04/19/2026
GRACE AND SALVATION! …through Faith…
One of the most misunderstood doctrines of the Bible is "Salvation by Grace through faith", which now has been warped with the modern-day teaching of "Grace" that it now looks like nothing but disgraceful and reproach to Christianity.
What Grace actually reveals in God's Bible as Sin, worldliness, abominations and iniquity, that many of these modern-day preachers now for the fear of losing their members are so afraid to speak out against sin, and so hide under the "guise" of Grace, thereby making a disgrace out of the grace of God to mankind. How can? Rather than speak against sin, they engage themselves more on signs and miracles, and money seeking.
But the scriptures say seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto thee.
Howbeit, Isaiah 58:1 said, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." This is what God by His "Grace" does – HE REVEALS OUR LOST CONDITION AND SHOWS US THE WAY TO SALVATION. Grace DOES NOT sweep sin under the carpet of compromising due to complacency. Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! Rom 6:1. Even in the face of weakness in our flesh, by Grace we will acknowledge the rightness of God's Word.
If we truly have a relationship with God, from the beginning to the end it's ALL based on GRACE, the unmerited favor of a Loving God. The great plan of Salvation finds it's root in the GRACE of God. When man, because of his sin in the Garden of Eden, fell from favor with God, then Divine Love projected, Divine Grace provided the Promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15.
It was Grace before the Law; Grace during the Law because man without the indwelling Holy Spirit could not keep the Law. It’s Grace after the Law: and Grace gave the promise, Grace sent prophets and Messengers to keep us in line with the Word; and Grace sent our Messiah - Redeemer to pay the price for our sin and restore true fellowship with the Father again. Oh hallelujah, amen!
But now we found out that, when expounding the "Way of Salvation" most people OUT OF CONTEXT, refer to Ephesians 2:8, and then leaving men and women in their congregation, with the impression that being "saved by Grace" consists of 'accepting Jesus as their Savior, thereby giving Him "lip-service" once in a while, and continue living the same kind of lives they always lived in the past. Absolutely wrong and heretic!
The truth is that, in reality "Grace leads to a Salvation wherein Christ is the LORD" of the individual's life (Luke 6:46); and the individual becomes a “new creation in Christ, with a new spiritual nature which seeks daily to please the Lord Jesus Christ, asking for a daily measure of Grace to stay in line with the Word." 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Let's consider ALL of what Ephesians 2:8 says: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Many people quote only this first part of the verse: "By grace are ye save..."; but the full text says, "By Grace are ye save THROUGH faith". Therefore, Salvation is "BY Grace THROUGH Faith" The channel through which Grace operates is "Faith". Grace does nothing for us and can do nothing for us unless there is "Faith" there to receive AND believe what Grace offers. Therefore, God gives us the "Faith" to receive the free gift of Salvation which Grace offers. We don't deserve it but God, through His unmerited favor offers it to us. Paul, in Hebrews 11:6 shows how important faith is in our relationship with God: "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".
On the Day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:37-38, we see "By GRACE through Faith" in action. God by His Grace had drawn all these people together to hear the preaching of the Word that would give them the Faith (revelation) of Salvation. Peter preached onto the people the Revelation of Jesus Christ, expounding unto them the things that God was doing in their day and what God had accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. And as always, the preaching of the Word convicted the heart and conscience of the predestined sons and daughters of God. The Bible clearly says:
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked {convicted} in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
That's the question we all need to find the answer to: "What shall we DO to be saved?" Let us take note of Peter's answer:
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you [Jews], and to your children [Jews], and to all that are afar off [Gentiles], even as many as the Lord our God shall call [Jews and Gentiles]."
Peter was VERY SPECIFIC in his answer. He left no room for doubt or any more questions. Now, we see "FAITH" coming into play. By Grace [through faith] God reveals what He required of them and what He requires of us that we may enter into His Salvation - it is a "test" of the sincerity of our desire for Salvation - how far are we willing to go in our obedience to the Lord?
Peter said:
1. Repent {acknowledge and be sorry} for their sin and unbelief.
2. Be Baptized (by immersion in water), in the NAME of Jesus Christ.
3. Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost which makes us new creatures in Christ.
Grace provides the instructions, but it is left to us to obey. By faith we repent, believing in our hearts that God hears and forgives. By faith we are baptized in water in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, testifying before witnesses that we believe in and identify with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. If God recognizes our faith to be genuine, from the heart, He takes the third step and gives us the Holy Ghost, sealing us into His Kingdom. Praise the Lord for His Grace toward us!
Grace drew up the plan of Salvation; Grace provided a Savior in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ; Grace produced the preaching of the Word to draw us unto Christ, convicting us of our need of that Savior, and by Grace [through faith] it's revealed to us in the Word what we must do to "enter into" and become a partaker of the Salvation which Jesus Christ purchased for us with His own blood.
In plain and simple language, GRACE is "unmerited favor or treatment". Being born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psm 51), walking and living contrary to the Word and nature of God, we didn't deserve Salvation. But God, by Grace provided a plan to save those who wanted and wants to be saved. Then Grace THROUGH Faith 'reveals' the plan to our hearts and believing it, we walk in obedience to what's revealed to us. Heb 10:29 tells us that some [taking God's Word lightly] are guilty of insulting the spirit of Grace. It's important that we respect ALL of God's Word for it is "the goodness (grace) of God leadeth thee to repentance". (Rom 2:4).
Now we can see that, Salvation is a daily living life-changing experience between the repentant sinner and God. Beginning in time, and it climaxes in eternity. It's an experience that comes to the believer in three distinct steps or phases. (1) JUSTIFICATION; (2) SANCTIFICATION and (3) The BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST (the new birth). Every born-again believer will experience this in his/her life.