I have always loved the climax of a good story. In first-class literature there is suspense and tension that begins to build up until that time that the resolution of the story concludes. In a good story you can almost feel your muscles tensing and your blood pressure rising. You find yourself unable to put the book down though perhaps the time for you to have gone to bed was already past. And with the final pages you find yourself saying, “I knew it, I knew this would happen!” or in an excellent book you think, “it didn’t turn out that way after all. Wow!”
These last verses of this section are the climax of the apostle’s thought. And if we understand the groundwork that has been laid by verses 1-3 and the build up that occurs through verses 4-7 we see the tension resolved in verse 8-10 as Paul brings this to a conclusion. Now this isn’t a novel, it’s a letter but the impact that this can have on us is astounding if we let it sink in and let God complete His work in us. After all the key idea of this passage, which you’ve heard for the last three weeks now, is that we must look forward to accomplishing the good works that God has prepared us to do because of the great transformation He has brought about in making us alive from the dead.
Hopefully, I can describe these verses in as an exciting way as the Apostle Paul portrays them.
III. God’s Great Provision (vv. 8-10)
The third section of this passage, found in verses 8-10, is God’s great provision. God, through Christ, has given us a vast provision. And just as with every great stewardship comes great responsibility so it is with this provision of God. Paul describes God’s provision as two-fold.
A. We have received God’s salvation
The first aspect of God’s great provision is that we have received God’s salvation. This is what Paul notes in verses 8-9. There he says, “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.”
God’s salvation is, in simple terms, His rescue. God has rescued us from the penalty of sin. Sin’s penalty, as we described a few weeks ago, was the outpouring of God’s wrath upon us for all eternity. We deserved God’s wrath because we have sinned and God’s justice demanded it. And yet God, in His love and mercy, came and took our penalty upon Himself. This is the salvation that God has given to us. Paul says that you have been saved. You have been rescued. It is an action that God has already carried out on behalf of the Christian.
Now Paul depicts three characteristics of this salvation in verses 8&9.
1. It is received through faith
The first characteristic of this salvation is that it is received through faith. Paul says that you have been saved through faith. This salvation comes to us when we have faith. But what is faith? Faith is putting trust in the Word of God. In this case it is putting trust in the Word of God concerning the fact that you are separated from God by your sin nature. You must trust that you are completely helpless to save yourself. You must trust that Jesus Christ being God bore the penalty Himself for you and then rose from the dead to prove it. And you must believe that simply trusting in Christ will bring you this salvation and free you from the law of sin and death. One commentator says it this way, “Faith involves the abandonment of any attempt to justify oneself and an openness to God which is willing to accept what He has done in Christ.” And until we come to that place where we forego any attempt on our part to offer our own effort to God in place for His favor, we are not saved.
This is why implicit in this faith is repentance. Repentance is a necessary part of faith. Repentance refers to the change of mind someone must undergo in relation to God’s Word and their attitude toward it. Until someone humbles himself and admits that he has been wrong all along about obtaining salvation he cannot be saved. People who say, “I’ve always been a Christian” have not experienced this repentance. They feel that they have always been acceptable to God through whatever means they have arranged and not through the death and resurrection of Christ alone. If they understood the biblical premise that all have been born in sin and that repentance and faith in the death and resurrection of Christ are absolutely essential to secure our salvation then they would not believe that they have always been a Christian. For such ideology rejects Jesus’ statement that says we must be born again into the family of God to be saved. And the biblical concept taught by Jesus and the apostles is that there must be a time of salvation even as there is a time for someone’s physical birth.
So we see that this salvation comes through our faith in Christ’s work on our behalf
2. It is recognized as being from God
The second characteristic of this salvation is that it is recognized as being from God. At the end of verse 8 Paul says, “That not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
We have to recognize it is salvation that is from God and not from ourselves. I said that it is our salvation that is not of ourselves. The reason I say this is some have noted in the past that Paul spoke of “faith” being the gift of God. If Paul meant that faith was the gift of God we could read the passage this way, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, that faith not from yourselves that faith is the gift of God.” Here we would be saying that even the ability to believe comes from God Himself. Others have said that grace is the gift of which Paul speaks. If this were the case we could translate Paul’s words, “For by grace you have been saved through faith that grace is not of yourselves this grace is the gift of God. Here Paul would be saying that it is the grace that becomes the gift. However, neither of these ideas is the best understanding of this verse because in both cases the gender of the word “that” which refers back to faith or grace does not match either of those words. Without getting too technical, in Greek grammar, all words have gender. That is they are either masculine, feminine or neuter. A word that refers to another word must match the other in gender. Both faith and grace are feminine in form whereas the word “that” is neuter. So grammatically, faith or grace cannot be the referent to the word “that.”
So what is Paul saying? What it is it that is “Not of yourselves.” He is referring to the general idea of the salvation that God provides is what comes from Him as a gift. So how can we translate this to make it most clear? Like this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, that salvation is not from yourselves. This salvation is a gift of God.”
What Paul notes concerning this salvation is that it is all from Him. As a matter of fact the way that Paul emphasizes the difference is that he juxtaposes the words “yourselves” and “God” for emphasis. Literally it reads, “Not of yourselves, of God the gift.” Our salvation is provided to us by God alone as a gift through the means of our faith in Christ. And this brings us to the next point.
3. It removes any boasting
The third characteristic of this salvation is that it removes any boasting. In verse 9, Paul says, “Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Because God is the giver and we are the receivers of this rescue there is no cause for boasting on our part.
Some might say, “But I believed on Him, doesn’t that put me in charge of my salvation? Doesn’t that remove some of the glory from God?” Believing is simply receiving this gift of rescue.
How foolish would it be for an individual who is lost at sea, weakened and sick from her ordeal, to begin to boast that she put her trust in the rescue tube that the helicopter lowered down? Can you imagine her speaking before the news cameras saying what a great thing I did, after having got myself lost I proudly let them rescue me. How silly. Belief does not remove glory from God because it is the means that He has chosen to give someone salvation.
Paul is setting the futility of works for salvation in contrast to believing. Faith is not a work or anything that allows us to boast. The man who needs to be rescued is in no place to boast. It is only in humility that one can even see their helplessness.
Paul makes this clear in Romans 4. There he speaks about Abraham and the faith that brought him the forgiveness of sins and righteousness from God. Romans 4:1-5 reads, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor (that is, graciously), but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
Our effort is always placed in opposition (or contrast) to faith. There is only one way to receive eternal life and be righteous in God’s sight and that is through faith. To the people who are still in their pride and sin and have not humbled themselves verse 5 is an affront. And those who take verse 5 as a stumbling block to simply trusting God are lost. What does verse 5 say again? “But to the one WHO DOES NOT WORK, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
The unsaved person who cannot understand the great grace that God has available to us looks at this verse and says, “But I’ve got to do something to earn my salvation! I can’t just sit back and think that God is going to make me right in His sight simply by putting my trust in Him.” I think the key reason that someone like this refuses to receive the forgiveness of sins by simple faith is their pride. And it shows up in a question that often follows their incredulity over simply believing in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Their question is something like, “But what about all the good things that I have done up until now? Won’t these count for anything?” These questions shows that an individual isn’t willing to give up the pride of their previous effort and therefore are still separated from God. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3, “Whatever I had counted as gain to me I now count as loss for the surpassing excellency of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish that I may gain Christ.” Someone who is not willing to count their previous works as rubbish will not gain Christ and be found in Him. He will say to them, “Depart from me for I never knew you, you who work iniquity.” To whom did Jesus say those words? To those who trusted in the fact that they were preaching and casting out demons and performing many miracles in the name of Jesus.” They trusted in their works which they did in the name of Jesus but all their religion did nothing for them because they were unwilling to stop trusting in their effort to save them and trust only in Christ.
B. We have become God’s handiwork
Now finally we have come to that for which we have all been waiting. This second aspect of God’s provision is that we have become God’s handiwork. In verse 10 Paul says, “For we are His workmanship. Our recreation in Christ by default makes us God’s handiwork. Wherever else this term “workmanship” is used in Scripture it refers to God’s creation of the world. And in this way we have been recreated by God in Christ.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Our outlook has changed because we have become new in Christ. Repentance and faith have brought a new way of looking at how we are to live. Paul says in Romans 6, “What benefit do you have from those things of which you are now ashamed?” The wicked things that we used to revel in now bring us shame. We are ashamed when we think or act that way now. But it didn’t bother us then. Old things have passed away the new has come. Our outlook has changed.
This is the transformation of which Paul speaks in the passage. God has transformed us by giving us a new birth so that we are a new creation in Christ. There are two marks of God’s handiwork of transformation that Paul notes here.
1. The purpose of our transformation
The first mark of God’s transforming handiwork is the purpose of our transformation. Paul goes on to say, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
Why did God make us new creatures in Christ? He made us new creatures in Christ so that we would produce good works. Our transformation from death to life is the sign from God that He has equipped us to serve Him.
And turning us into His handiwork allows us to produce good works for our Master Creator. There is a place for good works in the life of the Christian. But the place of them always follows our salvation. Our good deeds are never the cause of our salvation. God has a great purpose and plan in good works. But they are not to secure our salvation. They are simply the evident token of our salvation.
Those who get the cart before the horse will end up being cast out of God’s presence because they never knew God by faith. God transforms us first (from death to life) and then calls us to good works that bring honor to Him. Never does Scripture describe the reason of our justification before God as our good works. We don’t do good works so that God can transform us. God has transformed us therefore we can do good works
And likewise we must do good works. It is sad to hear of a person who trusts in their effort to secure eternal life for themselves. But it is also sad to hear of one who declares that they have been justified by faith and yet refuse to allow their life to be conformed into one of good works. It is very likely that this person also does not have eternal life. They speak of faith but their faith has no teeth. James says that people who are mere hearers of the Word, people who are merely conversant about the Word but are not living out the Word (who have no love for the Word) may never have come to repentance in what they call faith. He says that they are merely deceiving themselves. And James asks the question, “Can this kind of faith save them?” Is this belief that is merely intellectual but not effectual save someone? Can a belief without repentance save? No it cannot.
So what is the evidence that our faith is real? What is the evidence that our faith has been accompanied by repentance? It is good works. Good works have never saved anyone but are the outworking of true faith.
I mentioned it recently to some people concerning two individuals with whom I had spoken a couple of years ago who both claimed to be saved but had a child together and were living together outside of marriage without any plans of rectifying such a situation. They were completely comfortable in their arrangement. They saw no need for repentance from it. And as far as I know they are still in that situation. It seems from Scripture that people like this are merely deceiving themselves into a false hope.
Paul says right here God has transformed us. He has brought us from death unto life so that our new life would be filled with good works.
2. The planning of our transformation
The second mark of God’s transforming handiwork is the planning of our transformation. Paul says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
God has good works planned for your life if you are a believer. If we are His workmanship then so are the good works that He has ready for us to accomplish. And we ARE to accomplish them. And we will accomplish them because God has prepared them to be accomplished. I think He has prepared us to accomplish them (in our transformation from death to life) and the text says that He has actually prepared the good works themselves. We could say that they were prepared beforehand in the sense that when we were made alive and raised up with Christ and seated with Him in heaven they were awaiting our arrival for us to carry them out.
Now make sure that you don’t misunderstand and become legalistic in this. We don’t go looking at what we have to do and say, “OK I’ve got my checklist of good things to accomplish today and by my strength I’m going to take care of them.” We can carry them out because we are carried by God. He has raised us up to walk in newness of life. And these things which will spring out of our life are what we now enjoy to do. These good works in the name of Christ are the joy and rejoicing of our hearts. Let us remember that God has raised us up for this very purpose. He has planned for us in His good will that we would accomplish good deeds in the power of His name. I have listed a few good works that Scripture mentions. I hope this will encourage you to see the good works you have already been doing for God but not limit your scope to these few in living out the beautiful life that God has for you in Christ. The doctrine of the Gospel is to be beautifully adorned by the good works that the Spirit of God inspires in us. And when we are led by the Spirit of God to accomplish these good works, others will see the beauty of Christ and want to know Him. Here is this short list:
Caring for the sick
Visiting the prisoner
Encouraging the orphan and widow
Raising your children in the love and discipline of the Lord
Providing financially for your family
Providing spiritually for your family
Remaining unspotted from the world
Keeping our minds and hearts pure from evil
Speaking the truth in love to those without the truth
Showing kindness and gentleness to those who are trapped in sin
Helping those who are trapped in sin to extricate themselves
Bringing a meal to someone
Making friends with the friendless
Providing clothing for someone
Focusing on others beside yourself
Praying for others in need; praying with others in need
Sending a note to someone
Seeking to carry out justice
Walking humbly with God in front of others
Lending to those who ask of you
Blessing those around you with kind words and not with cursing
Remembering the poor
Practicing hospitality in your home
Submitting to government authorities
Bearing the weaknesses of others
Being patient with others who are not like you
Helping the stranded stranger on the road
And I hope you understand that there are 1000’s of other good things that God has for us to do that are not even on my radar screen but God has planted on yours. These are things that God has planned for you to do today and tomorrow and throughout your life as you testify to the life changing power of the Gospel of Christ.
John Wesley, the 18th century preacher of the Gospel greatly used by God, said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
Today, many in the church wouldn’t hold to Wesley’s sentiment. It might sound like, “Get all the entertainment you can.” The longing in Christian circles is for coffee houses and concerts instead of caring for and comforting others. America has found a shallow Gospel that says, “Me first” that is no Gospel. The true Gospel says, “Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee” not “Take my trouble and my pain give me only what is gain.”
The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” There comes time for harvest. Jesus said, “The fields are white unto harvest. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest.” Let us continue a life of good works as we labor in the harvest fields. For when the day is done and the work is over then we shall see the harvest of our effort through the grace of God in the face of Christ. Let us work until Jesus comes with all the strength that He supplies. Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that ease is that to which God has called us. He has given us all different strengths and different abilities but in it all He has called each one of us on the basis of the transformation of our lives to carry out the good works which are accomplished by His grace.