Passage: Ephesians 2:8-9
The Big Idea
Sola gratia means “grace alone.” Our salvation, and every part of our dealings with God, must come by and through grace alone. Grace is the only way to be saved and the only way to have victory in this life over sin and death. Not works, not law, not performance, effort, worry, desire, study or sorrow. The law is perfect, but it can only measure us; it can’t change us. Grace both saves us (justification) and grows us (sanctification), and we receive it through humility and faith.
Grace Alone, Not…
- Not works.
- Not law.
- Not performance.
- Not effort.
- Not worry.
- Not desire.
- Not study.
- Not sorrow.
Defining Our Terms
Law is a list of rules to follow. It always depends on you and what you do. Under law, you’re thinking about and trying to keep the list: the Ten Commandments, or any other list you’ve made up or signed on to. Law means works, effort, wages, trying hard, giving your best.
Sola gratia means rejecting all of that as our hope. It’s a heart issue: what are we trusting deep down? Our works? Our effort? Our abilities? Earning God’s blessing? Our trying hard? Even “just giving our best to do what we think God wants”?
The law is perfect. Jesus didn’t come to destroy it (Matthew 5:17).
- It says: Be holy. Be loving. Be perfect.
- It can inform you about sin. It tells you, plainly, that you fall short.
- It can’t change you.
- It can’t save you.
- It can’t do anything for you.
The law is like a measuring stick. Eating the stick will never make you any taller!
But Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17).
Grace, Not Law
By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
For further study:
- The New Covenant is not like the old (Jeremiah 31:31-32).
- Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14-17).
- Paul’s whole ministry was the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24, 32).
- You are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14).
- If righteousness comes through the law, Christ died in vain (Galatians 2:21).
Grace for Justification
- Justified freely by His grace (Romans 3:24).
- Justified by faith, we have peace with God… and access by faith into this grace in which we stand (Romans 5:1-2).
- It is of faith, so that it may be according to grace, so the promise is sure (Romans 4:16).
Grace for Sanctification
- The grace of God… teaches us to deny ungodliness and live godly lives (Titus 2:11-12).
- Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1).
- It is good that the heart be established by grace (Hebrews 13:9).
- Everything flows from the heart (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 12:34), and only grace can change it.
Putting It All Together
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?… Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3).
We start by grace. We continue by grace. It’s grace alone, all the way.
How Do We Live Sola Gratia?
- Humility: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
- Faith: We have access by faith into this grace (Romans 5:2).
Grace Takeaway
Stop eating the measuring stick. The law can show you how far short you fall, but it can never make you grow. Grace can. Lay down your trying, your striving and your best efforts as a basis for standing with God, humble yourself, and trust Jesus. Grace alone saves, and grace alone transforms.
← You Should Know Your Propitiation | All Topical Messages notes | Jesus Walking on Water: King of the Storm →