> 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:8-10)
I have a confession to make. I’m a sinner. Completely and utterly helpless. If you aren’t convinced by me telling you, you’re more than welcome to ask my wife. Thankfully, my salvation is not dependant on anything I have done, or will do, because, quite frankly, I would be incapable of doing any such thing. It is only by the grace of God that I have been saved, and it is only by his grace that I am capable of good works.
Ephesians 2 is quite clear. I can’t have a hand in my salvation, because if I did, I’d be a complete jerk about it. This actually lines up quite nicely with the New Testament accounts of the Pharisees and the Sadducees who took an extreme amount of pride in their ability to follow the Law (in their minds completely). Jesus countered this mentality with statements like Mat 5:20 “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.“ Meaning that even all of their perceived perfection just wasn’t enough. There were not enough works that they could do in the world that would be effective to actually save them. It was this very philosophy that Hebrews confronted in its famous chapter 11: “1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.“ Emphasizing the fact that it was the faith of the Old Testament saints, not their works, that saved them.
The fact that when Christ came he was drawn to the sinful, the weak and the broken people of the world is no coincidence. He came to these folks, because these people were painfully aware of their need for a savior and salvation. They knew that they could not do it on their own. They knew how bad off they were and how much they needed, and when it was freely offered they partook.
My local church is fond of the following saying: “You a far worse off than you’ve ever imagined, but you are far more loved, than you ever dared dream.” The meaning is quite simple, our sin and the burden of it, is greater than even what we are aware of. However, the love Christ bears us, and the sacrifice he gave, is more than sufficient to forgive all of it, past, present, and future.
Now, just because we’ve established that good works are not necessary to salvation, does not mean that they are not important. Sometimes it is mistakenly communicated that Calvinism and other elements of the reformed faith preach some kind of “Couch Christianity” or other inactive or even hedonistic form of Christianity wherein one can be saved and continue either doing nothing, or continuing in a lifestyle of sin. We must remember that faith is the beginning of regeneration which leads to sanctification.
The fact of the matter is that faith is the first element of a new lifestyle. Paul in Romans 6 pretty clearly lays this out: “1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” We are supposed to die to sin. James (2) is also clear on the subject.
> 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
The fact of the matter is that “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt 7:16) means something. If one truly is regenerate, and in the process of becoming sanctified, they will be producing fruit.
So to wrap it up, why am I glad I have nothing to do with my salvation? Because I know that I am incapable of “righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees” and acknowledge that I am even worse than I am aware of. This is the heart of the gospel; we are incapable of even being aware of our need for salvation without Christ softening our hearts and preparing us for him. We don’t deserve it, and when we begin to think that we have done something it is just a continuation of our sinful pride. However, faith is not the end; works must follow faith as fruit grows from a tree. But faith itself, it’s not about me, and boy am I glad for that.
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