What does Ephesians 2:8-9 mean?

Posted on by genesistorevelation316

Ephesians Chapter 2:8-9

“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.”

Have you ever come across this verse or perhaps someone has given this verse to you (e.g Eph 2:8-9)? Are you wondering what it means? Then read on.

Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to Earth to die on the cross, to save the world from it’s sins.

However, many people think that salvation is by faith plus good works, i.e, turning away from your sins.

However, this is NOT true. God, knowing human nature, made it easy for us to become saved. You see, salvation is by faith alone.

You should still turn from sin, because it is evil. As Ryan put it, “If a person continues to live in sin after they are saved, yes they are saved, but they will be under God’s discipline until they turn from it.”

This brings us back to the question “What does Ephesians Chapter 2:8-9 mean?”

Well, it means what you read.

“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.“

Has anyone ever given you a gift? Did you need to earn it? No, you probably didn’t. Did you need to keep it by doing good works? No.

If a boy was to say, “Dad, if I do the dishwasher, or walk the dog, or clear the table, can I stay as your son?” the father would say, “Son, you’re already my son, and you don’t have to do anything to stay as my son! A son is a son is a son, you can’t change that.”

We are all God children because we have been saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot do anything to earn or lose our salvation- we are the sheep and Jesus is the Shepherd.

Have you become Born Again after reading this? If so, leave a comment. God bless!

P.s: remember, God loves you.

13 thoughts on “What does Ephesians 2:8-9 mean?”

  1. Hello brother. Yes, a person can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. There are no works that could ever save us. However, when you equate turning from your sins (that is repentance) with works, that is incorrect. You said: “However, many people think that salvation is by faith plus good works, i.e, turning away from your sins.”

    Telling people to repent, meaning to change your mind about your sins, is not telling someone to try to work their way to Heaven. Telling people to repent means to turn from their sin and turn to Jesus. That is why Jesus Himself said to “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near” in Matthew 4:17. People need to understand that they are sinful (Romans 3:23). It is not adding a requirement for salvation. That is not what Jesus was doing when He told people to repent. He was telling people to turn away from sin and turn to Him to be saved.

    Christ died for us that we would die to sin and live for righteousness.
    “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
    1 Peter 2:24

    We most definitely need to turn away from our sins! Don’t ever tell people they don’t have to turn away from their sins. You don’t come to Jesus and stay in your sins. Once you believe in Jesus, He fills you with the Holy Spirit and empowers you to live righteously (Ephesians 1:13-14). If you continue to live in your sins and you don’t turn away from sin, then God will discipline you until you submit to His will (Hebrews 12). Do not test the Lord by telling people they don’t have to turn away from sin. That is a completely incorrect understanding of the Word of God. To repent means to change your mind about sin, meaning go the opposite direction away from sin.

    Let me know if you have any questions brother. Be careful in how you handle God’s Word. Jesus Himself told us to repent and He died for us, so we would die to sins and live for righteousness. Do not argue with Jesus and His Word.

    Grace and peace to you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Ryan. Yes, I do agree with you that people should turn from sin, because it’s a bad thing. Amen to that. However, it is not a requirement for salvation. As the website jesusisprecious.org puts it, “No where in the Holy Scriptures are we commanded to “turn from your sins” to be receive the free gift of eternal life. Romans 4:5-6 plainly teaches that a man’s faith is COUNTED (IMPUTED) for righteousness, so that no works are needed. The meaning of “repentance” promoted by modern English dictionaries is completely different than the Biblical Greek meaning of “repentance” (which simply means, “a change of mind” or “to think differently”). The modern English dictionary defines the word “repent” as “to turn away from sin or do penitence; to feel sorry for, feel contrite about, remorse for your past conduct.” This is not the Bible meaning, which is very important to understand, lest you go to Hell and lead others into Hell with a false Gospel. Obviously, the Roman Catholic church has had a large influence on the modern English meaning of “repent.” ”

      Galatians 2:16 clearly states ““Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

      If a person has to “turn from sins” to be saved, then salvation becomes a reward, because human effort is required, which negates “the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

      Turning from sin is one of the fruits of salvation, not a requirement.

      Repentance is feeling deep sorrow for all the sins you commit.

      Romans 10:13

      “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

      John 3:16

      “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

      Here’s some useful links:

      https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/is-repentance-a-requirement-for-salvation/

      http://www.jesusisprecious.org/false_doctrine/lordship_salvation/turning_from_sins_is_not_part_of_the_gospel.htm

      http://www.lovethetruth.com/false_doctrine/lordship_salvation/wrong_on_repentance.htm

      I hope you understand what I’m saying. God bless!

      Love

      Tom.

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      Reply

      1. Brother, was Jesus preaching a false Gospel when he told people to repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near? I think you are misunderstanding me and the word repentance. I know what the Greek word for repentance means. It is Metanoia and it means to change your mind or a change in the inner man. I never said repentance was a work for salvation. That is your misunderstanding. Telling people to repent is a call to action to turn to Jesus. It is not adding works to salvation. I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. I am not leading anyone to hell or preaching a “false gospel” as you say and I rebuke you if that is what you think about me. Telling people to stay in their sins is a false gospel bro.

        Yes, we are justified by faith alone in Jesus alone and that is what I have preached since I got saved when I was 18 in 1996. Repentance is not a work. It is a decision of our free will to turn to Jesus. Yes, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live righteously after we are saved and any good works we do are for His glory and not our salvation. We cannot earn our salvation and repentance alone will not save a person. God’s kindness leads us to repentance, which leads to salvation by faith in Jesus (Romans 2:4).

        I in turn hope you understand what I am saying. You are wrong in saying repentance is the same thing as works. Again, when Jesus called people to repent He was telling them to turn away from sin and turn to Him.

        Grace and peace to you brother

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes, repentance is not a work- not at all. I’m sorry if I wrote my reply saying that repentance is a work- I didn’t mean it for it to say that. Please forgive me for any misunderstanding. 🙂

        I am not saying that people should stay in their sins- that’s bad! People should turn away from evil because it’s, well, evil.

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Amen to that! Sorry for ANY misunderstanding Ryan- please do forgive me. Here’s a summery of how I believe you get saved:

        Salvation is by Grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Once we’re saved, nothing, no not even sin, can pluck us out of the Father’s Hand. This means that turning from sin is not necessary for salvation. Turning from sin is a fruit and we should all turn from it because it is evil and displeases God.

        Repentance is just a change of mind, not a change of ways. However, we should still turn away from sin, even if it isn’t necessary for salvation.

        Like

      7. Ok, we kind of agree, but not totally. There is still a misunderstanding about repentance. It doesn’t just mean a change of mind. It also means “a change in the inner man,” which means changing your ways and yes, your lifestyle. If a person refuses to turn from sin, then how will they ever turn to Jesus to be saved in the first place? Repentance is not adding works to salvation, but it is necessary for a person to turn to Jesus in the first place, so they can put their faith in Him. Remember, repentance leads us to salvation. And yes, nothing can snatch us out of His hand once we are saved, but we don’t willfully stay in sin after we are saved. Repentance is most definitely a change of ways. A change within our inner man is a deep profound change within our hearts, minds, and souls and that is exactly what Jesus was saying when He told people to repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near.

        We both believe what Jesus said in John 3:16 and what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 10:9 regarding salvation. We just can’t seem to agree on the word repentance.

        Hopefully my post will help.

        God bless you Tom!

        Liked by 1 person

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