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The Gospel of Grace and Works by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     Over the last several weeks, we have seen from Ephesians 2:1-7 that the gloriously good news of the gospel grows out of the ashes of the horrifically tragic news of human rebellion against God. And we have seen that the grace of God in Christ toward all who belong to and believe in him is so great as to be incomprehensible and utterly awe-inspiring.
     This week we conclude our four-part meditation on Ephesians 2:1-10 by considering Paul’s closing words, “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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:8-10). 
     That God saved us while we were dead in our trespasses and rightly destined to experience his eternal wrath is owing to his grace and not to our works. That God made us alive with Christ, raised us up with Christ, seated us with Christ in the heavenly places, and made us instruments of the eternal exaltation of Christ is owing to his grace and not to our works. Indeed, God did not even take into consideration the “good things” we had done prior to knowing him when he decided to choose us for himself. Rather, he chose us according to his own wisdom and grace so that we would literally be incapable of boasting in ourselves rather than in him for all eternity. 
     As Paul explains, we are God’s workmanship and not our own. God crafted us in Christ for himself; we did not make of ourselves an offering to God. This fact further kills the impulse toward self-exaltation in the human heart, for how can we possibly boast in self when we are the work of God in Christ? 
     So profound is the action of God upon us in the salvation of our souls, that he is even responsible for the good works we do in him and for the glory of his name. In the moment, it may seem like we choose to worship his name or love his people or preach the gospel or reach out to the least of these, and in a sense this is true. But the reason we want to serve God and are able to do so is because he handcrafted our worship, love, and service from before the foundation of the world. This even further kills the impulse toward self-exaltation in the human heart, for how can we boast in what God so graciously enables us to desire and do? 
     Since the gospel of grace produces good works that flow from the grace of God and do not constitute works that earn us favor with God, Paul concludes by asserting that we were created in Christ to walk in these works. Or to put it in John’s language, God made us to praise the God of light by walking with him in the light. So, Beloved, let us be ever grateful for the grace of God in Christ by ever walking in the will and ways of Christ.

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