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It is like a faithful manager of a business who knows that in order to run operations well, tasks must be delegated. However, there is a way in which God has already prepared for each individual believer work that is to be done. Paul tells us that since a Christian has been brought from death to life, there is work to do. Remember the teaching of the dog that was stated above? A dog barks because he is a dog. It is somewhat reminiscent of 2 Corinthians 5 when he speaks of the new birth and then leads his readers to the conclusion that they are ambassadors for God as a result. While much can be said about being saved by grace through faith, Paul does not end his teaching there. God is glorified when His people come to Him and thank Him for the great gift of Christ and the salvation that is freely offered through the cross. God desires the recognition that He is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. In other words, a proper understanding of God leads to praise.
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It has been said before that theology leads to doxology. The Scripture 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” (Eph. When God is responsible for the saving of sinners, He will receive the glory when it takes place. In this is grace, and in this, there is no room to boast. God needs to intervene by His grace to draw the believer to Himself. Paul informs his readers that in this state, the only hope that a person has is God. However, more importantly, spiritual death now plagued God’s creation. When Adam partook of the fruit, his days were numbered and the grave was imminent. God told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree and warned him that if he did, he would die. This spiritual death resulted from the disobedience of Adam in the garden. Paul makes it very clear that when someone is apart from Christ, he is in a state of death. However, it is as though Paul wanted to highlight the greater element of life by using a greater abundance of descriptive words. Paul used some scary words to describe the state of death. He says “but…”: God, rich in mercy, great love, he loved us even when we were dead in sins, quickened us, Christ, grace, saved, raised us up together, made us sit together in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus, grace, kindness, by grace are ye saved, faith, gift of God, not of works. So what comes next after the horrible picture that was just painted by the Apostle Paul? Paul uses the following words to describe what changes everything. It is placed between two thoughts and operates as a sign that informs the readers that what was said prior to the word “but” is being contrasted with that which comes afterword. One of the greatest words in all of Scripture follows this devastating claim that Paul is making concerning humanity: “but.” That’s right, “but.” “But” is used as a conjunction in the English language. Since he is given a new heart, he then begins to walk with God. However, when a person is saved, he is given a new heart. Instead, when someone is truly saved, it is not his own doing. Rather, the Christian is steadily growing in conformity to Christ, but it is not this conformity to Christ that saves him. While the Christian still finds himself being tempted by sin, and even sometimes behaving in ways he should not, this is not the overall direction of his life. Jesus shed His blood on the cross, and through His death, the Christian is given life. However, there was an event that happened 2000 years ago that changed the course of history. No form of law-keeping could ever undo what has already been done. He stands guilty before God because he has sinned against a holy and righteous Judge. So what is being said when someone says, “I am saved by grace,” when there seem to be so many times in the Scriptures when the Christian is commanded to perform good works? Simply put, the good works of a man can never atone for his sin.