Originally posted by StefanM:
Ephesians 2
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
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I'd like to hear your thoughts on this passage.
bmerr here. I guess one thought deserves another. For starters, we should define grace. Some might say "God's riches at Christ's expense". I can go along with that, but how is the grace of God manifested to man? How do we know of it, and how to respond to it?
At least one aspect of God's grace is the fact that He has provided the sacrifice for sins, and the record of the events leading up to and following that sacrifice. In short, He has given us the Bible.
In addition to Jesus as the sacrifice for sins, God has given man direction as to how we should respond to the message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Titus 2:11, 12 tells us that the grace that brings salvation has appeared to all men, and that it teaches us how we ought to live. So at least in part, the grace of God is manifested to Man in that we are taught, or instructed in what to do.
In Gen 6:8, we read that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." But how would Noah ever know of the grace he had found unless God manifested it to him? Just a few verses later, in 6:13, God warns Noah of the coming judgement, and gives him instruction on how to escape it. The grace of God toward Noah was manifested by God teaching Noah what to do to escape judgement.
In Heb 11:7, we read "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, (there's the grace) moved with fear, prepared and ark to the saving of his house: by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
So Noah had both grace and faith, and was saved from judgement. But was he saved from judgement by grace alone? Was it by faith alone? Did God build the ark for Noah? Did Noah not have to do what was commanded by God? Obviously he did. Would Noah have escaped judgement if he had not done what was commanded by God? No he would have perished along with everyone else.
Now the Bible tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet 2:5). The Bible also difines righteousness as the commands of God (Ps 119:172).
So Noah, during the building of the ark, extended the grace of God, in the form of God's instructions, to the people around him. Unfortunately, they received the grace of God in vain, or to no effect (2 Cor 6:1).
Okay, grace and faith. We see that Noah had both, and that there were still things that he had to do to be saved.
This could be demonstrated from many OT examples which are given to us for our instruction (1 Cor 10:11). So how does this apply to grace and faith in the NT?
God, in grace, has given Man instruction on what to do to be spared from the coming judgement. What has He commanded?
The requirement for faith is unquestioned, so we need not prove what we all know to be true. Suffice it to say that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom 10:17).
How about repentance? Certainly faith must come before repentance, or else why would one repent? Jesus said in Luke 13:3, 5,
"I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
In Acts 17:30, Paul tells us that God "...now commandeth all men everywhere to repent."
Very few have a problem with repentance, so let's move on.
To confess that Jesus is the Son of God is required. Again, few object to this condition of salvation. Rom 10:9, 10 are familiar enough that I don't think I need to type them out. If someone insists, I can do so later.
Also in Matt 10:32, 33, Jesus said,
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Gather which is in heaven.
In addition, we have the example of the eunuch in Acts 8:36-37.
Now we get down to the point of contention, namely, baptism. I honestly don't understand why so many "disconnect" here, but many do. Anyway, we should determine if a baptism of any kind is commanded as a condition of salvation. We can look at whether it's immersion in water or H.S. baptism later.
Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
John 3:5 "...Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
Acts 2:38 "...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 8:35-36 Then Phillip...preached unto him Jesus...and the eunuch said...what doth hinder me to be baptized?" (Command implied by request).
Acts 10:48 "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." (see Acts 2:38)
Acts 16:32-33 "And they spake unto him the word of the Lord...And he took them...and was baptized, he and all his, straightway."
Acts 19:5 "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
Acts 22:16 "...arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
In conclusion, Eph 2:8,9 teaches that by God's grace, manifested in His commands, we are saved when we obey (like Noah did) through faith.
It's break time for now. Talk with you all tomorrow,
In Christ,
bmerr