Why Your Good Works Won't Save You

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

As we continue our study of Ephesians, we come across a passage most Christians know by heart. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). But first, a little background on the Ephesians and why Paul was spending so much time instilling in them the knowledge that they are loved by God and saved.

Ephesus was the centre of idol worship and the occult in the ancient world. Much of its commerce stemmed from the worship of Artemis, also known as Diana. Yet Artemis was not the only idol worshipped in Ephesus. There were over fifty other idols as well. This was why Ephesus was so wealthy. It was the centre of travel and commerce in the Roman world. In fact, at one point, those merchants who profited off the sale of idols were enraged at Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's travelling companions from Macedonia. A mob formed and dragged them into the theatre to exact vengeance because too many people believed in Jesus, and their businesses suffered because of it (Acts 19:23-41).

There were two kinds of people residing in Ephesus, pagans and Christians. There were Jews living there too, but they were almost completely Hellenized, embracing the gods of the city. So those who became Christians came out of this pagan lifestyle. They had worshipped idols and they would have dabbled in the occult. They would have been sexually immoral and drunkards. Yet these men and women repented of their sins and served the Lord with a holy zeal. However, they based a lot of their beliefs on good works, believing that they had to make amends or try to "work" their way into heaven to make up for their former decadent lifestyles. They struggled to accept that they were saved because of their faith in Christ alone. This is why Paul spends so much time reminding them of who they are in Christ.

Sometimes, new believers also need reminders of who they are in Christ and how much God loves them. So today, I want to show you, through Paul's letter, what has happened to you now that you are saved.

Who You Were Before Jesus​

• You were dead in trespasses and sins - In other words, you were without life, unaware that your sins separated you forever from fellowship with God.
  
• You walked according to the course of this world - You followed the crowd or the ways of this world, even when your conscience urged you not to. Your values came from the approval of others. God was entirely out of the picture.
  
• You walked according to the prince of the power of the air - Who is this "prince" Paul speaks of? In Hebrew, the word for "prince" is sarook, and it has many meanings, “prince, ruler, chief, captain, leader,” and quite a few other forms of leadership. It can be  in reference to an earthly leader or an unearthly one, as we see in Daniel 10:13, where the archangel Michael is referred to as the “chief of princes.” But the word sar is also used about the prince of darkness or Satan. By referring to the "prince of the power of the air," Paul was using the Ephesian's knowledge of the occult to drive home a point about who they were really listening to because the term "air" was used in the ancient world to refer to spiritual realms where demons operated in the lives of people who refused God’s authority. Of course, Jesus disarmed Satan and his demonic army, stripping them of their power, when he rose from the dead. But Satan still has limited power over "the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2), also known as fallen angels or demons, whom he uses to spread his lies. He also has limited power over unbelievers and the world system in the unseen world. As evidenced in Job 1:6-12, when Satan comes before the Lord to give an account of what he has been doing. In Job, we learn he must seek God's permission before he can do anything at all. But we must never forget that he is a fallen angel, someone whom God has allowed a limited amount of freedom on earth. So we see evidence of Satan’s influence around us: hate, war, murder, injustice, exploitation, abuse of power, racism and moral disintegration.
  
• You once conducted yourself according to the lusts of your flesh - Before Christ, we all acted upon our passions, fulfilling, as Paul states, "the desires of the flesh and mind." 
  
• You were a child of wrath - In other words, you were not living for God. You were in danger of receiving eternal punishment (separation) from Him.
  

Who You Are Now in Jesus​

• You are alive in Christ - You are no longer dead, because God loved you so much that He extended His rich mercy towards you WHILE you were still living in sin (dead in your trespasses).
• You have been saved by grace - Don't you see? You did absolutely nothing to merit your salvation! God DID IT ALL before you even acknowledged Him. Before you repented of your sins, He extended mercy and grace to you and saved you from the darkness of eternal separation (or death) from Him.
• He raised you up - The Lord reached down to you, saw your sin, extended His hand and lovingly said, "Come to Me!" And once you reached out and grasped His hand and said, "Here I am!" He brought you up to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In other words, for now, God sees you as spiritually exalted with Jesus Christ. But one day, that position will become a physical reality as well. Why? So "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).
• You have been saved through faith - and even that was a gift from God! "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• You are God's workmanship - One of the most precious parts of Ephesians 2:10 is not found in the NIV. This is how the NIV reads, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." This is how it reads in the NKJV, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." In other words, now that we are in Christ we should make the most of our opportunities to do good to others in His name. We are not saved by our good works, we do good works because we are saved.

So this is why we have no reason to boast about good works. Clearly, we have done nothing to merit our salvation and any good works we do, come about because we love the Lord. And one of the best "works" each Christian has had prepared beforehand by God to do, is to tell others about Him. So you can see that trying to "work" your way into heaven is pointless. You can do absolutely nothing by yourself that would make you redeemable in God's eyes. Only Jesus' sacrifice for you can do that. And that was a gift of grace.