Passage: Ephesians 2:10
Paul has spent a great deal of time speaking negatively of the role of works in our salvation. Now, in verse 10, we have a major shift. Works are now mentioned positively, as the very reason God saved us. To paraphrase Paul, we were not saved by works but we were saved for works. Our lives have a purpose, and that is to show God’s gracious handiwork in transforming us from children of wrath to trophies of grace. As one reformer put it, while we are saved by faith alone, the faith that saves is never alone.