The August 2026 DMW’s Monthly Website Update

This August 2026 Website Update for DMWs Website is a Bible Study on Ephesians 2:8-10. These 3 verses of Paul’s have been some of my favorite Scriptures for several years. I first became aware of the concept of Christians dedicating their lives to good works after they have been saved by faith, and not good works, when I first read N. T. Wright’s book Surprised By Hope in about 2008.

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Together, these verses contrast how someone is saved (grace through faith, not works) with what they are saved for (a life of service and good works).

This Scripture clarifies that while we are not saved by our good works, we are saved for them—designed anew by God to actively live out our faith. Several New Testament Scriptures echo this sentiment of faith naturally producing natural good. (Zondervan Academic)

·      Matthew 5:16: Jesus explicitly commands believers to let their light shine before others so they will “see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

·      Titus 2:14: Paul writes that Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us and to “purify for Himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

·      Titus 3:8: Paul instructs Titus to affirm constantly that those who believe in God must be “careful to maintain good works.”

·      Galatians 6:9-10: Believers are encouraged to “not grow weary while doing good” and to do good to everyone, especially to fellow believers.

·      James 2:17: James provides the definitive practical complement to Paul’s writings, stating that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

·      Hebrews 10:24: The author of Hebrews urges believers to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”

These Scriptures demonstrate a unified New Testament theme: good works are the natural fruit, proof, and purpose of a transformed life in Christ.

I found a beautiful description of the value of Ephesians 2:10 offered by Bible.org from the series Ephesians Lesson 15: Salvation and Good Works (Ephesians 2:10):

When it comes to the subject of “salvation and good works,” there are two serious errors that plague the church. One is that of Roman Catholicism, which teaches that in order to gain enough merit for salvation, we must add our good works to what Christ did on the cross. Under this view, you can never be sure whether or not you have been saved. [Roman Catholic’s would not agree with this characterization; they would say they teach that Jesus’s death is fully sufficient to atone for all sins. However, the church maintains that individuals must actively cooperate with this grace throughout their lives. This means that while faith alone is not enough, good works are the result of receiving God’s grace, not a way to earn salvation.]

The other error, which is more pervasive in evangelical circles, is that good works have no connection whatsoever with salvation. This view teaches that since we are saved by grace through faith alone, a person may believe in Christ as savior, but there may not be a life of good works to follow. A person may pray the sinner’s prayer and profess to believe in Jesus as his savior. Later he may profess to be an atheist and live in gross sin, but he will be in heaven because he made a decision to receive Christ. This view fails to realize that salvation requires God’s raising a sinner from death to life, which inevitably results in a changed life. It divorces repentance from saving faith and teaches that saving faith is simply believing the facts of the gospel. Submitting to Christ as Lord of your life may follow salvation, but it is not a necessary aspect of saving faith, according to this error.

Ephesians 2:10 succinctly answers both of these errors. Paul is explaining the previous two verses, where he has said that we have been saved by grace through faith, apart from any works on our part.

It is all a gift of God, so that he alone gets the glory. Now Paul further explains that genuine salvation is entirely of God and it inevitably results in a life of good works.

Paul clarifies in Ephesians 2:10 that while salvation is entirely of God, so are the good works that follow salvation. God has ordained the entire process. Just as we cannot claim any glory for ourselves in our initial salvation, even so we cannot claim any glory in our subsequent good works. God is behind the entirety of our salvation from start to finish. Thus he gets all the glory.

Note 5 things from Ephesians 2:10:

·      Genuine salvation involves a new creation that is entirely God’s doing.

·      Genuine salvation inevitably results in a life of good works.

C. H. Spurgeon, who firmly held the Reformed view of salvation, said, “We have been clear upon the fact that good works are not the cause of salvation; let us be equally clear upon the truth that they are the necessary fruit of it.”

3.        God prepared these works before he saved us.

But why does God add this phrase, that God prepared these good works beforehand? There are two practical applications. First, if God not only planned my salvation before the foundation of the world, but he also planned my good works, I have no grounds to boast in anything I do for the Lord. When you understand it properly, there is no more humbling doctrine than that of predestination. Second, the fact that God prepared these works shows that we are not to engage in our projects and good deeds, but rather to seek God for what he wants us to do.

4.     Although God sovereignly ordained these good works before time began, we are responsible to walk in them.

Walking in these good works which God has prepared for us implies a lifelong process. Once we are saved, the direction of our lives should be to walk on the path of obedience to God in everything. Also, walking in good works does not mean that we dabble in them in our spare time, when we don’t have anything better to do. We don’t “volunteer to serve” God when we get a little extra time on our hands. Rather, serving God becomes the bent of our lives every day in every situation.

5.    The good works that we walk in should be done in a corporate context.

Paul uses three words in verse 10 that point us towards this corporate aspect of these good works. “We, Workmanship, Created! Paul is pointing us to take action in the body of Christ. The practical application is that we need to learn to work together more closely in the local church. As members of the body of Christ, we need to think and work interdependently.

Conclusion

Having been saved, the focus of your life should be, “Lord, what will you have me do?” This is the end of the Bible.org piece.

Questions for the Bible Study on Ephesians 2:8-10:

     
1. When I think about the 2 errors described in the Bible.org paper above I view the seriousness of the two errors differently. While in the case of the Roman Catholic error what I don’t like is them thinking that what Jesus did on the cross was not enough and that we each have to add our good works to assure ultimate salvation. But as I inserted above the Roman Catholic church may not teach that at all. But as to the practical impact on individuals, we are all expected to spend our lives after salvation doing good works and that’s what the Catholic church does so it really doesn’t seem to adversely affect individuals that much, except their not knowing whether or not they have been saved.

But as to error 2 by evangelicals, that error could impact people very adversely. If you think you have been saved and can’t lose your salvation and start a sinful life, I believe you haven’t really been saved. We come to Christ, but he decides if we are sincere or not, and if we are not sincere then I don’t believe we are saved. Thinking that you have been saved and then falling into a sinful life should be a big clue that you need to sincerely repent.

What do you think about my reaction to each of these 2 errors?

2. One thing in particular I got out of the Bible.org piece is that the good works God prepared beforehand that I should walk in them, we cannot claim any glory in those subsequent good works and God gets all the glory. That is very humbling. But how do we discern which good works God prepared beforehand for us and which are our idea?

·      The idea of working with the body of Christ to find good works that God prepared for us corporately to work on is daunting. Although, I have had success in working with a small Bible study group in doing small projects together to help others. Have you had experience with corporately doing good works with others in the body of Christ?

·      Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Are you confident that you have been saved? If you have any doubt repent and ask Jesus for salvation. He will recreate you to be a new creation in Christ, who does the will of his Father.