Grace Alone, Faith Alone

(Ephesians 2:8-9) "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  (ESV)


We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.  Most evangelicals would agree with this statement but do they really hold to it?

Grace refers to God's unmerited favor on sinners.  While faith consists of knowledge, belief, and trust in Christ.  Grace and faith are both gifts from God. 

(Ephesians 2:1-5) tells us that we were dead in our sins and had to be made alive by God.  When we were dead in our sins we were unable to respond to God and had no inclination for him.  Our will was in bondage to sin.  Christians had to be made alive before they could believe.  In other words you must be born again before you can believe.  This is actually the opposite of what many modern evangelicals believe.  They say that you must believe in order to make yourself alive or born again. 

It is hard to see how one who is dead in sin could make himself alive.  The passage obviously teaches that God must make a person alive before he can respond in faith.  After a person is made spiritually alive he will respond in faith alone to obtain salvation.  It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that a person is saved.  It is not achieved through works but is totally the work of God.  No one can earn salvation because all have sinned against God and only deserve to face his wrath.  We are only saved from his wrath by the blood of Christ.  It is important to note that while we are not saved by our works, saving faith does produce good works (Ephesians 2:10). 

So salvation is by grace through faith totally a gift of God.  If salvation was dependent on the work or decision of a person it would no longer be by grace.  If the decision of a person was the final determiner of salvation then their would be room for boasting.  Unfortunately many evangelicals actually make salvation seem to be God and man working together.  But in reality it is the work of God alone.  Since it is grace alone and faith alone, and these are gifts from God, it is to God alone be the glory.