The Gospel & Salvation: Salvation by Grace Alone

Salvation by Grace Alone

Selected Scriptures

We are still in a series on the gospel and salvation. We learned first about the problem of sin. From Genesis 3 we learned what sin is, what it does to us, and how the consequences of sin have impacted our relationship to God, to one another, and to our world. After understanding the problem of sin, we began examining the solution to the problem. We saw quickly that man cannot solve the problem. The religions of human achievement will not solve the sin problem. Sinners need a solution which God provided. We must understand the religion of divine accomplishment. We know Christ is the solution. His death on the Cross as an innocent substitute provided a way for us to become beneficiaries of the solution. His resurrection proved that God was perfectly satisfied with the death of His holy Son in the place of sinners.

So having extensively examined the problem of sin, which is the reason we need the gospel and salvation, and having learned of the solution, we have been, for these last several weeks, examining what it takes for the sinner to become a partaker of the solution. We are answering the question, “What must the sinner do to be saved?” We began by looking at the solution proposed by the Savior Himself. In Mark 1:15, when Jesus began to preach the gospel, He said, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” So we spent some time understanding repentance. We spent a few more weeks understanding what it means to believe, or to have faith.

Quite frankly, we have covered enough of the gospel for anyone to be saved. At this point in the series you should now understand your problem as a sinner, and see how you have been ruined by sin. An understanding of the problem of sin should lead you to recognize your poverty of spirit. You are spiritually bankrupt. You have nothing to offer God as the basis of acceptance in His presence. This alone brings us to the place of humility, where we cry out to God for mercy, and hunger and thirst for the righteousness that will allow you to stand before a holy God. You should understand the need to turn from your sin and flee to Christ.

This is our motivation to repent, to turn from your sin and to turn to God. We must flee to Jesus. By faith we must cry out to God for mercy, embrace the crucified and risen Christ as our only hope, and by faith receive the exchange of sinfulness for righteousness. By faith you will be clothed in the sinless perfection of God’s holy Son. The good news of the gospel is that by faith we become beneficiaries of the great exchange. We exchange the filthy rags of our sinfulness and are clothed with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is beyond fascinating. I never cease to marvel resulting from the careful and thoughtful consideration of such a transaction. I couldn’t believe it could happen if God had not opened my eyes to believe it.

As incredible as it may sound, it is the truth. This is God’s truth. The Sovereign, holy, omnipotent, omniscient Creator of the universe has made a way for this to happen. And it works because of His marvelous grace, His matchless grace, His sovereign grace, His saving grace. We are saved by faith, by repenting and believing, because salvation is the result of God’s grace. Salvation is the product of God’s amazing grace. 

We have examined the answer to the question, “What must we do?” We repent and believe. In the part of the series we begin today, we are looking at the various aspects of the work of salvation. Today we begin to look at grace. There will be many aspects of the work of salvation for us to understand in the weeks ahead. The final part of this series will examine the evidences of the work of salvation. We must know what to look for in our lives as evidence of genuine saving faith.

Today I want to talk about the basic, fundamental, foundational element of grace. Our salvation in Christ is a life influenced, impacted, enabled, and energized by grace. Our salvation in Christ comes by grace. Our new life in Christ is a life empowered by grace. Our new life in Christ is a life dominated by grace. 

There are two aspects of God’s grace demonstrated to mankind. Theologians have divided these aspects into “common” grace and “effectual” or “special” or “saving” grace. 

Common grace is the goodness of God toward all mankind. God has been gracious to all creation in many ways. Just consider the blessings on mankind which are beneficial to all. The fact that life is sustained, even after we become sinners, is evidence of God’s grace. We deserve to be exterminated the moment we first sin. The wages of sin is death and God would be perfectly just in killing us the moment we first experience sin. He does not. He gives us time to consider our need, as sinners, for the forgiveness He offers through Jesus Christ. This is just one aspect of the many that are part of common grace. Beyond that expression of common grace, we see that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. The blessings of life are experienced on the lost as well as the redeemed. Every blessing bestowed on mankind in a universal sense is an expression of common grace. Even the unregenerate can love, enjoy life’s pleasures, and benefit from God’s overall goodness.

Common grace does not save sinners. It is not redemptive. It does not forgive sin and pardon sinners. It does not renew the heart or stimulate faith. This is why we need to understand the special grace, or the effectual grace, or the saving grace of God. This is the grace that does produce salvation for the sinner. It not only produces the salvation, it continues through every aspect of the Christian’s life, even our glorification.

Let’s define grace. The word “grace” in the Greek language is charis. It basically means a favor bestowed on a person who didn’t earn it or deserve it. It is a kindness that is unmerited. And in terms of how grace is used in the New Testament, it is God’s divine favor on those who deserve wrath. Grace is the essential reality of our salvation. Our salvation, sanctification, all the way through our glorification is a complex of divine favors granted to those who deserve wrath and judgment.

Grace is not just an inert concept; it is a force, it is a power. Grace has a functional manifestation. There are many aspects of God’s nature that functionally manifest themselves. The functional manifestation of God’s love is the sending of His only Son to be our Savior. The functional manifestation of His power is the order sustaining all of creation. He is holding all things together by the word of His power. His truthfulness is functionally manifest in the inerrant nature of His word. His grace is functionally manifested in the works of God to bring sinners to salvation.

Grace is a power that transforms us. It is a power that awakens us from sleep. It is a power that gives us life in the midst of death. It is a power that is dynamic enough to transfer us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son. It is the power that saves us. It is the power that keeps us, the power that enables us, the power that sanctifies us, and the power that one day will glorify us. Grace is a divine force that God pours out into the lives of His people at all points to grant them all that they need to become all He desires.

Some have tried to explain grace as an acrostic saying it is “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” That isn’t bad but it seems a little simplified. That acrostic tells us something of what grace is, but it doesn’t tell us how grace comes to be activated and work in our lives. Grace is God’s unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow beneficial blessings on the undeserving. Intrinsic to the meaning of grace are ideas of favor, goodness and goodwill. But it is more than favor, goodness, and goodwill that simply exists as a reality. Grace is God’s initiative. Grace is God’s benevolent influence, or God’s activated sovereign power expressing this goodness, favor, and goodwill toward undeserving sinners.

While it is my heartfelt conviction that God is sovereign in the exercise of His grace, let’s make sure we don’t misunderstand. We are not idle in the process. Special grace, or effectual grace, or saving grace does not force people to believe against their will. Grace is not coercion. On the other side of that coin is the truth that man will not come to salvation without the influence of grace.

I know of no other passage that explains the work of grace in regards to salvation better than Ephesians 2. Let’s turn there. I would be a very irresponsible teacher of Scripture if I were to try to teach the gospel and salvation and not include a look at this chapter. This is the classic text on salvation by grace. Most all of you can quote verses 8-9. “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.”

I chose to read Ephesians 1 for our scriptural call to worship because that chapter is important to understanding the context of Ephesians 2. We must always study verses in their context. The theme of chapter 1, as you should have noticed when we read it earlier, is the sovereignty of God in His work among those whom He saves. In verse 4 we read that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Verse 5 says He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself. Verse 5 tells us also that this was according to the kind intention of His will, and to the praise of the glory of His grace. In verse 7 we learn that we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. In verse 8 we see that He made known to us the mystery of His will. We could not know the mysteries of God unless He made them known to us. Continuing through chapter 1 we see in verse 11 that we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. In verse 13 we learn that He saved us, and sealed us with His Spirit. 

It would be reasonable to come to understand the religion of divine accomplishment with a simple reading of Ephesians 1. The story of redemptive history is spelled out. It spans the time from before the foundation of the world to the time of the redemption of God’s own possession. Everything described is not what man has achieved, or must do, but rather what God has done. Ephesians 1 describes what God has done to make the salvation of sinners a reality. Paul tells us not only what God has done, but why He has done it. Verse 6 tells us that it is to the praise of the glory of His grace. In verse 7 it was according to the riches of His grace. Verse 14 states that it is all to the praise of His glory.

Why did God do all that is described in Chapter 1 to bring about redemption and salvation to the sinner? We find the answer in Chapter 2. The theological flow is important to see. The theological flow is consistent with the logical flow. After detailing all of God’s divine accomplishments in chapter 1, Paul moves into the condition of man and the resulting inability of man to do anything worthy of redemption and salvation. The sinner’s condition is described in verses 1-3. This is what we were prior to salvation, or what we are if we have not yet come to salvation. 

We were dead in our trespasses and sins (v. 1) The word “dead” is “nekros” in the Greek. It means dead. The noun form means “a corpse.” Here it is used metaphorically to describe a condition which is opposite to the life of the gospel. It speaks of people who are dead to Christ and His gospel. It describes a condition of spiritual death. There is perhaps no more succinct declaration of the lost and helpless condition of sinful mankind. There is no evidence of spiritual life in us at all. Before we are made alive together with Christ we are spiritual cadavers. 

If you are like me, you probably marvel at the way many people are completely blind to the truth. They are not just blind, they are spiritually dead and their blindness is the result of their deadness. They are dead to the truth, and righteousness and peace and joy and every other good thing. We can share the truth, and we should share the truth, but we are not capable of the transformation that must take place. That is above our ability. God must exercise resurrection power in order to raise the dead to spiritual life.

There are many people who have responded to the gospel message with a claim to believe in Jesus. However, there is too often no evidence of the convicting work of the Spirit of God. There is a decision on the part of the person but no resulting evidence of a transformed life. We can take a person’s pulse physically and determine if there is life. That is because if there is life the beating heart produces the physical evidence. Likewise, if there is spiritual life there will be some evidences of spiritual life. If there is no evidence of spiritual life the only conclusion one must make is that a person is still spiritually dead in their trespasses and sin.

Not only is their condition that of death, their course is according to the course of this world. (v. 2) Their lives are marked by a love for the world and the things of the world. The love of the Father is not in them. (1 John 2) They are controlled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. They live under the dominion of the prince of the power of the air. This is Satan. Satan inspires the workings of the sons of disobedience. 

Look at verse 3. Paul does not point the finger at the sinner in a condemning and judgmental way. He acknowledges that this is the condition we were all in, including himself. He confesses that “among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” Paul acknowledges that in the past, previous to our spiritual birth to spiritual life, we were all stood condemned. We were lost. We were unable to break the chains or cut through the bars that locked us in the prison of sin. Our condition was spiritual death. Our course was according to the world. Our commitment was to indulging the desires of our flesh and mind. The consequence was that we were children of wrath, even as the rest.

But also notice the clear declaration in the past tense. “We too all formerly lived…” We did, but we don’t anymore. How did this transformation happen? Was it because we found a way? Did we stumble across a 12 step process that would deliver us from the power and penalty of sin? Did we happen to find a book in the library that taught us how to turn our life around? Did someone come along who had been successful in freeing themselves from the tyranny of sin and the dominion of Satan? Did you finally reach the point of frustration with your empty, purposeless, meaningless life and decide to try Jesus to see if you could fill the “god-shaped hole” in your heart? Did we happen to find someone to whom we could confess our sins, who would give us the right amount of good deeds we could do to offset the penalty we owed for our sins?

It can’t be any of that, or anything else that comes from man. The plan outlined in Ephesians 1 could not come to pass because of anything man brings to the table. Man had nothing to bring to the table. All man can do is accept the offer of Jesus when He invites us to come. He invites all who are weary and heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Who will accept Christ’s offer? Those who have been made alive by the One who has the ability to apply resurrection power to the dead.

Verse 4 says, “But God…” Paul does not give us any reason to believe that we are the cause of anything he is about to describe. Paul doesn’t say, “But wait, there was a spark of life you found within yourself…” “But hold on, you need to dig around and find an ember in the ashes of life and blow on it until it glows brightly enough to ignite the fire.” Paul doesn’t say, “But man, because he grows tired of the emptiness and futility of a life of sin, decides to turn from sin and follow Christ.” Paul writes, “But God” because God’s plan as outlined in chapter 1 is His doing. That is what makes it salvation by grace. It is God’s benevolent influence, or God’s activated sovereign power expressing this goodness, favor, and goodwill toward undeserving sinners.

Why does God do this? Because He is rich in mercy. Why does God show mercy to undeserving sinners? Because of the great love with which He has loved us. When did God activate His sovereign power to express this goodwill toward undeserving sinners? He did it while we were dead in our transgressions. What has God done? He has made us alive together with Christ. Paul has to insert parenthetically this statement of his point. He is stating what is the obvious conclusion of the matter. “By grace you have been saved.” The impartation of the regenerative life of the Spirit of God brought us spiritual life. We have been made alive together with Christ. We have been saved by grace alone.

When sinners are saved they are made to become spiritually alive through a miraculous God-produced union with Christ. This brings about the “newness of life” Paul describes in Romans 6:4. We are made to become partakers of the divine nature as described in 2 Peter 1:4. We can now understand spiritual things and we will also desire the spiritual nourishment that comes from the pure milk of the word of God, our spiritual food.

Having been made alive together with Christ we have been raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

We no longer belong to this present world or its sphere of sinful rebellion. We still live in this sinful world. We are polluted to some degree by the influences of it. But we are not controlled by it. It is no longer the cause of spiritual death. We are rescued from spiritual death. This is pure grace, because it is not because of anything we have done to deserve this kindness from God.

Paul describes this heavenly life as though it is already fully accomplished. This is  because while we are not yet in full possession of all that God has for us in Christ, we live in His domain. The heavenly places where we have been seated with Christ implies the full sense of God’s dominion. To dwell in the heavenly domain is to enjoy the fullness of fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.

These are the expressions of the surpassing riches of His grace. God’s grace is the centerpiece of His glory. From the moment of our spiritual birth through the fulfillment of ages to come we will never stop benefiting from the blessings of the grace of God. And never do we come to the place where God’s grace stops and we are responsible for taking over and making things happen.

We are going to come back next week and look extensively at verses 9-10. If we are to fully understand grace, we must know that our salvation is not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. We must also know that the work of grace creates us in Christ Jesus for good works. We can’t be mistaken about these things.

As we close this morning I want to ask you to look humbly at your own heart and life. Is there evidence of the “but God” work in you? Have you been made alive together with Christ? Is there evidence of spiritual life in you? Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do you long for the pure milk of God’s word? Do you crave the things that will nourish you spiritually and bring about the growth of the spiritual life God has produced in you?

Or, are you still spiritually dead? The evidence of spiritual death is that you still walk in your trespasses and sins. You still walk according to the course of this world. You still long for this world and the things of the world, rather than for the things of God. Do you see the evidence of God’s activated sovereign power expressing His  goodness, favor, and goodwill toward you, the undeserving sinner?

Let’s pray.