A Note from Our Pastor:

“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.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

For by grace are you saved .. not of works lest any man should boast.

What more need the Apostle say about our eternal salvation? We are saved by the grace of God. The very nature of the grace of God is that it requires no action or reaction on our part. There is nothing we do or could do to prompt it. There is no action we take to help it. And there is no reaction necessitated by it. We are saved by grace and that is purely and wholly of God.

With that, let us focus in these verses on the phrase “saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”.

The Apostle has just established that we are saved by grace, but yet continues to say we are saved through faith. To some this would now necessitate that we must believe (many confuse faith and belief) in order to have salvation. This misunderstanding is how we get a teaching that God offers salvation but by belief we have to accept that salvation. But that would negate salvation being by grace because it requires action on our part.

In order to rightly divide the word of truth, let us first be clear about the difference between faith and belief. Faith is a gift of God, as this verse states, which is imparted to the child of God at the point of regeneration. Faith is given at the same time that the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to us and is part of the spiritual life we are given.

Belief then follows. Belief is an action on our part which would not be possible if God had not given us spiritual life and in doing so implanted faith. We might use the phrase “have faith” which is similar to believing, but it is important that we remember that faith is of God and precedes belief which is of man.

Now, how is our salvation through faith? Our salvation is not accomplished through faith — we have already established that salvation is by the grace of God and worked through the blood of Jesus Christ. But our salvation is revealed unto us through faith. At the point of regeneration when faith is implanted in the Child of God, salvation becomes real and apparent. The Apostle is simply telling us that we are saved by Grace (which is wholly of God) and we are made to know of that salvation by faith (which is also wholly of God).

By the grace of God are ye saved, by the mercy of God do ye know of that salvation.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah