Back to the Bible Daily Program #

Back to the Bible Radio Transcript
Series: Ephesians: Being a Christian Is Like Buying a Car, Week 1 of 2
Program Title: Included: Being a Person with Access
Dr. Woodrow Kroll
August 4, 2011
Woodrow Kroll: When we come to Christ, we become part of God's
handiwork.
Tami Weissert: But what does that mean?
Woodrow Kroll: We will find out in today's study. Hi, I'm Woodrow Kroll.
Tami Weissert: I'm Tami Weissert.
Woodrow Kroll: And this is Back to the Bible.
Tami Weissert: Being a Christian Is Like Buying a Car. Wood, that's your
title for this series.
Woodrow Kroll: Yes, I titled it that way to get us thinking about package
deals. If you go on-line to look for a new car, you will find most of them are
offered as a package deal. If you are looking for phone service, it comes
bundled. In fact, lots of things are marketed that way today.
So when you're shopping, you owe it to yourself to look at the details of the
package so you know that you're getting exactly what you want.
Tami Weissert: I am not a huge shopper, but when I do shop, I really
check things out because I want to make sure that I am getting the very
best deal.
Woodrow Kroll: Not a huge shopper, huh? But in your experience, tell us,
are there any great deals out there we ought to know about?
Tami Weissert: Absolutely. I can tell you with confidence that the most
complete, the sweetest deal out there is God's plan of salvation. First of all,
it costs us nothing, because Jesus already paid the price. And there are
some awesome benefits.
Woodrow Kroll: Yes. We have already talked about a few of those benefits
this week, including adoption into God's own family, the inheritance of His

2
kingdom, direct access to His wisdom. Today we're going to talk about yet
another benefit—becoming God's handiwork.
Tami Weissert: That takes us to a very powerful and important set of
verses, Ephesians 2:8-10. Let's find out what it means to be God's own
handcrafted work.
Woodrow Kroll: We are looking today at three of the most important
verses in the Bible, certainly in the Book of Ephesians, definitely in the
second chapter of Ephesians. You know two of them—Ephesians 2:8-9. You
have heard me say again and again on this program that you should never
quote Ephesians 2:8-9 without verse 10: "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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them."
I don't know if you noticed it or not, but in those three tiny, little verses
there are some real power words. There are some really gigantic words in
those verses. For example, "For by grace you have been saved."
The word "grace" is the Greek word charis. It simply means a merciful
kindness that you and I do not deserve. When God gives us His salvation, it
is the kind of grace that you and I don't deserve. We don't deserve His
salvation. We sinned against God. We deserve the punishment that sin
brings, but it's the grace of God that brings to us His merciful kindness—
kindness that you don't deserve, Friend, and kindness that I don't deserve.
There are so many of our wonderful hymns that sing about God's grace.
Julia Johnston's hymn is one of my favorites:
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.
The very first power word in this passage is the word "grace." When you
come to God in salvation, when you trust Jesus Christ as Savior, the reason
2

3
you can do so is because of God's amazing grace. It's His merciful kindness
to you, kindness that you do not deserve.
The second power word is also in that verse. "For by grace you have been
saved through faith." The word "faith" is the Greek word pistis. Faith means
a conviction of a truth, a belief in something or someone—you trust
someone.
Here it's saying that we are saved through faith. It is God's grace that brings
salvation to us, but it is faith that allows that salvation to become real in our
lives.
We know that God's grace is His gift to us, but what about the faith that we
need to believe? Is it also God's gift?
When it says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God." What does "gift" refer back to? "That not
of yourselves." What is "that" referring to? What is the antecedent, the word
to which the pronoun "that" refers?
There's quite a controversy in the Christian world today about what "that"
means. Greek scholar A. T. Robertson, commenting in his Word Pictures in
the New Testament, said, "'Grace' is God's part; 'faith' is ours."
Then he adds that since in the original language of Scripture (the Greek
manuscripts from which our Bible was translated) the demonstrative
pronoun "that" (or maybe "this" in your translation, it's the same word
actually) not of yourselves in verse 8 is neuter in gender and does not
correspond with the gender of word "faith," which is feminine, it does not
refer to faith but to the act of being saved by grace, conditioned on faith on
our part.
In other words, what he is saying is this: The grace is God's gift to us; faith
is our contribution to God's gift.
Although A. T. Robertson is a wonderful Greek scholar and I often find
myself agreeing with him, I have to disagree at this point. I think that
interpretation is wrong. Let me tell you why.
In the context, Paul places tremendous emphasis on the fact that from start
to finish we owe our salvation to God and to Him alone. It would be very
strange, wouldn't it, for Paul to say grace is God's part; faith is our part?
That doesn't appear anywhere else in any of the Pauline letters. But
salvation being totally from God appears everywhere. So when it says, "For
3

4
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,"
this "not of yourselves" I think is referring to the faith that is not of
yourselves. It, too, is the gift of God.
Secondly, it is true that the demonstrative pronoun "that" or "this" is neuter
and the word for "faith" is feminine. Every Greek scholar in the world knows
that pronouns in Greek don't always correspond in gender with their
antecedent.
Even Robertson in his Greek grammar points out that "It is only in general
that the demonstrative pronoun [and I'm quoting Robertson again] agrees
with its substantive in gender and number." ("Only in general.") So, it
doesn't always have to agree, and if it doesn't in this case, that's all right.
Besides, it's also a general rule that you look for the antecedent of a
pronoun (that is the word back before it that the pronoun refers to) in the
very close vicinity of the pronoun or the adjective that refers to it. In this
case, the word in the closest proximity, the word in the vicinity, is "faith."
"For by grace you have been saved through faith." And even that faith is not
of yourselves, Friend. It is the gift of God.
I believe that not only is the grace by which God saves us His undeserved
gift to us, but the faith by which we believe is also His gift. Our salvation is
from start to finish the work of the Lord and not of our own making. I agree
with Jonah: Salvation is from the Lord.
I said there are power words in this verse. "Grace" is a power word. "Faith"
is a power word. But what about that word "gift"? "For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
The word "gift"—doron—means a present, something that is offered without
any expectation of payment.
A gift requires a gracious donor. A gift requires an undeserving recipient. But
a gift, in order to be a gift, does not always have to be received. When you
give a gift to someone, assuming the gift is something of value, they may
choose to accept it or not, but it's still a gift from you. You are still a giver,
but they are the worse for not being a receiver.
God gives His gift of salvation, and it's of extreme value, Friends. He's the
Giver, but if you're not the receiver, if you refuse His gift, you're the loser.
God gives you a gift of salvation through His grace. He gives you the gift of
faith to believe in His salvation, and that gift is God's provision for you. If
you don't receive it, don't blame God. He's the Giver. You have to be the
receiver.
4

5
The next verse goes on to say that the gift of God does not bear on any kind
of works at all. He says, "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." The word "works" here is ergon. It means an act or a deed,
anything that's accomplished by hand.
Throughout the Bible people have always thought that they had to do
something in order to be saved. There was some work that they had to
perform. The rich young ruler, for example, came to Jesus and asked, "Good
Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17). The
Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas after that great earthquake, "Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30).
The whole concept that the world has of salvation today is that salvation is
something you do. But the Bible says just the opposite: "Not of works."
There's nothing you can do to earn your salvation, because if you did, then
you would boast about what you did to be saved. "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."
You know what people think they ought to do in order to be saved? I was
spending a few minutes last night thinking about this. Here's my top ten list
of the most popular works people think they have to do in order for God to
save them. Let me give them to you in top-ten fashion.
10. They think they have to give money to the church or to the poor.
9. They think they have to attend some sort of religious service like Mass
or Communion or worship or something.
8. They think they have to read their Bible and pray. (That will get them
saved.)
7. A lot of people think they have to keep as many of the Ten
Commandments as they can.
6. People think they have to live a moral life to be saved.
5. You have to have your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds. (That's a
popular one, isn't it?)
4. You have to be christened or baptized or splashed with something.
5

6
3. You have to do some sort of penance in order for God to receive you.
2. There are people who believe you have to go to church.
1. There are people who believe you just have to be a nice person, and
being a nice person is all that God requires for your salvation.
May I ask you something, my Friend, something personal? Did you find one
of your favorites in that list? Well, I have bad news for you. Any work you
do, anything you do, any act, any deed, anything accomplished by you is
unacceptable to God for your salvation. Salvation is not something you do.
It's something Jesus Christ already has done for you at Calvary. He died for
you. He paid the penalty for your sin. And now to receive God's gift of
salvation, you must believe that what Jesus did is all that God required and
trust Jesus to be your Savior instead of yourself. What He did, instead of
what you are currently doing. That's what the Bible says, Friends, and that's
what the Bible means.
Tami Weissert: You are listening to Back to the Bible with Bible Teacher
Woodrow Kroll.
Wood, I like the way that you have just explained "not of works." Basically,
it's all about what Jesus did. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything
that we do. If someone is listening today, and they have been relying on one
of those top ten issues that you just mentioned, and they are realizing for
the first time that they have never really put their faith in Jesus alone, would
you talk to them right now?
Woodrow Kroll: I would be happy to, Tami. The salvation that God
provides for you isn't complicated, but it does require faith—faith in God
providing salvation for you through Christ, and faith that He doesn't require
you to do anything except trust Him. If you have never done that before, if
you have never stopped trying to get good enough for God to receive you,
stop trying to be what you think He wants you to be. If you have said, "You
know what? I need to trust what Jesus did at Calvary to be all that God
requires," I would like to pray for you. And if you haven't come to that place
yet, I would also like to pray for you. Would you take just a minute and let
me pray?
Father, for those who are listening today and have been trying but they
haven't been trusting, help them to see, Lord, that You don't ask them to do
things to be saved. You ask them to believe that what Jesus did is all that
You required. And if they are still struggling with this whole issue of faith,
Lord, give them insight from Your Word that draws them to Yourself and
6

7
brings them to salvation. This is our prayer for them today, Lord. In Jesus'
name. Amen.
These are really power words, aren't they? They help us to understand that
salvation is a package deal. Like buying a car, when we come to Jesus Christ
as Savior, we get grace. We get faith. And verse 10 says we are His
workmanship. That's the next power word. Poiema is the Greek word. It
means "something that is created, or something that is made."
We are God's workmanship. That's a part of the package, Friends. When you
trust Jesus Christ as Savior, you become a work of God, and that's really a
work of art. We did not create ourselves as a child of God. He created us.
We are His piece of work, not ours. Since we are His piece of work, we're a
real piece of work, divine work, eternal work, God work.
Isn't it interesting? In verse 10 He says, "For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works." The word "works" there is exactly
the same word (ergon) as we found in verse 9. We are not saved by works,
but we are saved by grace. But once we are saved, we are created in Christ
Jesus. We are His workmanship so that we can work for Him.
Now we've crossed over the hump in salvation. We're on the saved side of
life. We're coming to salvation, coming to the cross of Christ. Works were
not at all helpful to us. In fact, for most people they are a hindrance. Works
could not help you become born again; only God can do that. That's what
verses 8-9 are all about.
But now that you have been saved, now that your are born again, born from
above, now you and I are told by the same apostle who told us that works
didn't contribute anything to our salvation to work out our own salvation
(Philippians 2:12).
Working for God is important, but it's only important once we're saved.
Working for God is useless until we are saved. Now that we're saved, now
that we're born again, it's the work that God does through us that gives us
purpose in life.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote from his prison cell that it was there, lying on
that rotting prison straw, that for the first time in his life he understood that
the purpose of life is not prosperity as they were made to believe. The
purpose of life is the maturing of the human soul.
Life becomes tragic, Friends, for those who have plenty to live on but not
plenty to live for.
7

8
But now that you have been saved, you have plenty to live for. This is kind
of like buying a car. It's a gift that God has given to you after you've been
saved, a package plan called salvation. And in there, Friends (it's all part of
the plan), is the opportunity for you to do something for God. That's the
grace of God again in your behalf.
The final power word (verse 10): "For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them." Peripateo—walk. Walk around. Make your way around life.
Making your way through life today isn't easy, Friends, unless you're a part
of the bigger plan, unless you're living according to a bigger plan.
God has big ideas for you. Making your way through life, working for Him—
that's a part of His big idea, His big plan for you. There are a lot of Christians
who are doing nothing, but there are no Christians who have nothing to do.
It's just like buying a car. God puts together a deal and He gives it to you as
a gift. All you have to do is receive that gift.
If someone gave you a new car, all the features listed on the sticker price in
the window would come with the gift of that car. Salvation is like that. Not
only is being adopted into God's family on the sticker, and receiving God's
inheritance and a whole lot more, but having a purpose to live is on the
sticker as well.
When you receive the gift of salvation, my Friend, you also receive meaning.
You receive purpose and direction for life. That's true because that's just the
kind of God He is.
Tami Weissert: Wood, this is so important but easy to be confused about.
Can you read that whole passage just one more time?
Woodrow Kroll: Sure. Listen to this: "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 ESV).
Tami Weissert: Before we're saved, don't worry about works. What we do
has nothing to do with salvation. But once we're saved, it's then that works
matter.
Woodrow Kroll: Right. We don't work to be saved, but when we're saved,
we're created to work. And this work simply means to serve the Lord Jesus.
8

9
Tami Weissert: So that we're clear, as a Christian living today, how do we
determine what works then we should be pursuing?
Woodrow Kroll: I think that's what the Spirit of God does for us. The Spirit
of God gives us gifts and He gives us abilities. That's God's choice, not my
choice, it's His choice. He gives you those gifts. But then you seek out
opportunities to serve Him based on those gifts. For example, I believe
God's gift to me is the gift to take what is complex and make it simple, easy
to understand. I didn't choose that gift. God gave that to me. But now I seek
out opportunities to use the gift, to find ways for God to use me in helping
others understand Him and His Word better.
Tomorrow we are going to talk about the package plan we call salvation and
the fact that you have access to the Father through that plan.
Tami Weissert: Here at Back to the Bible we're all about helping you
engage God's Word. That's receiving God's Word. In other words, reading or
listening to the Bible, then reflecting or contemplating on what you have
read, and then finally responding or putting what you have read into action.
That's three R's—Receive, Reflect and Respond to God's Word. It's a great
way to get to know God a little bit better. Be sure to tune in again tomorrow.
Woodrow Kroll: I hope you'll plan to join us. Thanks so much for being
here today. God bless you. I'm Woodrow Kroll. Have a good and godly day.
Scripture used in today's program was based on the New King James Version
of the Bible.
Copyright © 2011 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved
Back to the Bible | P.O. Box 82808, Lincoln, NE 68501 | 1-800-759-2425 | backtothebible.org
9