How Do Grace, Faith, and Obedient Works Play a Part in Salvation?

The fact of the worldwide flood is instrumental to our understanding of God’s desire to save man. We often study it in Bible classes and sermons. Have you considered Noah and how the circumstances of his life are but one example of how grace, faith, and obedient works are critical in salvation? Many times, we have heard from religious individuals that salvation is by grace alone and by faith alone. How does this harmonize with what the Spirit records in Ephesians 2:8-9?

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

How can grace, faith, and obedience play a part in the Christian’s salvation?

Grace

The grace of God is amazing. We sing of its wonder and power. The fact that God favors man is overwhelming. The first thing we should recognize in the Flood account is God’s grace. I know it might not be, at first glance, a typical place the average person would see God’s favor, but consider what is written: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:8. When we look at Genesis 6:8, we see that Noah found favor in the eyes of God. The Hebrew word ḥên is translated here as grace, but it is more accurately translated as favor. What does this tell us about God? We are forced to recognize that God saw that every thought of man was evil continually (Genesis 6:5). It was so bad that the Lord changed His mind (repented) that He had made man, and it grieved Him.

In like manner, we are forced to consider the consequences of our willful sin. Sin disfigures the goodness in which we are all created. When we employ ourselves in the labor of sin, we are due the wages of that sin, which is death (cf. Romans 6:23). Yet, God’s grace is the only thing that can redeem us and make us good and holy in God’s eyes. Noah found that grace in the eyes of Jehovah. Noah and seven others would survive out of the entire world population because God saw Noah and extended His grace. Yet for Noah to benefit from God’s grace, he had to receive it.

Faith

Faith is essential for the salvation of man. If we were to consider what the Bible says about faith and the lack of faith, we would be right to consider the faith of Noah as described in Hebrews 11:6-7.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Consider that God’s favor was available but had to be received by Noah. If Noah did not believe God, he would not receive God’s grace. Grace has been continually offered to mankind, but in Noah’s day, they ignored it while he believed. It was by faith that he believed in the promise that God had made. The faith of Noah required him to believe in things that before had not been seen, like a worldwide flood. In addition, it likely had never rained from the sky before. He had to believe God enough to build a giant boat. All these things which God described were unseen. Noah believed God; he believed in the unbelievable. Why? Because if you can get past Genesis 1:1 and be fine with that, you surely can have faith that God can and will do what He says He will do.

We worry and fret because we lack faith. We cry out to God like His tempest-tossed disciples, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”(cf. Mark 4:38). We must remember God’s grace can cover all our sins but is dependent on our faithful obedience to His terms; we have to accept God’s grace to benefit from it. Faith and obedience are not opposed but rather contingent on one another. Without faith one has no reason to obey any person or system of faith. Moreover, without obedience one cannot claim any faith in any person or system of faith.

Obedient Works

God’s offer of grace and the faith which Noah had required action. God’s Word explains this directly, “And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him” (Genesis 7:5). If Noah were to violate any of what God had commanded, he would not have been saved. If he had not built the boat, he would have drowned like the rest of humanity. If he had selected any other number of animals than the ones prescribed according to the plan, Noah would be in sin. Noah worked, and he carried out all that Jehovah had commanded him. Noah was also described as not just a builder but a “preacher of righteousness” (cf. 2 Peter 2:5).

So what happens when the modern-day Christian does what Noah did? Do we earn or merit our own salvation? Well, did Noah earn or merit his own salvation? Did he design the ark? No, he did not. Yet, Noah still had to obey and build according to God’s divine plan. The Ark was God’s only provision, plan, and purpose for saving a remnant of man. The church that Christ established is the only provision, plan, and purpose of God for saving a faithful remnant by the blood of the Savior. We must carry out works of righteousness each day that we have because the Lord commanded that we do so, for we are judged by our fruit (cf. Luke 6:43-45). If we love the Lord, we will keep His commandments (cf. John 14:15). God in His great grace offers us something to have faith in, and that grace and faith result in obedience.

Noah was not saved by grace alone, faith alone, or works alone. Rather, God graciously provided the means of salvation, Noah trusted God, and that faith expressed itself through obedient action. The New Testament presents a similar pattern. God's grace provides a way for man to be saved; by faith man trusts His promise. Man’s obedience to the pattern allows him to receive the grace and promises of God by faith. This is not a conflicting message, given that God offers and has shown grace. We can only receive this grace by faith that God is going to do what He said. We can only remain in grace through faithful works of obedience (cf. James 2:17). Remember that verse 10 of Ephesians 2 follows verses 8-9. We are created for good works.