Understanding Grace and Works

For End Time Living

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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
--- Ephesians 2:8-10

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
--- James 2:14

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
--- James 2:26 NASB

The grace of God is His undeserved favor bestowed on those He has called to salvation through His love. (Ephesians 2:4–5)

It is His grace that saves us from sin.
Justification is the act of God declaring a person righteous through their faith in Jesus Christ.
We are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
--- Romans 3:24

"yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."
--- Galatians 2:16

"For we maintain that an individual is justified by faith distinctly apart from works of the Law [the observance of which has nothing to do with justification, that is, being declared free of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]." (Amplified)
--- Romans 3:28

The born-again Christian produces "fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

Salvation enables us to live "in the Spirit" and so truly perform good works (Galatians 5:16).

So then, although we cannot be saved by our good works, when we are saved, we will produce good works. When we are born again, we have a strong desire to please God which results in good works.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are freed from the controlling power of sin and empowered by the Holy Spirit to perform good deeds and live a righteous life.

Righteous living and abiding in Christ during the end times is crucial. We must not be found "naked" on the return of Jesus.

Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame." (Amplified version)
--- Revelation 16:15

We must choose to be courageous and give our testimony of our Lord. We cannot be cowards. (Revelation 21:8)
We must not be listed with the foolish virgins and let out testimony lamps go out. (Matthew 25:3)

Christ Took Our Punishment
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
--- Romans 3:21–28 NLT