his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Boasters
say, “But at least I believed!” If a
heart surgeon put a new heart inside of you, would you boast, saying, “Well at
least I made my heart beat!” The heart
beats because you are alive without you doing anything. Likewise, a sinner cannot do
otherwise but believe when Christ the Life is breathed into us by God the Holy
Spirit. Faith which commits all to Christ is the effect of Christ the Life put
in us like breathing is the effect of natural life. (1 John 5: 11-12)
Lest Any Man Should Boast
Salvation is not of works, “Lest any man should boast.” If any man contributes even
slightly then he will boast. Therefore, God does everything so that his people
contribute nothing. We receive everything lest we should glory:
God
says, 1 Corinthians 1: 29: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
·
Here is God the Father in divine election—1
Corinthians 1: 30: of God are ye in Christ Jesus…
·
Here is God the Holy Spirit in regeneration
and giving us faith—1 Corinthians 1: 30: who of God is made unto us
·
Here is God the Son—1 Corinthians 1: 30: wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
·
No flesh has any room to glory!—1 Corinthians
1: 31: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.
Now is
there anyone listening who has a problem with my gospel? Why? It gives God all
the glory in salvation. Are you arguing in favor of taking some of
that glory from God and giving it to a rotten sinner? Sinner, if you want to meet God arguing in
favor of your glory, against his glory—you go right ahead—go see what happened
to Nadab and Abihu.
Believers
want it no other way than for God to have all the glory for we know—we are
God’s workmanship!
Isaiah 43:7: Even every one that is called by my
name: for I have created him for my
glory, I have formed him; yea, I
have made him.
“For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…(we will take verse 10 next time we are in
Ephesians)
Amen!