Brother, that’s as strong as you can get on the grace of God, and that was taught fifty years ago in the church. And then, some man comes along and talks about, “We haven’t been talking about grace”? Somebody hasn’t been listening! We’ve been talking about grace all the time, since Genesis, the 6^th chapter, and verse 8, when the Bible says that, “Noah found grace in the eyes of God.” ALL Gospel preachers are teaching the grace of God.

So, that defines grace. We’re all saved by the grace of God. Without the grace of God, we’d all be lost.

And then, the word “faith.” Well, there’s only one faith, but there are degrees of faith. For instance, in Matthew, the 6^th chapter, and verse 30, read about “little faith.” In Matthew, the 10^th chapter, and verse 8, read about a “great faith.” In Romans, the 15^th chapter, and verse 1, read about a “weak faith.” In Romans, the 4^th chapter, and verse 20, read about a “strong faith.” So, there’s a great faith, a weak faith, a strong faith….

So, the question is, what kind of faith is Paul talking about in Ephesians 2:8, when he says, “For by grace are you saved through FAITH”? He’s talking about a faith that LEADS one to obey God! That’s a strong, active, obedient faith!

In Hebrews, the 11^th chapter, and verse 7, it says [that] by faith Noah built the ark. Well, if someone should ask me, “Brother Black, how did Noah build the ark?” Why, I’d say, “He built the ark by faith.” But if we want to know how Noah built the ark by faith, we turn to the book of Genesis and read that he worked for many, many years in building the ark, and yet, when Paul wrote about it, he just simply said [that] he built the ark by faith.

In Hebrews, the 11^th chapter, and verse 17, it says “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son….” How did Abraham do it? Paul says, “By faith Abraham…offered up his son.” But if we want to know how Abraham offered up his son by faith, we would turn to Genesis, the 22^nd chapter, and we’ll see that Abraham left home early in the morning; he traveled for three days; he finally came to the foot of Mount Moriah; he said to his servants, “You men tarry here while my son and I go yonder and worship.” He goes so far as to bind his son upon the altar. He takes that rough, callused hand, picks up that knife, and pulls his arm back with the full intention of plunging that cold metal through the chest of his own son. An angel was hovering around the scene, and the angel of God said, “Abraham!” And his arm would not fall. I’ve often thought in reading that, maybe the first thought that came to the mind of Abraham was, “I’m not as strong as I thought I was. I’ve always thought I could anything my God ever commanded; but my arm won’t come down.” And he turns and sees the offering caught in the vines. He releases his son and makes the offering.

But notice—Paul said that Abraham offered his son “by faith,” so it was an active, living, obedient faith. That’s the faith Paul talks about in Ephesian 2:8: “For by grace are you saved through an active, obedient faith.”

In Hebrews, the 11^th chapter, and verse 30, it says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell….” Well, if we want to know how those walls fell, we’d turn to Joshua, the 6^th chapter. We’d learn they marched around those walls one time each day for six days. On the seventh day, they marched around the walls seven times, and then they shouted, and then they blew the trumpets, and then the walls fell! But, when Paul wrote about it, he said, “By faith the walls fell….” So, it’s a living, active, obedient faith.

Now, I’m going to read our text again. Listen carefully. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Now, in conclusion, I want you—if you have your Bible—to turn with me, because after Paul said that we’re saved by grace through faith, he virtually turns around and says, “I’m going to tell you, now, what those Ephesians did to be saved by grace through faith.”

You remember, especially when you were in high school and you were studying math, and in this particular chapter, you were going to study these problems, and they give an example—the first to show you how these problems were to be worked? After Paul tells [that] we’re saved by grace through faith, then he turns around and says, “Now, I’m going to tell you what they did to give you an example of people being saved by grace through faith.” And when you leave the building tonight—you’re intelligent people—there’s no doubt in my mind that you’ll know, you’ll thoroughly know, EXACTLY what one must do to be saved by grace through faith, because I’m going to read it to you from the Word of God!