For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Now that we have gone through the previous verses, you can see the context for verse 8 which many of us have memorized. The verse starts with “For.” It’s connected to what has gone before. We memorize it as a stand-alone or with verse 9, but it belongs with the previous verses. He is explaining the grace part of the previous several verses related to God’s purpose in demonstrating the glory of God.
It is by grace we have been rescued. God’s rescue of us and lifting us up out of the miry pit and placing us on the solid ground of salvation is totally and completely by grace.
God has extended favor toward us, and that favor and kindness are not related in any way to any good we think we may have done. It is not a reward or a benefit, or a response to our goodness. It is a totally unmerited blessing given from the generous hand of God by grace.
We receive this gift by faith. That means by believing. God has announced the good news of the gospel that Jesus came to pay the penalty for all of our sins when He died on the cross. Believing this and trusting God with His promise to save and forgive, is the way this grace is received. Salvation is not a reward for believing. It is freely offered, and the way we take advantage of it is by believing it.
And all of this is not of ourselves. It is not of our own doing. Our new birth is not by the will of man, but by the will of God (John 1:12-13). It is a gift. And you don’t work for a gift.
Verse 9 goes on to tell us it is not of works. Works give us an opportunity to boast: I was smarter than you in taking God’s offer of salvation; I was more faithful in obeying God; I went to church more; I paid more attention to my BIble reading than you; etc.
But salvation has nothing to do with any of that. It is a gift of God, period.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:43 PM November 4, 2020.