Saved by Grace

“If you think your good works contribute to your salvation, you have not yet understood grace.”

R.T. Kendall

Matthew 19:16-17

New King James Version

¹⁶ Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷ So He said to him,  “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Good- Its absolute goodness-the kind that reflects God’s own character.

When the young ruler says, “good”, he assumes: “What morally excellent act can I perform to earn eternal life?”

Jesus defined good as:

• True good=God alone
• Human “goodness” falls short of that standard
• You can’t achieve righteousness through good works

Saved by grace:

Ephesians 2:1-3

2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God:

Ephesians 2:4-10

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.