Tag: Ephesians 2:8-9

The Rest Jesus Offers

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

JEFF TURNER

Matthew 11:28 records Jesus inviting the weary and burdened to come to him for rest. This rest is not simply physical relief but the end of a much deeper struggle. Many spend their lives searching for truth, fulfillment, and peace. Others, like the Jews of Jesus’ day, labour under heavy religious demands, trying to earn God’s favour through rules and rituals.

Jesus offers something different. When a person comes to him in faith, the exhausting effort to achieve salvation ends. The weight of trying to be good enough is lifted, replaced by the peace that comes from God’s grace.

This rest is freedom. It is freedom from the need to prove oneself to God and freedom from the endless search for meaning. Salvation is a gift of God, not the result of works. In Christ, the soul finds the true rest it has been seeking.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9

Faith That Shows Through Actions

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

JEFF TURNER

The second chapter of James raises a question that some people struggle with. James 2:21 asks if Abraham was made right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. A few verses later, James says that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. At first glance, this might seem to suggest that salvation comes through what we do.

However, the wider message of the Bible makes it clear that salvation is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so no one can take credit for it. This teaching appears throughout the New Testament and aligns with what the prophet Habakkuk wrote: “The just shall live by faith.”

So what did James mean? The key lies in understanding that James is not contradicting the message of salvation by grace. Instead, he is showing that real faith produces visible results. Abraham’s willingness to obey God, even in offering his son, revealed the depth of his faith. His actions were evidence of an inward change. His acts were the result of his faith.

The way we live proves whether our faith is genuine. True faith will always lead to faithful living.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12-13