Many of us have heard the phrase, “by grace through faith” at some point in our Christian walk. Where did this phrase come from, and what does it mean? Let’s look at the source, the context, and what it means for us to be saved by grace through faith.
The phrase “Salvation by grace through faith” comes from Paul’s book of Ephesians in Chapter 2, verses 8-9. Paul was writing this letter to the people of Ephesus. The book is split up into six chapters revolving around the topic of grace. Let’s take a deeper look at this topic of grace.
What does the phrase “saved by grace through faith” mean? Learn what Paul meant when he wrote this to the church of Ephesus. Share on XContext of Ephesians
As we said earlier, the book of Ephesians was written by Paul to the people of Ephesus, which was a church he planted during his third mission trip. At this time, Ephesus was known as the gateway to Asia.
This book has the main theme of the grace of God. Paul speaks on how God’s grace has changed believers, and how that gift of grace is for both Jews and for Gentiles. According to the Compelling Truth, the first three chapters of this letter focus on God’s grace, while the last three chapters focus on our response to that grace. For our purposes, we are going to focus on the first three chapters of this book.
Grace Through Faith
Now that we have that context, let’s look at the focus scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9. “For it is by grace you are saved through faith— and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works so that no one can boast.”
This verse sums up the message of Ephesians’ first three chapters: we are not responsible for saving ourselves. We cannot get into heaven with good works, which is good because Jesus already did it with a free gift of grace.
What That Means For Us
What does this mean for us as Christians then? Are we off the hook for doing good? No, of course not. Yes we are saved and our salvation is not dependent on our work, but that does not excuse us from being good people.
If you are a Christian, you are meant to be a representation of God’s love. Jesus himself tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to forgive one another, as well as to love God.
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Our salvation, thankfully, is not dependent on our performance. We are saved by grace, through faith, and we are meant to share that love with others around us.
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