PREPARATORY QUESTION:
Do you understand what it means to be saved by Grace Alone?
We understand from the Scriptures that in Adam, we all sinned and fell short of the glory of God. In other words, a great chasm was created between humanity and God as a result of the Fall. The impact of this sin (original sin) on humanity is that we completely lost any inherent ability to desire or choose God. Apart from God's grace, our hearts are naturally inclined towards evil. The unregenerate person lacks the ability to please God (). Left to ourselves, there was no possibility of turning to God; we were doomed. Even our righteousness is as worthless as filthy rags ().
One of the central pillars of the Protestant Reformation was the Reformers' insistence, based on the clear teaching of the Holy Scriptures, that salvation is by Grace Alone (Sola Gratia) and that fallen humanity can contribute nothing towards meriting salvation. While Roman Catholicism acknowledges the necessity of God's grace for salvation, its doctrine of justification differs significantly from that recovered by the Protestant Reformers.
The Council of Trent taught that sinners, moved by grace, cooperate in preparation for justification and that the good works of those already justified can truly merit an increase of grace and eternal life. Canon 9 of its Decree on Justification explicitly condemned justification by faith alone, apart from any cooperation of the human will, while Canon 32 affirmed the merit of good works performed through God's grace.
The Reformers rejected this understanding, insisting that sinners are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, apart from any merit or contribution of their own. The fundamental problem with making human merit part of the basis of our acceptance before God is that it leaves room for boasting.
Paul explains that original sin left us dead in trespasses and sins. We followed the prince of the power of the air and the passions of our flesh, and by nature, we were children of wrath (). There was no hope of reconciliation with God until He, in His great love, showed us mercy through Christ Jesus:
“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.”
Grace simply means undeserved favor. If it is undeserved, then no one can earn it; it is freely given. Paul here affirms that humanity, lacking the inherent ability to return to God, could never restore its relationship with Him through its own efforts. It is an exercise in futility for anyone to attempt to bridge the chasm between humanity and God through works or any other means. In our helpless estate, God extended His love, His grace, that undeserved favor, through the death of Christ so that we might be saved. Paul emphatically declares that salvation is never our own doing, nor is it the result of any works or righteousness of our own. Rather, it is the gift of God.
Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, you are not saved because you are more righteous than someone who is not saved. Neither are you a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family or because of any personal qualification you might claim. The thought of being saved should humble you and rid you of any boasting or sense of superiority. Will you, at this moment and forevermore, burst into praise to God for extending His mercy to you? Hallelujah!
FURTHER READING:
QUESTION TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD:
Reflect on the time you were saved and let continual praise rise to God. Have you allowed boasting to enter your heart?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You that in Your mercy, You extended the gift of salvation to me, a sinner deserving of Your wrath and an eternity in hell. Help me, by Your Holy Spirit, to understand what it truly means to be saved by grace, and let that understanding work in me both to will and to do what pleases You in Christ Jesus. Amen.