By Grace Alone

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:1-9 CSB

This is one of the most powerful sections in the Bible. It was a key theme within the Reformation movement and is so pivotal for our Christian walk. However, I feel in Christianity today, there has been a shift from this enormously important theme. The question is: what saves me? What justifies me in the sight of God— a wretched, sinful, unclean, rebellious being in the sight of a pure, perfect, and all-powerful God? 

Sola Gratia

This was a driving force within the Reformation movement in church history. Out of the Reformation was born five topics that were held in common amongst those in the movement (a common theme in the movement); they were called the Five Solas (‘solas’ in Latin meaning ‘alone’). The Five Solas were: By Grace alone, through Faith alone, through Christ alone, revealed in Scripture alone, all to the Glory of God alone. We won’t go into the history of the Reformation and how these came about but I definitely encourage you to look into these (see below, there will be a link to RC Sproul’s series on Reformation Theology). 

Sola Gratia means ‘by grace alone.’ The question came about, “how are we saved?” The Reformation developed Sola Gratia as an answer, however, this concept is noted throughout all of Scripture. Why were Adam and Eve spared immediate death and clothed to hide their shamefulness after sin? By Grace Alone. Why was Noah chosen by God to build an ark and be rescued when he was sinful? By Grace Alone. Look at Genesis 6:5, 7-8 CSB:

When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time…Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.

Noah was just as bad as everyone else and yet found favor with God. The Hebrew word for ‘favor’ is ‘Chen’ meaning ‘grace.’ Noah was only chosen by God by grace alone, not him deserving to be chosen. Why was Abraham chosen by God when he was actually a pagan believer? By grace alone. Why was Moses, who was a murderer at that point, chosen by God to lead His people into the Promised land? By Grace alone. Why was King David, chosen by God, still named a ‘Man after God’s own heart’ and yet committed horrible acts of sin? By grace alone. Why did God choose to be faithful to a godless/rebelling people of Israel? By grace alone. Why did Christ die for people that, at their core, hate Him? By grace alone. How are you saved? By grace alone.

Do I save myself?

The issue during the Reformation and still continues to be a huge issue today is do I choose to be saved or am I chosen by God. Look at the Ephesians section above. We were dead, we hated God. As a nurse, I’ve seen many patients that have progressed into lethal situations, aka no pulse, no heartbeat. Now, do you know how many of those patients I saw look at the Code Team (the team there to rescue them) and say, “nurse/doctor, I would really like to be brought back to life now. I’ve thought about it and weighed my options and I feel this is the best fit for me. If you could please grab those defibrillator paddles and shock me back to life I would really appreciate it…?” Zero. I’ve never seen a dead person say that. Instead, the team is the acting agent, the one doing the rescuing. Did Lazarus choose to be brought back to life when Jesus showed up at the tomb? No. Jesus showed up and was the acting agent.

We were “dead in our trespasses and sins… But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.” This is absolutely pivotal. God rescued us. We needed it… We were in the lethal situation, God acted. There are so many other verses that could be covered, and I hope this sparks you to begin looking into this beautiful doctrine and changes your worship of God. We are saved by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, through Christ Alone, revealed through Scripture Alone, all to the Glory of God Alone. 

-Austin

Resources

Click ‘here‘ for the link to RC Sproul: Reformed Theology series on Youtube