“BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED”

The New Testament reveals that there are three phases or steps of salvation. All three phases of salvation are through GRACE, because “by grace you have been saved.”

The first phase is being saved from our past sins as revealed in Ephesians the Second Chapter. What is being discussed is not the resurrection aspect of salvation, but the beginning phase of salvation; being saved from our sins.

“And you has he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had the conduct of our lives in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind: and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in MERCY, for His GREAT LOVE wherewith He LOVED us, even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED)” (Eph. 2:1-5 AT).

From what had they been saved? The context gives the answer! They had been saved from “being dead in their sins”, from “the wrath of God” and from “the prince of the power of the air”--Satan and his influence in their lives. This is the FIRST phase of the process of salvation, through God’s grace.

It is true, Paul projects forward to the completion of salvation, in anticipation of being in the Kingdom of God, but he shows clearly that it is to occur in the ages to come, and NOT then or now.

Continuing in verse 6, “And has raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” But WHEN will this occur? Was it then, at that time? Is it now, at this time? When? The answer is given in verse 7! “That He might show in THE AGES TO COME, the surpassing riches of HIS GRACE in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (verse 7).

Jesus told the apostles that they would sit with Him at his table after He returned and brought the Kingdom of God. “And I appoint to you a kingdom, as My Father appointed to me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and may sit on thrones, [sitting in the heavenlies], judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Lk. 22:29-30).

Christians after the resurrection will actually sit in the heavenlies with Jesus Christ after his second coming. “And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: ..and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection: Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with HIM a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4-6).

Paul wants us to understand that we cannot save ourselves by any other means whatsoever, it is the gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved [from your past sins and trespasses and Satan the Devil] through faith; and this was not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one might boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should be walking in them” (Eph.2:5-10, AT).

The GRACE of God OBLIGATES US to live and walk in those GOOD WORKS. What are those good works? Jesus clearly defined them for us in the sermon on the mount as found in Matthew Five, Six and Seven.

The second phase of salvation is the process of Christian growth and overcoming. As we live GOD’S WAY of life, by every word of God, through the power of the Holly Spirit, we are developing godly character.

Paul told the Corinthians that they were being saved if they held fast and lived by the teachings of God! “But I am making it known to you, brethren, the gospel which I announced to you: which also you received; in which also you are standing, through which also YOU ARE BEING SAVED [Greek: soozesthe, “are being saved”] if you are holding fast the message [of the gospel] I preached to you...” (I Cor. 15:1-2, AT).

This is the part of salvation which is to be worked out by the individual with the power of the Holy Spirit in them. This is done daily as he or she grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and lives in God’s way. “Wherefore, my beloved, as you have ALWAYS OBEYED, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, BE WORKING OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION with fear and trembling. For it is God Who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13, AT).

Once we are under God’s grace, we are to strive to do God’s good pleasure. “Wherefore, also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the GRACE of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thes. 1:11-12).

The third phase of salvation is the resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ when we “shall be saved.” “Therefore, when we were still without strength, at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man; and perhaps someone might even have the courage to die for a good man. But God is demonstrating His very own love to us, because that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. “Therefore, much more! Having been justified now by His own blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, while we were still enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son, still greater, after being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:6-10, AT).

Paul further clarified it when he wrote “..and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb. 9:28, AT). At the resurrection the process of salvation will be complete. “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they may also obtain THE SALVATION, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (II Tim. 2:11, AT).

Just before he died, the apostle Paul knew his salvation would be completed at the resurrection. “Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day [the day of the resurrection]: not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (II Tim. 4:8).

We receive salvation through the grace of God. As we have seen the process is accomplished in these three phases. One, “You have been saved.” Two, “You are being saved.” Three, “You shall be saved.”

The ULTIMATE blessing of God’s GRACE is ETERNAL LIFE through the resurrection. This can only be comprehended as Paul expressed it, “The SURPASSING RICHES OF GRACE”!

We need to deeply appreciate God’s LOVE and His GRACE with all our hearts. We need to draw close to God the Father and Jesus Christ in prayer, in worship, in thanksgiving for His gracious GOODNESS and His loving KINDNESS. We need to rejoice in God’s salvation which He extends to us.

CHRISTIANS WHO ARE UNDER GRACE ARE TO BE

KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

With a partial knowledge of what Paul wrote in the book of Romans, most Protestants make the fatal mistake of assuming that law and commandment-keeping are no longer required. Hence, they wrongly reason that because the “righteousness of God” is imputed as a gift of God, that all the laws and commandments of God “have been done away with, abolished, nailed to the cross, or that Jesus Christ so perfectly fulfilled the law for us, that as Christians we have absolutely no laws or commandments whatsoever to keep—Christ did it all for us.”

But such is not the case at all! The apostle Paul made that abundantly clear! He wrote, “Since indeed it is the one God Who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith, ARE WE THEN ABOLISHING THE LAW [or making the law of no effect, or nailing the law to the cross] THROUGH FAITH? MAY IT NEVER BE!! WE ARE ESTABLISHING LAW” (Rom. 3:27).

Here is how we are establishing law through faith and grace. As bond servants of Jesus Christ, standing in the grace of God, we are to live in this righteousness of God and conform to a higher spiritual standard in keeping the laws and commandments of God. No longer are we to keep the laws and commandments of God in the letter of the law--God requires that of everyone in the world. He requires a higher standard for us! We are to “serve in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7:6). Jesus said, “If you LOVE me, BE KEEPING my commandments” (John 14:15). The Greek is even more emphatic! The with the proper emphasis it should read, “If you are loving Me, BE KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS, NAMELY MINE”! Jesus continued on to show the basic spiritual condition of those who do not keep His commandments. “Anyone who IS NOT LOVING ME, does not keep MY WORDS and the message is NOT mine, but the Father’s who sent me” (John 14:24, AT).

The apostle John further amplified how we are to keep the commandments of God based on love. “In this way, we are knowing that we are loving the children of God, when we are loving God and keeping His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we should be keeping His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:2-3, AT). The truth is that none of God’s commandments are burdensome, because they are based on love (Mat. 22:37-41).

The Book of Revelation shows that commandment-keeping and the faith of Jesus actually go hand-in-hand. “Here are they who are keeping THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND HAVE THE FAITH OF JESUS” (Rev. 14:12 AT). this is a prophetic description of the true believers in God at the end of the age just before the return of Jesus Christ--the very days in which we are now living!

When it is properly understood, in the light of the New Testament, keeping the commandments and laws of God are part of God’s GRACE! Just as the apostle Paul wrote that through faith by grace “we are establishing law.”

Think for a moment! One of the aspects of the GRACE of God is to have Christ in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Additionally, we are to have the mind of Christ. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5).

What does this mean?

The answer is found in Hebrews. We are to have the laws and commandments of God written into our hearts and minds. “This is the covenant [the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, the covenant of grace] I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR HEARTS, AND IN THEIR MINDS WILL I INSCRIBE THEM” (Heb. 10:16, AT).

Conversion of the mind, through the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, removes the hostility and enmity of the carnal mind towards the commandments and laws of God. Then the laws and commandments of God can be inscribed upon the tables of our hearts. “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who are not walking after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For those who are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh: but those who are after the Spirit are minding the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [an enemy] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God, dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His” (Rom. 8:4-9, AT).

Regardless of what men profess with their lips, those who are not doing as Jesus said, DO NOT even belong to Him. “Not every one who is saying to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but the one who is doing [practicing] the will of My Father which is in heaven.

“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And in your name have wenot cast out devils? And in Your name have we not done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, you who are working lawlessness [the transgression of God’s commandments]” (Mat. 7:21-23, AT).

As we can see from the Scriptures that the GRACE of God obligates us to keep the commandments and the law of God in the spirit and the full intent of God’s laws and commandments as magnified by Jesus Christ. This is how grace truly establishes law.

There is a final blessing of God’s grace for those who are keeping the commandments of God. “Blessed are they who are keeping His commandments, that they may have the right to the TREE OF LIFE, and enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14 AT).

GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE

Grace cannot be earned, but God willingly and enthusiastically gives it to the humble; those who seek His will. “But, He is giving greater grace, and this is the reason, it says, God sets Himself against the proud, but, He is giving grace to the humble. Therefore, subject yourselves to God! Resist the Devil! And he shall flee from you.. Draw near to God, and He shall draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded! Be grieved and mourn and weep, let your laughter be turned into grieving, and your joy into gloominess. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He shall exalt you!” (Jas. 4:6-10, AT).

As we yield ourselves to God in repentance and humbly seek His will and His way, God’s grace will be poured out to us. This happened with the early Christians and apostles as recorded in the book of Acts. “When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness, and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul...and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and GREAT GRACE was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).

This is the kind of GRACE we all need in our lives—individually and collectively.

GOD’S GRACE CAN BE PERVERTED AND REJECTED

Contrary to the teachings of some theologians and religionists, a person can reject the GRACE of God. Such a rejection can happen in two ways.

The first way one can fall from GRACE through sin and the rejection of God’s salvation, his birthright in the kingdom of God. “Looking diligently lest any man fall from the GRACE of God; [by not yielding to God’s correction], lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he WAS REJECTED; for he found no place of repentance [no way to change his mind], though he sought it carefully with tears” (Heb. 12:15-17).

The second way one can reject God’s GRACE is by turning grace into license to do evil and sin. It is a PERVERSION OF GOD’S GRACE.

False teachers entered stealthily into the congregations of God in order to pervert the grace of God and turn it into licentiousness—indulgences to sin. Notice Jude’s warning when he wrote to the brethren: “Beloved, when personally exerting all my diligence to write to you concerning the common salvation, I was compelled to write to you, exhorting you to fervently fight for the faith, which once for all time has been delivered to the saints. For certain men have stealthily crept in; these are the ones who a long time ago have been written about, condemning them to this judgment. They are ungodly men, who are perverting the grace of our God into licentiousness, and are denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4, AT).

This is a lawless grace, which denies the need to keep the commandments of God. This is the same kind of grace that Catholics and Protestants believe and teach. The leaders of Christianity today need to remember the words of warning that Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees during His ministry. Like these self-righteous leaders of the Jews, the leaders of the Christian churches have adopted traditions and dogmas that conflict with the commandments of God. A close examination of the history of Christianity will show that the traditional doctrines and practices of the churches of this world are not the teachings of Jesus Christ. True Christianity, as originally taught by Jesus Christ and His apostles, was subverted from within by false teachers of lawlessness. The teachings of these “ungodly men” that Jude and Peter wrote about were passed down in the writings of the “early church fathers” and were accepted by the Roman church as authoritative traditions. Through the centuries the Roman church grew in power, using its influence to stamp out every remaining vestige of the true teachings of Jesus Christ. After a power struggle between the bishop of Rome and the bishop of Constantinople, the church split into the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

As the influence of the Orthodox church dominated the East, so the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church molded the thinking of the entire Western world. The authority of Catholic doctrine and tradition was not seriously challenged until the time of Martin Luther. When Martin Luther rejected the corruption and lawlessness of the Roman Catholic Church, he appeared to be seeking the truth of God. He labored diligently to translate the Scriptures into the German language so that the common people could read and learn from the Word of God. But the religion that developed as a result of Martin Luther’s teachings, known as Lutheranism, did not restore the true teachings of Jesus Christ. The reformation that Martin Luther initiated was never completed, because he rejected the Second and Fourth Commandments. As a result, the new religion that he founded began to promote another form of lawlessness. 

Luther taught that a person who had been saved through the grace of God could not lose salvation, regardless of the degree or intensity of the sins that might be committed. This perverse teaching is clearly expressed in a letter written by Luther: “Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your faith in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where righteousness can exist….No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery a thousand times each day” (Martin Luther, Saemmtliche Schriften, Letter 99, 1 August 1521, translated by Erika Flores in The Wittenberg Project, The Wartburg Segment, as published in Grace and Knowledge, Issue 8, September 2000, Article “Ecclesiasticus: The Wisdom of Ben-Sirach,” p. 27).

The words of Martin Luther reveal the depth of lawlessness to which many religious leaders have descended. This teaching is the epitome of the perverted “grace” that Jude condemned, which rejects the commandments of God and grants license to commit sin with no limitations whatsoever. Luther’s teaching concerning murder and adultery is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ, Who magnified and greatly expanded the application of the Sixth and Seventh Commandments.

The promoters of lawlessness have succeeded in deceiving the vast majority of professing Christians into accepting a false grace. As the New Testament shows, this distorted view of grace does not lead to salvation. In the Judgment Day, the teachers of lawlessness, who have been honored as religious leaders and have even done noteworthy deeds in the name of Jesus Christ, will be rejected: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out demons through Your name? And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?’ And then I will confess to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness’ ” (Matt. 7:22-23, AT).

The workers of lawlessness will depart into the lake of fire to suffer the judgment of eternal death, from which there is no resurrection: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8, AT).

HOW WE ARE TO LIVE IN GRACE

Because God’s GRACE and blessings lead to eternal life, how then should we be living? God inspired Paul to write the answer for us in Romans the sixth chapter. He shows the complete way of life we are to live in absolute, loving dedication to God the Father and Jesus Christ walking in obedient faith through grace.

1. What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin, so that grace may abound?

2. MAY IT NEVER BE! We who died to sin, how shall we live any longer therein?

3. Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?

4. Therefore, we were buried with Him by baptism into death; so that, just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life.

5. For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection.

6. Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we should no longer be enslaved to sin;

7. Because the one who has died to sin has been justified from sin.

8. Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

9. Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has any dominion over Him.

10. For when He died, He died unto sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives unto God.

11. In the same way also, you should indeed reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord.

12. Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal body to obey it in the lusts thereof.

13. Likewise, do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin; rather, yield yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14. For sin shall not rule over you, because you are not under law, but under grace.

15. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? MAY IT NEVER BE!

16. Don’t you realize that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, you are servants of the one you obey, whether it is of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17. But thanks be to God, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to you;

18. And having been delivered from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.

19. I speak from a human point of view because of the weakness of your flesh; for just as you once yielded your members in bondage to uncleanness and to lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now in the same way, yield your members in bondage to righteousness unto sanctification.

20. For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.

21. Therefore, what fruit did you have then, in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end result of those things is death.

22. But now, that you have been delivered from sin, and have become servants of God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end result is eternal life.

23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:1-23, AT).

Now we can clearly see how we are to live our lives before God the Father. We are to do so as if we were alive from the dead; in willing, loving yieldedness to God to live according to the will and grace of God.

The fullest expression and description of the manifold GRACE of God, which bring out every facet of God’s glorious GRACE, is found in Ephesians the First Chapter. Every thing that the apostle Paul speaks of in this chapter is part of and is an expression of God the Father’s GRACE through JESUS CHRIST!

1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

2. Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things with Christ;

4. According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, in order that we might be holy and blameless before Him in love;

5. Having predestinated us for sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His own will,

6. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us objects of His grace in the Beloved Son;

7. In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace,

8. Which He has made to abound toward us in all wisdom and intelligence,

9. Having made known to us the secret of His own will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself;

10. That in the divine plan for the fulfilling of the times, He might bring all things together in Christ, both the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth;

11. Yes, in Him, in Whom we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestinated according to His purpose, Who is working out all things according to the counsel of His own will,

12. That we might be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in the Christ;

13. In Whom you also trusted after hearing the Word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, after believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

15. For this cause, I also, after hearing of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is among you, and the love toward all the saints,

16. Do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

18. And that the eyes of your mind may be enlightened, in order that you may comprehend what is the hope of His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

19. And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the inner working of His mighty power,

20. Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

21. Far above every principality and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named—not only in this age, but also in the age to come;

22. For He has subordinated all things under His feet, and has given Him to be head over all things to the Church,

23. Which is His body—the fullness of Him Who fulfills all things in every way” (Eph 1:1-23, AT).

For those who are living under the grace of God, he or she is to continue to love God the Father and Jesus Christ, live in His grace by faith and live by every word of God as magnified by Jesus Christ. Then at the resurrection each faithful person will receive the greatest gift of God the Father’s superabounding grace--eternal life in glory and splendor.

What a wonderful blessing that God has granted this magnificent gift of righteousness--the very own righteousness of Jesus Christ through His grace--being written into our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit of God the Father! What a tremendous expression and demonstration of God’s love and grace for us! May this inspire us to love God the Father and Jesus Christ even more and to make our calling and election sure!

For those who desire to be under the true GRACE OF GOD, then you need to repent of your sins to God the Father, asking His forgiveness! God the Father will extend His GRACE to you, if you seek Him with ALL YOUR HEART. Then you need to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and accept His sacrifice as full payment for your sins, asking God to blot out your sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Next, you need to be baptized, according to the biblical command, and be buried by baptism into the death of Jesus Christ! Only then can God’s saving grace be imputed to you for eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

God the Father, and Jesus Christ, are waiting to extend grace and eternal salvation to you.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Now that you understand the GRACE of God, WHAT WILL YOU DO?

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you desire further information concerning repentance and baptism, please direct your request to:

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