… through faith …
Summary: The idea of being saved “though faith” is a challenge for people who like to measure things.
I should apologize — today’s passage hardly qualifies as a “passage.” After all, it is only two words. Yet the implication of these two words is so profound that we should stop and look at them all by themselves.
But first, let’s put them back into their proper context:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
Paul is talking about how our relationship with God is brought to life through faith in Jesus. Yet, he is clear that this relationship is not based on “works.”
Why?
Why is that important to point out?
As a Gentile believer, I feel confused by this. What “works” is Paul talking about? After studying the Old Testament, I understand why Paul is concerned about works.
In the days of Moses, God gave the Israelites something called “The Law.” Traditionally, this is understood to mean the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:1-17) Then, God provided the Israelites with additional laws to guide their worship and daily lives. I’ll call these the “Levitical Laws.”
Over time, the Israelites focused more on the Levitical Laws because they were easier to measure. The Ten Commandments are the foundational laws everything else rests on, but because they are more of a general principle than a specific task, they are harder to track compliance with. So, it became common practice to judge people by the Levitical Laws instead of “The Law.”
In Paul’s day, the Jews had even more laws to abide by. Over the centuries, they refined the Levitical Laws to a point where they could tell you how many steps you were allowed to walk on the Sabbath. That kind of detail made judging who was “righteous” an easy task. Just count their steps!
The transformation of the Jewish nation from a nation of faith in God to a nation of restrictive rules and laws was complete. Everything had been reduced to a checklist. Check the right boxes, and you are righteous. Fail to check the box, and you are unrighteous. What was missing was the heart of God’s Law: love.
Then, two thousand years ago, Love was born to a woman and became a man. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love for us. Because even Gentiles tend to gravitate toward checkbox righteousness, Paul is pointing out that there is one BIG CHECKBOX that nobody can check except Jesus; total, complete, perfect, absolute, obedient, sacrificial love.
“Through faith,” our passage for today, we discover that God loves us and has provided a way for us to be saved from the consequences of our inevitable shortcomings. He has given us a way to get home. That way is Jesus.
Application: Accept it. We are flawed human beings. Jesus is our only hope!
Food for Thought: How do we know if someone has enough faith to be saved?
We cannot absolutely be certain because we only see the outside of people. However, there are some indicators. Jumping ahead two verses, there is Ephesians 2:10. Also see James 2:14-26 and Matthew 7:16-20.
JEC,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts this morning! Good to hear from you. 🙂
I like your references. My favorite is Matthew 7:16 —
“By their fruit you will recognize them. ” That might be as close to knowing as we can get.
How do we know if someone has enough faith to be saved? That is a BIG question!
Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Jesus said in Matthew 17:20:
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Small as a mustard seed. So where does faith begin?
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
“believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
“Believe that he exists” Is that all? No.
James 2;19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
“that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
“the reward of the inheritance”
1 Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
“new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”
Faith comes in believing in God, and in believing in God we also believe we are separated from Him.
Faith comes in believing that we are separated from God because of our sin.
Faith comes in believing that resurrected Christ paid our debt of sin so that we can be together with Him, both here on earth and in eternity.
Faith comes in believing all this and confessing this, in your heart, and with your mouth.
Its a lot of words just to say that everyone must come to a place of decision:
What will they believe about their God? What will they believe about themselves? I believe once those two questions lead to the same place, faith is born. That is “enough” faith to accept the gift of life from God through Jesus Christ and be saved. And that’s just the beginning!
Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Chris,
I like your phrase, “a place of decision.”
I hope that we all get there eventually, and I hope that all accept the gift of God when they do.
04-06-2023, How do we know if someone has enough faith to be saved?
God alone sees into the hearts of men, only He sees the saving faith of believers.
Matthew 7:21, Judge not, that you be not judged.
John 2:24-25, But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
Luke 16:15, And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
At the same time God has given believers His Holy Spirit with gifts to believers.
1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
Those given discernment should first apply this gift to themselves and in time they will be able to receive God’s truth regarding the heart of another. It is a great responsibility and if received, should be prayerfully applied.
Ron,
Well said! Thank you for pointing out Matthew 7:21 – “judge not.” It is important to me to remember that there are many kinds of judging and some we are supposed to engage in, but judging a person’s fitness for heaven is definitely God’s purview and not ours.
This topic seems thoroughly covered today. And I agree with all the comments that say that ultimately only God can know the heart of a person. We can see fruit, we can hear a statement of faith, but only God can read a mind or capture a heart.
Thanks Rich,
Well said!
I like everyone’s answers but yet I have a different perspective or thought. I don’t think we can know for sure. I think God knows everyone better than we know our self’s. He knows our hearts. We will know when we are in heaven that’s why God will be there to wipe away every tear from the judgment before we go to the new heaven. I could be wrong because it is so difficult to wrap my head around eternal things.
Thanks Tim,
I think you are spot on!
Most of the time we don’t need to know if they are saved…God knows and his spirit is what changes the heart…that is his job. Love God and love the neighbor like yourself, that is the best thing we can do on our part. After we see how difficult it may be us to do this we might need to reevaluate how committed to Jesus we are ourselves. Sometimes that log in the eye is so big it becomes dangerous as we swing our head around to look at others.. The best example for us would be Jesus: reaching to the Samaritan woman, or going to stay at the house of Zacchaeus, washing feet, being told he has a demon in him as he helps others, releasing the woman caught in adultery. These are things he did that changed hearts and made an impact… what he did opened their minds so they were ready to hear more … and no matter what Jesus did, it never changed Judas and he heard all the scripture anyone will ever need ( and the disciples never recognized Judas as a devil until he confronted Jesus in the garden)
TJR,
Good words! Thank you!
Even if we did know (and I agree with you that we don’t need to), it doesn’t change our mission here on earth. We are to love God above all else and love our neighbors as ourselves. So the focus is where is should be, each of us minding our own business before God.