Word for Word 2/14/24

Grace Alone

Sometimes people ask me what Lutherans believe. That’s a good question. I normally begin by saying, just as there are many different types of Christians, there are also many different types of Lutherans. Our church is a Confessional Lutheran church, which means that we hold to the teachings expressed and confessed during the Lutheran Reformation in the 1500s. Yet these teaching were nothing new even at that time. They were the same teachings taught in the Bible and believed by the Apostles. A good summary of the Lutheran Confessions could be made with three important teachings from the Reformation - which are sometimes referred to as the three Solas. They are: Grace Alone, Scripture Alone, and Faith Alone.  Today, I want to talk to you about what it means to believe that we are saved by grace alone.

A simple acronym serves as a good explanation for what the word grace means. G.R.A.C.E: God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. God gives you riches, heaven itself, and you didn’t pay for or earn it - Jesus did on the cross. God’s riches at Christ’s expense.

Many people believe that religion is a deal we make with the Almighty. I’ll do this for you, God, if you do that for me. They think that if they live a morally good life, help their neighbor, support the church, they will be shown favor by God. Almost like a business contract - if I hold up my end of the deal, then God will hold up his. This makes religion into a burden and drudgery. It either leads people to pride or despair. Some people become prideful because they think they do so much for God. Sort of like the Pharisee in the Temple who prayed, “Lord, I thank you that I am not like other people.” Or it leads to despair, because people realize that they cannot live up to the perfect demands of the law. No matter how hard we try, we often do the things we shouldn’t and don’t do the things we should, as Paul explains in Romans 7.

But the truth is, religion is not a deal we make with God. We are not saved by our efforts - the Bible teaches something different. We are not saved by what we do for God, but by what God has done for us! This is hard for many to believe - everything in this world depends on us and what we do. But thankfully, that is not the way God works. Listen to these words from Ephesians 2, “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 Apostle Paul makes it emphatically clear that we are saved by grace alone, without our works or efforts. And what a comfort that is! For if we were saved by our devotion to God or for our perfect love to our neighbor, we would be in constant doubt and wonder as to whether we have done enough.

But God doesn’t put doubt on salvation. You are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus. What a relief! What a comfort! Jesus went to the cross to suffer and die, nailing our sins to the cross so that we could have a sure hope of heaven!

None of us deserve to be saved. We have all sinned as Scripture says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” but thankfully the verse continues, “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24).

Our dear Lord Jesus came into this world to redeem us - to save us. He lived a perfect life for us, and he took the punishment that we deserve for our sins. He died on the cross so that we could be forgiven and have the hope of everlasting life in heaven. And he freely gives us this salvation by grace alone.

To know that we are saved by grace alone is the greatest news in this world. May God grant you peace and joy to know that you are saved by grace and grace alone!

Pastor Abraham Faugstad
King of Grace Lutheran Church ELS, Waukon and Trinity Lutheran Church