It Is By Grace

"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" (Eph. 2:8-9).

All Christians readily affirm that the above statement is true. One is not saved on the basis of righteous deeds, but on the saving grace of God, by believing in His Son, Jesus Christ. Yet, many times, we nullify the Gospel by giving good works more credit than they deserve. Now, please don't misunderstand me; God created us for and is well-pleased by our good works (Eph 2:10). And I'm certainly not advocating an Antinomian (i.e. free grace allows for free sinning) position. The Bible soundly defeats this heresy in numerous places (e.g. Romans 6:1-2, 1 John 1:6). Yet, the beauty (not to mention power) of the Gospel is in the simplicity of faith, not the ego-boosting practice of dead works.

Have you ever intentionally or unintentionally classed yourself with an unbeliever (or even a believer) based on something that you either approve or disapprove of? For instance, have you ever said in your heart, "Thank God I'm not like them, I don't (smoke cigarettes/drink alcohol/have premarital sex/curse like a sailor)"? I know I have. Maybe not exactly in those words or even regarding those issues, but I most certainly have. I suppose it is human nature to want to seem better than other people. Nevertheless, there is no doubt in my mind that all humans are equal in at least one respect: we're all equally bent people (see Psalm 53:3).

Jesus spoke of this in a parable:

"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner.' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:10-14).

I think the following passage (1 Cor. 1:26-31) best summarizes God's purpose in salvation:

"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."