How We Live Matters: Grace Alone and the Pursuit of Virtue

How We Live Matters

In the post linked above, I made the case that we must pursue virtue or we risk going to hell. And if you read it, you might have been led to question my orthodoxy. “Isn’t salvation by grace alone? Doesn’t Ephesians 2:8–9 teach this?”

I’ll start with the latter question.

Does Ephesians 2:8–9 Support Sola Gratia?

Sort of. Here’s the text:

The first word, “for” (γὰρ) means that this verse is logically connected to the prior verse. If we go all the way back to 2:5, we read a similar refrain: “You are saved by grace.” But more immediately prior, Paul says that “in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (2:7). And then he launches into the text under consideration.

“By grace” (χάριτί) is a dative feminine singular. “Through faith” (πίστεως) is a genitive feminine singular. “This” (τοῦτο) and “gift” (δῶρον) are both nominative neuter singular.

For “this” or “gift” to grammatically refer to either grace or faith, they would need to match case, gender, and number. All they match is number, which means that Paul is saying the whole process is a gift of God. This contrasts with works (ἔργων) of the law¹ that lead to prideful boasting (καυχήσηται).

As Chrysostom (Bishop of Constantinople from 386–407) wrote:

God’s mission was not to save people in order that they may remain barren or inert. For Scripture says that faith has saved us. Put better: Since God willed it, faith has saved us. Now in what case, tell me, does faith save without itself doing anything at all? Faith’s workings themselves are a gift of God, lest anyone should boast. What then is Paul saying? Not that God has forbidden works but that he has forbidden us to be justified by works. No one, Paul says, is justified by works, precisely in order that the grace and benevolence of God may become apparent!²

However, just like Ephesians 2:8 was logically connected to 2:7 by “for” (γὰρ), so is 2:10.

This verse concludes the thought of 2:7, by describing how the “immeasurable riches of his grace” are displayed “in the coming ages.” By Christian good works.

Interestingly, the Greek word for “works” in 2:9, and the word for “works” in 2:10 are the same word (ἔργον). The only difference is that in 2:10, the works that flow from faith are “good” (ἀγαθοῖς). This word specifically refers to “to meeting a relatively high standard of quality,” specifically, to being “useful, beneficial,” and “to meeting a high standard of worth and merit, good.”⁴

And this is where my prior post comes into play. Are we walking in the good works God has prepared for us? We will come back to this later, but it’s worth asking now.

The Bible makes it plain that we can quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), and disobey God (Hebrews 4:11; Titus 1:16). Thinking “once saved, always saved” does yourself no good if your life isn’t manifesting the fruit the Bible says a true believer should be manifesting.

John 3:16 literally says that “the one who is believing in him will not perish.” It’s not a question of whether you believed at some point in the past. And Scripture—especially Paul—is clear that our faith is proven by our love (Romans 13:10; Galatians 5:6, 14). So if you want to know if your faith is valid, God would ask you how your love looks. Galatians 5:6 specifically says, “Faith works through love.”

Is Salvation by Grace Alone?

I will discuss some Reformation writers on this topic in a future post, but for now it is worth noting that we need to understand the term “sola gratia” in context. When the Reformers spoke about “the five solas,” the solas worked together as a cohesive unit. They believed salvation was “by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone (solus christus), according to scripture alone (sola scriptura), to the glory of God alone (soli deo gloria).” To think grace alone means there’s no work to be done trivializes the work of the Reformers.

Carl Trueman, a Reformed scholar, authored the book Grace Alone in the Five Sola Series, edited by Matthew Barrett. He interestingly writes, “One of the odd things about the ancient church is that the existential struggle that seems to lie at the heart of Paul’s understanding of grace … is essentially absent from Christian writings prior to Augustine.”⁵ He goes on to explain that Polycarp, “second-century bishop of Smyrna, quotes Ephesians 2:8–9, but he does not give any further elaboration.”⁶

This is not quite true.⁷ If we look at Polycarp’s To the Philippians (likely written around 110–120), we read at the end of the first section:

I rejoice also that your firmly rooted faith, which was famous in past years, still flourishes and bears fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured for our sins, even to the suffering of death, “whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of Hades, in whom, though you did not see him, you believed in unspeakable and glorified joy,”—into which joy many desire to come, knowing that “by grace ye are saved, not by works but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.”⁹

Polycarp immediately follows this up by writing:

“Wherefore (διό) girding up your loins serve God in fear” and truth, putting aside empty vanity and vulgar error, “believing on him who raised up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him glory,” and a throne on his right hand, “to whom are subject all things in heaven and earth,” whom all breath serves, who is coming as “the Judge of the living and of the dead,” whose blood God will require from them who disobey him. Now “he who raised him” from the dead “will also raise us up” if we do his will, and walk in his commandments and love the things which he loved, refraining from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness, “rendering not evil for evil, or railing for railing,” or blow for blow, or curse for curse, but remembering what the Lord taught when he said, “Judge not that ye be not judged, forgive and it shall be forgiven unto you, be merciful that ye may obtain mercy, with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again,” and, “Blessed are the poor, and they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”¹⁰

The διὸ that starts this new section serves to draw a deduction from what came before.¹¹ Polycarp had previously mentioned the grace of God, and here he elaborates on that grace by giving multiple commands toward virtue and away from vice. He specifically writes, “‘he who raised him’ from the dead ‘will also raise us up’ if we do his will” before listing a slew of things that God loves: “refraining from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, false witness.”

In other words, the early church understood, probably better than we do today, that the grace of God exists to help us form virtue, to help our souls be formed in such a way that we choose what is pleasing to God, to help us love God and cling to him instead of the things he hates.

However, if we look more closely at some early patristic commentaries on Ephesians 2:8–9, it becomes clear where the seeds for the Reformation concepts of sola gratia and sola fide came from.

Jerome (lived c. 347–420) said:

Paul says this in case the secret thought should steal upon us that “if we are not saved by our own works, at least we are saved by our own faith, and so in another way our salvation is of ourselves.” Thus he added the statement that faith too is not in our own will but in God’s gift. Not that he means to take away free choice from humanity … but that even this very freedom of choice has God as its author, and all things are to be referred to his generosity, in that he has even allowed us to will the good.¹²

Chrysostom (lived c. 350–407) said:

So that you may not be elated by the magnitude of these benefits, see how Paul puts you in your place. For “by grace you are saved,” he says, “through faith.” Then, so as to do no injury to free will, he allots a role to us, then takes it away again, saying “and this not of ourselves.” Even faith, he says, is not from us. For if the Lord had not come, if he had not called us, how should we have been able to believe? “For how,” he says, “shall they believe if they have not heard?” So even the act of faith is not self-initiated. It is, he says, “the gift of God.”¹³

Fulgentius (lived c. 467–532) said:

The blessed Paul argues that we are saved by faith, which he declares to be not from us but a gift from God. Thus there cannot possibly be true salvation where there is no true faith, and, since this faith is divinely enabled, it is without doubt bestowed by his free generosity. Where there is true belief through true faith, true salvation certainly accompanies it. Anyone who departs from true faith will not possess the grace of true salvation.¹⁴

So yes, salvation is by grace—potentially even grace alone—though Paul (and myself) would caution: Do not receive God’s grace in vain! (2 Corinthians 6:1). As Caesarius of Arles (lived c. 470–543) asks:

What does it mean to receive the grace of God in vain except to be unwilling to perform good works with the help of his grace?¹⁵

First Clement 33:1–2 (likely written around 95–96) reads,

What shall we do, then, brethren? Shall we be slothful in well-doing and cease from love? May the Master forbid that this should happen, at least to us, but let us be zealous to accomplish every good deed with energy and readiness. For the Creator and Master of the universe himself rejoices in his works.¹⁶

Clement continues in 34:4,

He exhorts us therefore if we believe on him with our whole heart not to be lazy or careless “in every good work.”¹⁷

This language echoes the letter to Titus:

“He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager [or “zealous”] to do good works” (2:14, emphasis added).

Even Augustine (lived 354–430), the champion of Reformation grace, wrote this in The City of God, one of his last writings:

Pretending to worship God, they do not do what worship calls for. Not that God, the Father of all, needs anything, but it is to our good to worship Him by justice, chastity, and the other virtues, making our whole life a prayer built on seeking him and walking in his footsteps. Seeking purifies, and following divinizes, our affections, by making Him their object. This is, indeed, splendid praise of God the Father and a fine statement of the kind of life a man is commanded to live in His honor; and of such praise and such precepts the Jews’ prophetic books are full, wherever holy living is mentioned.⁸

Jesus and Virtue vs. Grace Alone

We call ourselves Christians, so we should follow our Lord and Savior above all else. What did he say on this topic?

In Matthew 25, we see a portrait of the final judgment. Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, though how much direct responsibility he takes for the separation is up for debate.¹⁹ When the verdict is rendered, those receiving the verdict ask why. Jesus doesn’t point to their faith. He doesn’t say, “I chose you.” Rather, he says:

“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me. …  I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”

Matthew 25:35–36, 40, HCSB

Jesus identifies with the poor. He identifies with the hungry. He identifies with the thirsty. He identifies with the naked. He identifies with the stranger. He identifies with the sick. He identifies with prisoners.

What do you think of these people?

Jesus says that your answer to that question is what you think of him.

This is why James could define religion like this:

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:27, HCSB

In the Greek, there is no “and” (where I italicized it above). It’s not like you can choose to avoid worldliness OR serve the poor and downtrodden to be right with God. James makes it clear that we keep ourselves unstained by the world by using our income to help the less fortunate, proving we do not love money more than God. God is the one we serve when we serve the poor, the hungry, the stranger.

You and Virtue

So there are two threads in the early church. There is a recognition of God’s grace and our inability to do works that please God. But there is also a recognition that God wants us to do good works, and not only that, but he expects us to do them.

I’ll leave it to Part 3 (might be a couple months out) to look at Reformers and Puritans on this topic, but the ancient Christians—not to mention God incarnate himself—are clear:

If you attribute good works to God’s grace, but you never step out in faith and practice good works, your faith isn’t working and God’s grace is being handicapped in your life.

Our good works are God’s grace and love toward others. If you refuse to step out in faith and good works, you’re hindering God’s grace in someone else’s life. Simply preaching at people, though, is not a “good work” being discussed here.

Just like Paul vehemently stated that we are not to continue in sin so that grace might increase (Romans 6:1–2), he would also tell the church today that we are not to neglect virtue because grace can’t be increased. Notice Paul never said grace couldn’t be decreased.

In this with you.

Thanks for reading.

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Notes and References

1. See discussion in Markus Barth, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1–3, AB (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 244–248: “There appears to be some resemblance between the opponents fought in Eph 2:9 and those refuted in Galatians, Philippians, and Romans. Therefore the ‘works’ of these opponents can be more clearly defined as ‘works of law’ to which meritorious value was attributed, rather than as human works in general” (244). ↩︎
2. Chrysostom, Homily on Ephesians 4.2.9, cited in M. J. Edwards, ed., Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, ACCS (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 134. ↩︎
3. Many translations render this better as “workmanship” (e.g., NIV, CSB, NASB, ESV, KJV). An especially helpful translation is the NLT, which renders as “masterpiece.” If the Greek word was κτισις, the same root as the participle κτισθέντες, it would make more sense to translate as “creation,” but here we have ποίημα, which is linguistically related to the English “poem.” ↩︎
4. BDAG, 3. ↩︎
5. Carl R. Trueman, Grace Alone—Salvation as a Gift of God, 5 Sola Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 53. Emphasis added. ↩︎
6. Ibid., 53. ↩︎
7. In fact, it unfortunately looks like a blatant case of ignoring a counter argument so your own argument stands more stable. Surely he didn’t think that Polycarp put the section break there himself to indicate a new section (and brand new thought) was starting with the following sentence? ↩︎
8. Polycarp, To The Philippians 1.2–3. Emphasis added. Translated by Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, The Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1912). ↩︎
9. Polycarp, To The Philippians 2.1–3. Emphasis added. Translated by Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers. ↩︎
10. Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 673. ↩︎
11. Jerome, Epistle to the Ephesians 1.2.8–9, cited in M. J. Edwards, ed., Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, ACCS (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 133. ↩︎
12. Chrysostom, Homily on Ephesians 4.2.8, cited in M. J. Edwards, ed., Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, ACCS (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 134. ↩︎
13. Fulgentius, On the Incarnation 1, cited in M. J. Edwards, ed., Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, ACCS (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 133–134. ↩︎
14. Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 126.5, cited in Gerald Lewis Bray, ed., 1–2 Corinthians, ACCS (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 254. ↩︎
15. Translated by Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers. ↩︎
16. Ibid. ↩︎
17. Augustine, City of God 19.23. Emphasis added. Translated by Gerald G. Walsh and Daniel J. Honan, The City of God, Books XVII–XXII, FC (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1954), 240–241. ↩︎
18. R Zachary Manis, Thinking Through the Problem of Hell: The Divine Presence Model (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2024), 91: “The presence of the saints will be a source of torment to the damned. Insofar as the righteous have been formed into the image of Christ and fully reflect his glory in the new creation, their presence intensifies the suffering of the wicked. Moreover, it’s a common part of human experience that whenever we feel guilty or ashamed of ourselves, we want to avoid the company of others, in particular those whom we recognize (on some level) to be morally superior and whose judgment we dread” (emphasis in original). ↩︎