SAVED BY GRACE

SAVED BY GRACE

  

we all need grace

 

Explaining Salvation by Grace Through Faith

Introduction

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not

as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB)

1. People from a denominational background tend to have a distorted view of God’s grace. Typically, their view can be summarized…

a. We are saved wholly by the grace of God.

b. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation.

2. It is a misconception of these terms that leads to errors on the part of the teacher who is attempting to show what

one needs to do to be saved, and on the part of the student who stumbles at baptism as a requirement for the

remission of sins.

a. Teachers make the mistake of trying to refute the idea that we are saved by grace, and then, distorting what

James says, attempt to prove that baptism is a work by which we must be saved. This approach fails for

obvious reasons.

b. Students make two mistakes:

1) They fail to carry their logic through to its full conclusion, viz., if we are saved wholly by grace then all

men would be saved because this is God’s desire (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

2) They fail to consider the means by which we become beneficiaries of God’s grace.

3. My aim in this lesson is twofold:

a. To elucidate on how a person becomes a beneficiary of God’s grace.

b. To share with you an approach that succeeds in demonstrating:

1) That baptism is not a work by which we earn our salvation.

2) That baptism is, nevertheless, necessary for the remission of sins.

I. SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

A. It is certainly true that we are saved by grace.

“For by grace you have been saved...” (Ephesians 2:8 NASB)

1. Consider the spiritual state of the unregenerate:

a. Hostile and engaged in evil deeds.

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil

deeds” (Colossians 1:21 NASB)

“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the

Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their

understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in

them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have

given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with

greediness” (Ephesians 4:17-19 NASB)

  b. All the unregenerate are alienated from God and without hope.

“Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the

commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope

and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12 NASB)

2. God was under no obligation to save us from this state but He acted from a motive of love:

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one

will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would

dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were

yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8 NASB)

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even

when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace

you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NASB)

B. But we become the beneficiaries of grace through faith.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8 NASB)

1. What is faith?

a. C. Caldwell says:

“While grace is the cause of salvation, faith is the means through which the sinner avails

himself of salvation. Salvation is conditioned on and received by faith…Saving faith is

man’s expression of love for and trust in the Lord. It is conviction which expresses itself

in obedient compliance and surrender to His will. It [faith] is evidenced by active

demonstration of firm belief” (Truth Commentaries, Ephesians, Caldwell).

b. James makes the same point:

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can

that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,

and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet you do not

give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no

works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, You have faith and I have

works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are

you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not

Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was

perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED

GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and he was called

the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the

same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the

messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is

dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-26 NASB)

2. Faith that saves us from our sins:

a. Paul has said that we are saved by grace through faith.

b. We have already seen that faith alone does not save. For, as James says, even the demons believe these

facts! (Cp. James 2:19).

c. Believing the gospel, then, must produce an obedient faith: 

 “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase

greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith”

(Acts 6:7 NASB)

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart

to that form of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17 NASB)

3. How, then, do we obey the gospel?

a. If the gospel can be obeyed, then it is necessarily implied that, the message that is preached consists of

both revelation and commands; collectively called ‘The gospel’. Note the following scriptures:

1) The gospel consists of revelation…

“But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished

death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10 NASB)

2) The gospel consists of commands…

“And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He

who has believed [what is revealed] and has been baptized [a command] shall be saved; but

he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16 NASB)

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in

heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all

that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”

(Matthew 28:18-20 NASB)

b. Jesus said, “Whoever believes [the gospel] and is immersed shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The book of Acts

includes several examples of the preaching of the gospel and the initial obedience rendered that

concord with the command of Jesus:

1) Acts 8:25-40 – Philip preached Jesus to the eunuch and he believed. It is evident that ‘Preaching

Jesus’ includes the command to be baptized because the eunuch asks, “Look, here is water;

what prevent me from being baptized?” (v. 36).

2) Acts 10:1-48; 11:1-18 – Cornelius and his household came to believe and then Peter commanded

them to be baptized.

c. There are other examples but these are sufficient to show that, after hearing the gospel an initial

obedience followed almost immediately. They heard the gospel and obeyed. Baptism is a response to

an instruction or command that is included when ‘preaching Jesus’.

4. When a person hears the gospel (the revelation and the instruction) and obeys it, God will save that person:

a. Faith and obedience leads to salvation:

“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved

shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16 NASB)

b. Paul’s teaching agrees:

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but

according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy

Spirit” (Titus 3:5 NASB)

1) Paul says that God saved us by:

a) The “washing of regeneration”. This is baptism. 

  b) Renewing by the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit effects renewal by bringing a person to faith and

repentance through the preaching of the gospel”

Note: Jesus mentions these same two elements:

“Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and [born of]

the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5 NASB)

2) Paul is essentially saying we are saved by God’s mercy by baptism and the preaching of the gospel.

Did he consider baptism as a work? NO, for he says at the beginning of the verse, “He saved us,

not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness”. And this agrees with Jesus’

words that even when we have done all that we have been commanded, we are still to regard

ourselves as unworthy servants (Luke 17:10). There are many things that Jesus commands but none

are considered works by which we can earn salvation. Nevertheless, we will be lost if we do not

obey Him because:

“And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that

obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9 KJV)

II. SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH OBEDIENT FAITH

A. Despite all that we have said, there may still be those who grapple with the concept that we are saved by

grace through obedient faith. Here, then, are two examples that demonstrate this concept. Both these

examples concern “salvation” from physical ailments but the principle is true concerning our salvation from

sin. The following examples have been deliberately chosen because both involve water!

1. Read 2 Kings 5:1-14.

a. Naaman was the captain of the army of the king of Aram, a great man and highly respected. But he had

leprosy (2 Kings 5:1).

b. Hearing that there was a prophet in Israel who might cure him, he received permission from his master

to go there and seek out the prophet (2 Kings 5:2-5).

c. So Naaman came to the house of Elisha and he was instructed to, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven

times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean” (2 Kings 5:9:11).

d. But having received this simple instruction, Naaman became angry and refused because, he said,

“Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God,

and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper” (2 Kings 5:11).

e. Naaman would have returned home but for his servants who persuaded him saying, “My father, had the

prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he

says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2 Kings 5:13).

f. Having listened to his servants, Naaman went down and dipped himself in the river seven times and

was healed of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:14).

Everyone would agree that it was God who healed Naaman of his leprosy (see 2 Kings 5:15). But was

Naaman healed by the grace of God or did Naaman earn his healing by obeying the instruction to dip

himself seven times in the river Jordan? Any intelligent student will perceive that Naaman was healed by

the grace of God. We could say that, Naaman was ‘saved by grace through faith’.

2. Read John 9:1-33.

a. Jesus came to a man who had been blind since birth.

b. He anointed the man’s eyes with clay and told him to, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”. 

c. When the man washed in the pool his sight was restored.

Everyone would agree that it was God who healed the blind man. But was he healed by the grace of God

or did he earn his healing by obeying the instruction to wash himself in the pool of Siloam? Any

intelligent student will perceive that this man was healed by the grace of God. We could say that, the

blind man was ‘saved by grace through faith’.

B. There are many other examples of healings, deliverances, and victories that can all be attributed to the grace

of God. But we must understand (speaking now of our salvation from sin)…

1. We are saved by grace but this grace comes through obedient faith.

2. To say that any act of obedience is a work by which we earn salvation is contrary to the scriptures:

“So you too, when you have done all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are

unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done'“ (Luke 17:10 NASB)

3. Jesus said that the one who believes and is baptized shall be saved (Mark 16:16), this we believe and teach.

III. THE OBEDIENCE BY WHICH WE BECOME BENEFICIARIES OF GOD’S GRACE

A. Paul says that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10a).

1. Physically we are the creation of God (Psalms 100:3). However, it is our spiritual creation in Christ Jesus that

is in view here.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold,

new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

2. If one is a new creation then he must be in Christ, and only those in Christ are saved (Acts 4:12; 2

Thessalonians 2:10).

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus

Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9 NASB)

“And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the

wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15 NASB)

B. All spiritual blessings are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and this includes our salvation by grace:

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according

to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7 NASB)

1. It is essential to see in this verse that, it is in Christ that we are saved by the blood of Christ.

2. Note too, it is in Him that we have redemption according to the riches of God’s grace, i.e., only those in

Christ are the beneficiaries of God’s grace.

C. It is in Christ that we become beneficiaries of God’s grace; it is in Christ that we are said to be a new creation;

and it is in Christ that we have salvation. It is essential, then, that we ensure that we are in Christ.

1. The following verses demonstrate:

a. We get into Christ by being baptized into Christ:

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”

(Galatians 3:27; cp. Romans 6:3 NASB)

b. We become a new creation when we are baptized into Christ: 

 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ

was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness

of life” (Romans 6:4 NASB)

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold,

new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

c. We are saved from our sins by God’s grace and mercy by being baptized:

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but

according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit”

(Titus 3:5 NASB)

2. This is in perfect accord with other passages that refer to baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:20-21).

Summary

1. In this lesson we have demonstrated that:

a. We are saved by the grace of God.

b. We become beneficiaries of this salvation by grace through faith.

c. Only faith expressing itself through obedience to the commandments of God is valid. Faith alone cannot save.

d. When the gospel was preached, there was an initial obedience to the gospel. This necessarily infers that the

message preached contained revelation and instruction. Examples of conversions in the book of Acts

demonstrate the link between faith and obedience.

e. It is this faith and obedience that leads to salvation. Baptism is associated with both obedience and salvation.

Paul denies that baptism is a work (Titus 3:5) but is, nevertheless, necessary.

f. 2 Kings 5:1-14; John 9:1-33. We become beneficiaries of God’s grace through obedient faith. Note how both

examples require a washing with water.

g. All spiritual blessings are in Christ, especially that we are created anew in Him, saved by grace in Him. We

get into Christ through baptism and it is also by being baptized that we are created anew, and are saved by the

grace of God.

2. We have been saved by grace and created in Christ Jesus for a purpose – a holy life (Ephesians 2:10).

Conclusion

1. Many people from a denominational background hold the view that we are saved wholly by the grace of God.

a. But they fail to carry this concept through to its logical conclusion: if we are saved wholly by grace then, (i)

faith would not be necessary, (ii) all men would be saved (no one would be lost).

b. They ignore or have failed to understand that we become beneficiaries of God’s grace through faith.

2. Personally, I have found that the approach presented in this lesson always gets the point across.

3. I hope we have come to understand how we are saved by grace through faith, and I hope you will find the

approach presented in this lesson as useful and successful as I have done in my studies with people who hold to

an erroneous view of salvation.