Go! And Live By Grace Alone – The Gift You Could Never Earn - Ephesians 2:8–9 Series

Go! And Live by Grace Alone – The Gift You Could Never Earn - Ephesians 2:8–9

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NLT) – “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

Introduction – The Gift You Could Never Earn

Imagine standing at the gates of heaven and being asked, “Why should I let you in?” What would your answer be?

Some might say, “Because I’ve been a good person.” Others might say, “Because I went to church.” But the Bible is clear—none of those reasons are good enough.

If salvation were earned by good works, heaven would be full of people boasting about what they did. But heaven is filled with people praising what Jesus did.

Grace means that God gives us something we don’t deserve—salvation through His Son. Mercy means He withholds what we do deserve—eternal separation from Him.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8–9 words that changed history, that transformed hearts, and that define the very foundation of the Gospel:

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

Let’s unpack these verses word by word, because contained in them is the heart of Christianity—salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.

1. The Context: From Death to Life

Paul begins Ephesians 2 describing our spiritual condition before Christ:

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.” (Ephesians 2:1, NLT)

Spiritually dead. Not sick, not unwell—dead.

In Greek, the word nekros (?e????) means lifeless, powerless, without any ability to respond. That’s humanity apart from God.

We were not seeking Him; we were rebelling against Him.

But verse 4 says, “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much…”

That’s the turning point of history. “But God.”

It’s His grace that moves us from spiritual death to spiritual life. We contribute nothing but our sin; He contributes everything through His Son.

Charles Stanley once said, “Grace is the goodness of God to those who do not deserve it and cannot earn it.”

And that’s exactly what Paul is teaching here—salvation is a gift, not a payment.

2. “God Saved You by His Grace When You Believed” – Grace Defined

The Greek word for grace is charis (?????). It carries the idea of a free, unearned favour.

Grace is not God giving us a discount on sin; it is God giving us Jesus instead of judgment.

Titus 3:5 echoes this truth: “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

It’s not by our moral record, our family background, or our religious activity. It’s by His mercy alone.

Tim Keller said, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

That is grace—God’s unearned, undeserved, unbelievable kindness to sinners like us.

3. “And You Can’t Take Credit for This” – It’s All God’s Work

Paul makes it clear: “You can’t take credit for this.”

The verb in Greek carries the sense of “not out of yourselves.” Salvation doesn’t originate with you—it originates with God.

Romans 11:6 says, “And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.”

Grace and works are mutually exclusive as a means of salvation.

If we could earn salvation, Jesus would not have needed to die.

But at the cross, God did for us what we could never do for ourselves.

John Piper puts it this way: “Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned; grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.”

When you receive God’s grace, it doesn’t just save you—it transforms you.

The Gift You Cannot Repay

Imagine a man drowning in a river. He’s unconscious, sinking fast. A rescuer dives in, pulls him out, breathes life into him, and saves him.

When the man wakes up, does he say, “Did you see how I reached out my hand at the end? That’s why I’m alive!”?

Of course not. He knows he was helpless—and that his rescuer did everything.

That’s salvation. We were dead in sin, but Christ dove into the depths of death to rescue us. He didn’t throw us a life ring; He became our substitute. He gave His life so we could live.