Is Ephesians 2:8-9 Typically Used Out of Context?
Many quote Ephesians 2:8-9 to defend the premise that sinning cannot affect a person’s salvation. This is inseparable from the belief that a person who has been in God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ can never fall from grace and end up in the fire of hell.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
It is also taught constantly throughout the Bible that being saved through faith means believing the true God and living by what He has spoken.
Matthew 4:1-4: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the true God is faith in Him. Neither Matthew 4:4 nor what Jesus said in the following verse could be contradictory to the real meaning of Ephesians 2:8-9.
John 8:51: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.”
The Bible does not teach that Jesus obeyed in anyone’s place. He rather obeyed for Himself in order to be eligible to die on the behalf of mankind. While He lived by faith in the Father Himself as a man on earth in order for His own death to be an acceptable sin offering, neither His life nor His death relieved anyone of the need to live by His Word in obedience themselves.
Hebrews 5:8-9: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect (that is, He obeyed the Father to the end in His humanity by going to the cross), he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;”
Jesus shed His blood on the cross to win people back to being under His authority. He does not offer forgiveness in any other context besides that of repentance from sin and submission to Him. His resurrection from the dead testifies of His rightful authority over all. Ephesians 2:8-9 is certainly not teaching that man does not need to be subject to His authority and work accordingly.
The Apostle Paul, the man who penned Ephesians 2:8-9, clearly taught that God’s grace does not relieve man of obligation to cooperate with the rescue which is provided in Christ through works. How do so many who act like experts on the Apostle Paul and the grace of God fail to adequately account for what was said by Paul and by Christ Himself at the time of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus?
Acts 9:6: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”
And how do they fail to adequately account for Paul’s own testimony before King Agrippa of how he practically preached the Gospel?
Acts 26:19-20: “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.”
See also Colossians 1:21-29, Philippians 2:12-16, and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 for more examples of how Paul’s own words prove that many who constantly quote Ephesians 2:8-9 are wrong and very delusional.
Consider also the following passages from the Book of Romans.
Romans 1:1-5: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:”
This prescribed obedience to the faith among all nations is not just accepting Jesus in a way that might be disconnected from how one lives. Romans 15:14-19 goes on to prove this beyond any doubt.
There is a narrow way to life which Jesus has made through His shed blood. Ephesians 2:8-9 indeed teaches that we cannot provide our own atonement for sin so that we can work around that narrow way successfully. However, it is not teaching that saving faith in Christ is a one-time transaction like many teach nor is it teaching that works which are pleasing to God are a passive by-product of faith like many teach. Faith which is not actively subject to His authority is dead. A living faith in the true God is expressed specifically through doing the actions which His Word demands. It is inconsistent with harboring sin or in any way refusing to do what one ought to know is right in His eyes.
Some believe that the thief on the cross is an obvious refutation of the preceding claims. Yet the thief on the cross is actually a very easy proof of these claims. Would the thief on the cross have been justified by faith if he had not actually done what he did while he was dying? Absolutely not. He would not have been justified if he had not rebuked the other criminal, condemned himself, and declared Jesus to be innocent before that crowd. But does that mean he earned his justification? Of course not.
Never ever does the Bible teach that God’s grace being freely offered relieves man of being required to walk in the light of God’s Word nor does it teach that the free offer of His grace is contradictory to this obligation being upheld. It rather directly teaches these things are totally consistent with each other when properly understood.
Revelation 22:17-19: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
God’s free offer of grace is not a license to disregard His authority and treat His Word with contempt. It is rather provision for anyone who wills to exit the broad road of sin, enter the narrow way to life, and endure thereon until the end so that they overcome and obtain ultimate redemption instead of being sent to the lake of fire where transgressors against the true God will end up.
Revelation 21:6-8: “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful (i.e. cowardly in regard to righteousness), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
To rightly understand Ephesians 2:8-9 and other passages where salvation by faith is put in contrast to being saved by works it is important to account for the historical reality that many Jews were abusing the ceremonial laws of Judaism (i.e. the Mosaic ceremonies) by attempting to use adherence to them as a means of atoning for sin and earning salvation thereby. This was always a futile endeavor since the Mosaic ceremonies were never intended to be used that way. Romans 4:1-5, Galatians 2:21, and Philippians 3:4-7 are passages which directly teach against this endeavor. These passages are also typically twisted and abused out of context like Ephesians 2:8-9.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is indeed appropriate to use concerning those who have really forsaken their sins and have confidence in the blood of Christ to forgive them in that context. This was the case with the Ephesians themselves. The following had happened beforehand in Ephesus.
Acts 19:18-20: “And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
This action did not earn those who carried it out forgiveness, yet it was totally necessary for them to be forgiven like Zacchaeus’ choice to make restitution for his financial wickedness (which is recorded in Luke 19) was necessary for him to receive Jesus properly and be forgiven. Acts 19 goes on to record how a riot happened afterwards at Ephesus which was begun by craftsmen of pagan shrines who were upset at the multitude which Paul had turned away from idolatry in Ephesus and throughout Asia Minor. You cannot rightfully use Ephesians 2:8-9 to tell someone that they do not need to turn from their sins to obtain grace in Jesus Christ or to assure those who are practicing wickedness that they are safe from God’s wrath. The Apostle Paul would even go on to basically state right within Ephesians that they are surely not safe (in Ephesians 5:5-6).
When David wrote Psalm 119 he was writing of acceptable faith which rightly uses God’s law as the guide to express faith in Him.
Psalm 119:1-8: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.”
Is Ephesians 2:8-9 a statement that lets us off the hook from having the heart expressed in Psalm 119? Absolutely not. Yet many use it that way. That is proven by how they use these verses to defend themselves and others when they are told that living in wickedness as defined by the Bible will cause them to end up in hell if they do not repent and do works worthy of repentance.
While many have a twisted definition of morality which involves much sin in itself, it is also possible to trust in proper morality in a way that is opposed to a living faith in Christ. Someone might say “I provide for my family” as if that is enough to save them.
Ephesians 2:8-9 does not rebuke believing that you need to provide for your dependents in order to be saved.
1 Timothy 5:8: “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
Yet Ephesians 2:8-9 does rebuke anyone who believes that providing for their dependents makes atonement for their sins and those who believe they can just trust in Jesus to save them without submitting to Him in every area. You have to repent of living independently from the true God’s authority and seek atonement through the blood of Christ in that context. This means submitting to the Bible’s counsel and working accordingly. Those who have dependents whose needs they are already providing for do not need to repent in this area while those who are not neglecting their dependents are surely not walking in a faith in Jesus which saves. They surely need to repent of this neglect in order to do so.
Many churches teach people that they can work their way into God’s favor through rituals. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church teach that God’s grace is obtained by following their church’s prescribed sacramental system. Following either system or following another man-made religious system which rivals the Bible’s authority amounts to a vain attempt by man to earn God’s favor. Ephesians 2:8-9 rebukes such attempts. It does not rebuke diligently seeking to be in line with the Bible’s authority through one’s deeds like Abraham was subject to God’s commandments (see Genesis 26:3-5) nor does it rebuke believing that your salvation is at stake in relation to this since faith in the true God is exercised by acting upon His Word.
Hebrews 11:6-8: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 is indeed teaching that there was no way for Abraham and Noah to obtain grace and be saved unless they diligently followed God’s instructions. It is not teaching that Abraham and Noah could somehow be saved by grace through faith if they were to disregard doing so. It is a good thing that they did not listen to the multitude who use Ephesians 2:8-9 out of context.
So is Ephesians 2:8-9 typically used out of context? Absolutely. This brutal twisting of the Bible causes great confusion and militates against resolution to do what needs to be done in order to turn away from sin and walk well on the narrow way to life in order to be prepared to meet God. It needs to be communicated with no uncertainty nor contradiction that life in Christ is incompatible with continuing in transgression. There can also be failure to communicate this through a preacher’s bad example.
1 Corinthians 14:8: “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?”
Aaron’s email is: gospeltruth768@yahoo.com