“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, that no one should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8,9
The above verse is often quoted to establish the fact that salvation is free and nothing is required of a man, other than to believe. But standing alone, this verse has become a false doctrine! Let us take a look into other salvation scriptures, in order to give clarity to grace and works and dispel any darkness.
First of all, it is important to know the meaning of grace. Grace is the supernatural power of God, working within a man’s heart, through faith, that enables him to please God in everything, and thereby walk before God and be blameless all of the days of his life (Luke 1:68-75.)
What Scriptural promise is grace through faith based upon that perfects a man? We know that faith comes to every man by hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17), so the promise of grace and its power must be clearly seen in the Word before a man can have faith that the power of grace will indeed cause him to become blameless in the eyes of God. Isn’t this true?
Then what is the basis for believing that the gospel of grace (Titus 2:11-15) will make a man holy and blameless during the days of his life on earth, and acceptable to God? This promise is based on a covenant that God made with Abraham and all of mankind. This Covenant is found in Genesis 17:1-10 and is the basis for our faith in the power of the gospel of grace that enables us to walk blamelessly before God. This covenant that God made with all the nations (Genesis 17:4,6) mentions three people that would fulfill this covenant requirement of walking blamelessly before God. Two of those mentioned have already fulfilled this requirement: God says in Genesis 26:5 that Abraham walked before God, and he was blameless; Christ Jesus walked before God, and He was blameless (Hebrews 5:7-10.)
Now we have this great promise available to us today. It is only received by believing and trusting God to make it so, and by being willing to die completely to our flesh nature as the Holy Spirit directs day by day (1John 2:27.) If we obey His voice, we too shall walk before God, and be blameless!
Secondly, let’s define two more ideas about saving grace for the sake of clarity. They are, “What are we being saved from and what are we being saved to?” We are being saved from the wrath of God, which results from our love of the world and the things of the world, the flesh and its many desires, and the devil and his persuasive doctrines. We are being saved to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said that if we would do this we would live (forever) (Luke 10:25-28; Ro. 2:4-8.)
The gospel of Jesus Christ is called the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24; 14:3.) The Spirit speaks this to us so clearly in Titus 2:11-15: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great, God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Grace is the power to do, what we could never do alone. Without grace, we are without power!
This gift of grace is the power working within us to fulfill the law of love (Ro. 8:3,4; James 2:8-10), by creating in us the power and desire to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13; 1 Cor. 15:10.) However, certain teachings have crept into the gospel being preached in the world today, which are explained in Jude 4: “For certain persons (teachings) have crept in unnoticed…ungodly persons (teachings) who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness (using grace as a covering to continue in some sin, and teaching that man cannot be free from all sin in this life and live a truly, holy life).” (See Ro. 6:14,15,22)
Yet how is it possible for a man who is dead in his trespasses and sins and who walks according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience, in the lusts of his flesh, indulging the desires of his flesh and his mind, and is by nature a child of wrath; how is it possible for such a man to begin to live righteously and godly and to be purified from every lawless deed? (Eph. 2:1-3). The Gospel of Grace has provided the way!
There is only one way to live righteously and godly and to be purified from every lawless deed. We must have the nature of God! For this very reason, grace came! Grace came to empower us to have the same divine nature that Jesus Christ had when He overcame the world, the flesh, and the devil, during the days of his flesh on this earth (2 Peter 1:1-4). Jesus is our example: “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death (death is caused by sin), and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:7-10).
Melchizedek was the high priest of Jesus, and through Melchizedek, Jesus was perfected during the days of His flesh. Now Jesus has become our high priest and through Him, we are being perfected in the same way. Therefore, we must put to death the deeds of our flesh through suffering (not enjoying the pleasure of doing what we please), crying out to God, the one who is able to save us, and God will grant us the same grace to overcome, as was given to Jesus, enabling Him to overcome!
Therefore, we must ponder this question: If we obey Jesus Christ, a perfect man and the source of our salvation, will we not also become a perfect man? (Heb. 5:9; Mt. 5:48). Has not the Holy Spirit told us the necessity of this? “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3:19-22; Heb. 12:1-15.)
With this understanding of grace, let’s turn our attention to what the Scriptures tell us about “works”. When Simon Peter wrote his second epistle, he clearly explained the pathway that we must take to work together with Christ, in order not to receive the grace of God in vain (2 Cor. 6:1). In the following Scriptures, we will see how our “works” are to be working together with grace.
In 2 Peter 1:1-11, Peter explains: “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” This kind of faith believes that grace is able to purify and make a man as holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:14-17.)
Peter continues: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;” We see that the more we seek to know Him, the more that grace and peace are multiplied to us. This must be accomplished through a personal, intimate relationship with Him through the scriptures (Prov. 2:1-13.)
Verse three says, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him, who has called us by (and to) His own glory and excellence.” His divine power is the word of God, revealed to whosoever is willing to do the will of God. (See Rom.1:l6; I Cor. l:l8,24; John 8:47; John 7:17; Eph. 6:17; 2 Cor. 10:4,5.)
II Peter 1:4 continues: “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. This makes the pathway to salvation so much more clear! Grace is the power of God, working through the word of God, as we, by faith, believe and obey His precious and magnificent promises. As we put to death the deeds of our own flesh, He makes us partakers of His divine nature, delivering us from the corruption, which brings the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience (Eph 5:6,7).
Perhaps now we are better able to see that grace is a free gift, and that a man with true faith works together with this power of supernatural grace, in order to work out his own salvation (Phil. 2:12,13), putting to death the deeds of the flesh. We will understand this better in the following verses in 2 Peter 1: 5,6,7: “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence,…knowledge,…self-control,…perseverance,…godliness, … brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love (charity).” Here we are being exhorted to apply effort, by adding diligence to the divine promises. This is the work of faith. This is the work that bears fruit (Mt 13:23). Faith without this work is dead, being by itself without obedience to the Holy Spirit (James 2:17). In this manner, and as a result of these works, our faith is perfected (James 2:22; Heb. 12:1,2). When our faith is perfected, we are perfected (James 1:2-4)!
8: “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Without these works accompanying our profession of faith, we will not bear the fruit of God in our lives nor will we be able to hear God and increase in our knowing Him, which is defined in the Word as being eternal life (John 17:3).
9: “For he who lacks these qualities is blind and short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.” According to II Peter 2:20,21, the last state of that man has become worse for him than the first state was before he even knew the way of righteousness (Heb.10:26-31)!
10: “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.” To stumble is to be disobedient to the word (Heb.3:17-19). To continue in disobedience is to be appointed to doom and destruction (I Peter 2:7,8)! Obedience is a work!
11: “For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” We can see that salvation is a process of putting to death the deeds of the flesh (these are the bad deeds), so that we can put on the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (these are the good deeds, see Collossians 3:5-17, esp. 10).
Whenever we see in scripture the words “good deeds and bad deeds”, we should picture two trees. One tree is the tree of life (Jesus-divine nature) and the other is the tree of good and evil (Satan-human nature). “There is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit” (Luke 6:43). Trees in Scripture represent men (Psalm 1:1-3). No man will enter the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with a mixture of good and bad deeds. [Bad deeds will not be “burned up” at the judgment seat of Christ. The only fire after death is the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Also thrown into this fire are death and Hades, anyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life, and those who do not overcome-whose names are erased from the Book of Life (Matthew 25:31-33,41,45,46; Revelations 20:14,15; Revelations 3:5)].
Today is the day of salvation from sin. Today is the day of our purification by fiery trials and suffering (1 Peter 2:22; 1 Peter:6,7; 4:12). Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart to the work of obedience to the Holy Spirit. These works of discipline are for our own good, that we may share His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). We are called to live in peace with everyone and pursue that consecration and holiness, without which, no one will ever see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
Without this work of faith, we will never have “good deeds”. We will only do “good things” that seem right to us. Without this work of faith in the divine promises, and without applying all diligence, we only hold to a form of godliness and have denied the power of grace, which produces true godliness (2 Timothy 3:5). Holding to a form of godliness is death. Faith in the true gospel of grace perfects those who stand firm in it (1 Peter 5:6-12).
We are saved by the power of grace, working through faith, in obedience to the Holy Spirit, based on the Living Word revealed by the Holy Spirit, speaking daily to the Holy Brethren.
Since we have seen in 2 Peter 1:1-11 how we are able to receive the divine nature of God and escape the corruption of this world, let’s look at another example showing how grace enables us to overcome and be perfected. We can see this in the following passages:
1 Peter 5:6-12: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”
In this passage, the Holy Spirit is instructing us that the true grace of God empowers us to resist the devil and be firm in our faith (based on His magnificent promises). And after we have stood firm in our resisting for a little while (by continuing to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit), the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal Glory, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us. What a wonderful revelation of how grace enables us to overcome sin and be perfected as a result of resisting sin. For the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the Day of Judgment (2 Peter 2:9).
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
God has given us the grace to do this work of cleansing ourselves, but the choice to do it is ours alone. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me…whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it” (Luke 9:23,24). True faith enables a man to work out his own salvation with God’s help. Otherwise, his faith without works (obedience to the Holy Spirit) is dead, being by itself (James 2:17).
Contrary to popular belief, on the last day, we will be judged according to our deeds (Rev. 20:11-15). Works and deeds are the same thing. On resurrection day all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice and shall come forth; “… Those who did the good deeds (obeyed the Holy Spirit) to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds (pleased themselves) to a resurrection of judgment (condemnation)” (John 5:28,29).
In summary: No man can save himself. It is impossible! He must repent, by turning against himself, from all his sins, his own agendas and dreams, his own way of thinking and doing, and his own denominational traditions and false teachings; by turning to the saving power of Christ Jesus through the Living Word of God (1 Peter 1:23). In this manner, we walk after the Spirit and put to death the deeds of our flesh. Through the Word comes the free gift of grace, which operates productively in our hearts and minds, through the power of faith. The Word calls us to walk after the Spirit, and grace makes us able to obey the Spirit. If we say that we have faith in Christ alone, but do not obey the Holy Spirit, then we are liars and hypocrites. Therefore, faith without the work of obeying the Spirit is dead and worthless (the Living Word and the Holy Spirit are of the same mind). Dead faith is imaginary faith. The proof of salvation by grace working through faith in the end will be evident for all to see, for the man of faith will be conformed into the very image of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Romans 8:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14)