Study Guide: Saved by Grace, as a Gift

The Good News · Study guide for Article 8 of 10 · 2026-10-28 · Full article: Saved by Grace, as a Gift, about 33 minutes of reading.

Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.

The Big Idea

The big idea: God saves by grace through faith in Jesus, as a gift and not as wages, and makes us his workmanship for good works (Ephesians 2:8–10; Galatians 2:16; Romans 6:23).

Read Aloud

But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

— Ephesians 2:4–10

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed. But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

— Romans 4:3–5

“We, being Jews by nature and not Gentile sinners, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law.

— Galatians 2:15–16

What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace. Be warmed and filled;” yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.

— James 2:14–17

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.

— Titus 2:11–14

Where We Stand

Scripture says

  • “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
  • Believers are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).
  • “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
  • “Now to him who works, the reward is not counted as grace, but as something owed.” (Romans 4:4). To the one who believes, “his faith is accounted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5).
  • “a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).
  • All have sinned, and those who believe are “justified freely by his grace” (Romans 3:23–24).
  • Peter said, “we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.” (Acts 15:11).
  • “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.” (James 2:17).
  • Grace does not give leave to keep sinning (Romans 6:1–2), and it instructs believers to live “soberly, righteously, and godly” (Titus 2:12).

We conclude

  • Our conclusion: grace, as Paul uses the word, is God’s favor given to those who have not earned it (Romans 4:4; 11:6).
  • Our conclusion: faith does not earn the gift but receives it (Romans 4:4–5, 16).
  • Our conclusion: obeying God’s call to repent, believe and be baptized does not put God in our debt (Romans 4:16; Titus 3:5; Luke 17:10).
  • Our conclusion: justified, in Romans 3–4 and Galatians 2, means counted righteous before God (Romans 4:2–6).
  • Our conclusion: the law cannot justify because everyone under it has sinned (Romans 3:19–20, 23; Galatians 3:10).
  • Our conclusion: Romans 2 states God’s standard truly, and Romans 3 shows that no one meets it under the law (Romans 2:6, 13; 3:19–20).
  • Our conclusion: Paul and James answer different errors, and neither says that works earn eternal life (Romans 4:2–5; James 2:14–24).
  • Our conclusion: eternal life is the result of a holy life, yet always a gift and an inheritance, never a debt paid for works (Romans 6:22–23; Titus 3:7; Romans 4:4).
  • Our conclusion: the grace that forgives is also the grace that trains (Titus 2:11–14).
  • Our conclusion: no outside power can take a believer from Christ, and a believer can turn away from him in unbelief and be lost (John 10:28–29; Hebrews 3:12–14).

The Hard Questions

  • If God commands us to repent, believe and be baptized (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Philippians 2:12), isn’t salvation a wage after all? See The strongest objection under God Saves by Grace, as a Gift, Not as Wages.
  • Doesn’t Paul say the doers of the law will be justified (Romans 2:13), and didn’t Jesus say to keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17)? See The strongest objection under No One Is Made Right with God by the Works of the Law.
  • Do works done in grace merit eternal life (James 2:24; Hebrews 6:10; 2 Timothy 4:8)? See The strongest objection under Faith Without Works Is Dead; Faith Works Through Love.
  • Can a gift, once given, ever be lost (John 10:27–29; Romans 8:39)? See The strongest objection under Grace Does Not Excuse Sin; It Teaches Us to Live.
  • Can a true believer fall away for good? See Whether a true believer can fall away for good under Questions Answered.
  • Is baptism necessary for salvation? See Whether baptism is necessary for salvation under Questions Answered.
  • Does the Sabbath bind believers, and which commands do? See The Sabbath, and which commands bind believers under Questions Answered.
  • Does salvation depend on settling every one of these questions? See Whether salvation depends on these questions under Questions Answered.

Discussion Questions

  1. In Ephesians 2:8–9, by what are believers saved, through what, and what is it not of? (See the opening.)
  2. How does Paul use the words grace and something owed in Romans 4:4–5? (See God Saves by Grace, as a Gift, Not as Wages.)
  3. What did Jesus tell the young man in Matthew 19:21, and what did he say in Matthew 19:26? (See the answer under No One Is Made Right with God by the Works of the Law.)
  4. Paul and James both quote Genesis 15:6. What does each use it to show? (See Faith Without Works Is Dead; Faith Works Through Love.)
  5. What does Romans 6:1–2 say to someone who thinks grace allows them to keep sinning? (See Grace Does Not Excuse Sin; It Teaches Us to Live.)
  6. Where might you be trying to earn what God offers as a gift? (See Living It Out.)

Hope

Paul writes, “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;” (Romans 5:1). “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1).

For the Leader

Allow about 45 minutes for one session. Read Ephesians 2:4–10 first, then Romans 4:3–5, Galatians 2:15–16, James 2:14–17 and Titus 2:11–14. Invite everyone to open and check each verse in their own Bible.

Full article: Saved by Grace, as a Gift
Series: All 10 articles in The Good News

© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/the-good-news/08-saved-by-grace-as-a-gift-study-guide/
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