Consider two important teachings of Scripture:
God’s grace – Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
And mankind’s responsibilities –
2 Cor. 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Now consider an illustration if you will. Suppose a young boy has failed a class. His teacher laid out requirements for passing, and he did not meet those requirements. He has earned a failing grade in this class.
Yet, suppose his teacher offers him the chance to pass. The teacher owes him nothing but decides to offer this for his benefit. The boy is told that in order to pass he must re-take his final test of the year and get each of the questions right. Otherwise, the failing grade he has earned will remain intact.
This story is not a like-for-like parallel of God’s grace and man’s responsibilities, but it illustrates the simple principle that just because something is offered as an unmerited gift does not mean nothing can be required to receive the gift.
The boy would be foolish to boast about his accomplishments in the class, considering that he earned a failing grade. Yet, he would also be foolish to think that because the teacher was graciously offering to pass him, this negated all responsibilities on his end.
This principle applies to God’s grace and man’s responsibilities. Mankind is foolish if he becomes boastful about his accomplishments in serving God. We have all grossly mistreated God at one point or another, and are thus deserving of eternal condemnation (Rom. 6:23). No number of good works can change this. Without God’s mercy, we cannot escape the wages of our sins, and without God’s grace, we cannot have eternal life through Jesus.
It would also be wrong though to think that since salvation is a gift of God, there can be nothing required of us to receive it. If we ignore our responsibility out of fear of contradicting Ephesians 2:8-9, we will miss what is necessary to receive the very salvation that is described in Ephesians 2:8-9.
God’s grace and our responsibilities do not oppose one another, but rather work “hand-in-glove.” Those who meet the responsibilities God gives us find favor with Him.
Christians who fail to meet our responsibilities can fall from grace (Gal. 5:4; cf. Heb. 12:15).
Those who stress God’s grace day-in and day-out are not “overemphasizing grace.” Yet, those who stress mankind’s responsibilities are not necessarily contradicting God’s grace.
We are saved by grace “through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). But we also bear personal responsibility to receive the gift of salvation (Heb. 5:9). God wants all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4), yet Jesus taught “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).
May we not under-emphasize God’s grace or man’s responsibilities. May we heavily emphasize both, recognizing that God’s grace gives us hope, but we are each responsible for working “out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
– Michael Hickox