Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."
This is a verse that was meant to free us, but many end up battling in their mind with this scripture when they think about another one listed in the book of James.
James 2:20
"But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
These two verses put together can cause conflict in the heart of a believer. They may say in their mind, "I know that I am saved by grace through my faith in what Jesus has done for me, but I also know that faith without works is dead....." And then there is a period of analyzing the areas in their walk with Christ that don't seem to be looking too good. The areas in particular could be the ones where there are great struggles to overcome the flesh. If not put under subjection to the authority of Christ, these analyzations can cause large problems in a Christian's entire life.
This exact situation is something that I was going through for about a year and it made the beauty of my relationship with God turn into something unbearable and tormenting. But God's love and grace brought me back to what He intended for us all in this new covenant.
See, the problem was that I was focused on my works, rather than God's loving grace. This focus made living a righteous life through Christ extremely hard, and was turning me into a modern-day Pharisee. I was pushing myself (and even those around me) to extremes that weren't beneficial to my walk as a Christian. It made me harsh towards myself and others, hypocritical, selfish, and ultimately, it sent me on a downward spiral leading to condemnation, an unholy fear of God, and despair. It had me constantly crying in the Lord's presence, asking Him to save me from my sins....But He had already saved me from my sins!
I simply lost sight of the freeing truth of the Gospel, because instead of keeping my gaze fixed on Christ and His finished works, I began to look at my own works and try to make them measure up to a standard that wasn't even being set before me.
The salvation we receive is truly a gift from Him, not a reward for our works.
As Ephesians 2:8-9 states, being saved by grace is a gift that God has given us. It is not something that we earn by doing good works or being "good" Christians, it's a gift that is just given. However, this does not eliminate the truth of what the book of James says. A faith that does not have works is most certainly a dead faith. So what does it mean? How can we as believers have balance when a scripture like this is here? There is a saying that I have developed in the midst of my struggle with my faith and the works that are attached to it.
"I don't work to prove that my faith is real, my works simply flow from my faith because it really is real."
This phrase has taken my focus off of making sure that I'm saved through my faith and helped me simply believe that I'm saved by faith. We are not saved by our works. We are saved by the work that Christ has done for us through His life, death, and resurrection. Our only job is to believe. If we truly believe, the works that go along with our belief will just naturally come. It's like a fruit tree. You can always tell what kind of fruit tree it is, because it will have that specific fruit growing directly from it. If the tree is called a fruit tree, but never has that fruit on it, then it is useless and dead.
Many think of the phrase "faith without works is dead" and begin to focus on building their works rather than building their faith. When that great judgment day comes, our works will definitely be judged, but the posture and intentions of our hearts will also be judged. We can do many works that are considered to be "good" in our own judgement, or even follow the textbook examples of good works that are shown in the Bible, but if our heart is not truly aligned in a place of faith and love that comes from heaven, then Jesus will have some things to say. We must remember that our works do not justify us in the sight of the Lord, only our faith does.
In these Apostle Paul uses the testimony of Abraham to explain the difference between working and having faith for salvation.
Romans 4:2-5
”For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto Him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
These scriptures perfectly describe what depending on our works for justification will do. Our works might make us look very righteous in the sight of men, but they condemn us in the presence of the One Who is holy and righteous in every way. The only thing that justifies us is in the presence of God is our faith.
Fast-forward to a more recent date, August 29th. I was reading a chapter in the book of John, one that I have (so far) found to be my favorite in that book. I have read and studied this chapter deeply in the past, but I am currently reading through the entire book of John. It is John 4, the chapter in which Jesus is speaking to the Samaritan woman. As they spoke, He began to explain the new covenant to her in a simple way, by telling her about the living waters that He could give to her. I believe the living waters that He spoke of was His grace. He even called it the "gift of God" just like it is described in Ephesians 2:9. “It is the gift of God, and not of works, lest any many should boast.” As I re-read it, I couldn't help but reflect on what I have experienced over the past year....
I too, in a way, was like the Samaritan woman. Desiring to walk in liberty with the Lord, but struggling to understand how I could. Struggling with the weight and burden of good works, my lack of ability to fulfill them on my own, and the guilt and weight of falling short. And just like her, I was able to experience Jesus breaking down the barriers in my mind piece by piece and help me have a true revelation of being saved by faith alone. I reflected on that and smiled because of all that I had learned...I was also able to look at all the notes that I had written and saw one phrase that stood out in particular.
It says, “Spirit and truth worship = liberty. Freely loving God and freely receiving His love. [It is not bound by law, nor is it bound by sin/mistake]"
Reading that made me inwardly chuckle because I struggled so deeply with something that the Lord had already led me to understand through this passage. Although it sucks that I had to go through a season of mental and spiritual hardship to truly have a revelation of this, I am glad that I did. Not only because no one can take it away from me, but also because I can share it with someone else and potentially help them.
It was my season of struggle concerning this topic that inspired me to create the Saved By Grace wallpaper bundle. Anytime I, or anyone else looks at it, they can be reminded of the means by which we are all saved.