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equally is a true and faithful sayings of Paul. "By grace are ye saved. . . . not of
works" is the true and faithful saying which is worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. "Created in Christ Jesus unto good works" is the
faithful saying which the apostle willed that Titus should constantly affirm, that they
which had believed God should be careful to maintain good works. The fact that we are
not under the law but under grace, instead of being an argument against good works, is an
argument quite in their favour. For how could we, under the law, and under the dominion
of sin, produce good works at all? This is the teaching of Rom. 6: 11-14, "Likewise
reckon ye yourselves dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ".
What is to be the result of this? Shall such a mighty change have no effect and
produce no results?
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust
thereof, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but
yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto God, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye
are not under law, but under grace."
Grace which excludes works includes them; it just depends upon where we attempt to
introduce them. That makes the difference. Those who are "alive from the dead", and
therefore "under grace", have the peculiar privilege of CHOOSING THEIR MASTER.
They had no choice under the dominion of sin. His delivered ones can now yield their
members to sin, or to God. Difficult and even "dangerous" as the outworking of this
doctrine may be, truth it is, and it is needed to make our gospel complete. The
righteousness of the law could not be fulfilled in those who walk after the flesh, but what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His Son,
Who delivered us from sin, united us with Himself in His death and resurrection, with the
object that now the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the spirit.
We have not finished with Eph. 2: 9, 10, and must return to the verses again; all that
we have done in this paper is to press upon the reader's mind the scriptural doctrine
contained in the words, "NOT OUT OF WORKS. . . . but UNTO GOOD WORKS".
May the Lord be glorified by much fruit.