Listen:  155.1

Not only CAN one be saved through grace alone, one MUST be saved by grace alone! Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this crystal-clear, for it reads “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.” God has always had one way of saving sinners: “By grace…through faith.” Men have come up with plenty of “other ways” to be saved, but in the end they are all saying the same thing: You must also do good works to be saved. They don’t deny that faith is involved in salvation, but they insist that “faith isn’t enough; you must do your part by adding good works to your faith.” But our passage refutes that idea, for we are told, in no uncertain terms, that salvation is “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” If one wants to argue that point, their argument is not with us, but with God, for this is His Word and not ours!  

What men who insist on good works for salvation fail to see is that GRACE and WORKS are DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO EACH OTHER! Let’s look at Romans 4:1-5, “What shall we say then that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 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 accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (NKJV).

If we take these words at face value (and we should), they are showing us that a sinner is either justified “by grace through faith” or “by works.” You can’t have it both ways! WORKS is something WE DO to earn something, and thus it’s something we can BOAST ABOUT. GRACE is unmerited favor, which means we don’t deserve salvation, we can’t earn it, and we surely have nothing to boast of.  Salvation is a GIFT, bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ through His suffering and death on the cross of Calvary. This “gift of salvation” becomes ours the moment the “hand of faith” reaches out and takes it! As with any gift, we simply accept it and thank the one who gave it to us. Have you, my friend, accepted God’s wonderful gift of salvation? Remember, it cost Him the life of His Son to offer it to you, but it’s ABSOLUTELY FREE for you. Let’s close by reading Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  (155.1)  (DO)