Commentary: By grace through faith

Salvation is achieved not through any human effort or works, but solely by faith in Jesus Christ and the grace of God.”

In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Apostle Paul said, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” The phrase “by faith alone through grace alone” is a central tenet of Protestant theology. It emphasizes that salvation is achieved not through any human effort or works, but solely by faith in Jesus Christ and the grace of God.

Unfortunately, Satan has convinced most people that going to heaven is a matter of being “good,” though Jesus declared that no one on earth is good (Mark 10:18). More unfortunate is the fact that the devil has even been able to proclaim this heresy through some misinformed preachers. Such men teach that a true Christian must “toe the line” and do certain things while refraining from other activities. Congregants tend to believe what their pastor says, so this lie spreads through our society. You even hear references to being good in songs because song writers often do not know the truth.

Jesus told us the truth when He proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). The primary job of all preachers is to faithfully proclaim God’s Word. God also expects every Christian to witness for Christ to every unbeliever. An important point for all Christians to emphasize is that salvation is a free gift when one changes his attitude about himself and about Christ and then calls on Him for salvation. This is the process of repentance, and it always results from this change from worldliness and pride to realization of one’s unworthiness and need of God’s salvation.

It is also most unfortunate that Satan has also prevailed at persuading most people who believe in God that they must earn their way to heaven. This heresy is also taught by some preachers. If you wonder how this could be, realize that preachers are mere men and are burdened with many flaws. They are often ignorant of a lot of theology. They also sin as much as their congregations, though it may be in very different ways. I always preach that “We are all sinners, every single one.”

But a great number of Christians are under the false impression that they must do all sorts of things for God in order to meet with His approval. If they could realize that this is impossible, they would find themselves under a lot less stress. It would help them so much if they knew the truth that salvation if through belief in Christ alone and has nothing to do with how they live.

God does expect us to try our best at being obedient servants and ambassadors for Christ. However, I have always emphasized that the way we live represent works; and, though God expects good works from Christians, works have absolutely nothing to do with salvation. Over the years I came up with a little saying. It is, “We are not saved by good works but for good works.

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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.