Echoes of the Fathers

As with any maturing born-again Christian in a Bible-teaching church, one of the first passages I ever committed to memory was Ephesians 2:8–9:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.”

Now to this day, I’ve not met, nor do I know any Christ-following believer or Christian tradition that doesn’t affirm Ephesians 2:8–9 — salvation is by grace, through faith.

However, those verses have always been memorized and quoted to the exclusion of Ephesians 2:10:

“For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.”

Part of the problem is that Scripture was not written with chapters and verses — those were man-made additions added much later, in the 1500s. While Scripture memorization is vital, verses are too often plucked and isolated to fulfill narratives and justify doctrines in ways that neither the apostles nor the Church Fathers ever intended.

Going back to verse 10, Paul tells us that we “should” live in the good works that God prepared for us. Notice that he doesn’t say that we “will” live in them. There’s a big difference between saying something “should” happen and saying something “will” happen. So, the works aren’t just an automatic outflow of faith. That they “should” happen means we have a role in determining — and cooperating with — God’s grace on whether or not we live out those good works (Philippians 2:12–13).

And what happens if we don’t do the good works that Jesus prepared for us in advance? The answers couldn’t be any clearer throughout Scripture. Jesus specifically tells us in his parables what we are to do to live out our faith — and what happens if we don’t. We would all be wise to take Him at His word.

In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46), what’s the first thing He’s going to do when He comes back? Is He going to separate us by those who had faith? No — He’s going to separate us by those who did the good works He called us to do: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the imprisoned.

Note that neither here, nor anywhere in the aftermath of any of the following parables does Jesus sit his disciples down and explain that the works are merely the evidence of faith. Faith isn’t even mentioned in this, or any other parable.

In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30), the servant who is cast out “where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” wasn’t an outsider. He called his master ‘Master’, and the master called him his ‘servant’. This represents someone within the body of believers who failed to use what was entrusted to him.

In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3–23; Luke 8:4–15), the second and third types of soil both believed and received the word but later fell away or were choked by the cares of life. All four examples are judged by their fruit — their works or lack thereof. The warning is clear: believers who once received the word can fall away and lose what they had obtained.

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1–13), all ten went out to meet the bridegroom, but only five were prepared. The others were locked out when the Lord arrived. The question for us is: what must we do to be ready when He returns?

The Parable of the Unfaithful (Unworthy) Servant (Luke 12:35–48; Matthew 24:45–51) reminds us that every believer — especially those in leadership — is a steward of what Christ has entrusted. The faithful servant perseveres even when the Master seems long in coming. At Christ’s return, faithfulness will be rewarded with joy, but negligence and hypocrisy will meet just judgment.

In the Vine and the Branches (John 15:1–6), Jesus describes believers as branches “in” Him. Yet some choose not to remain — they are cut off, wither, and are thrown into the fire. For a branch to be cut off, it must first have been attached to the vine. Like fruitless branches in our own yards, those once productive but now barren will be cut off at the time of pruning.

Paul exhorts believers to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12–13) and reminds the Corinthians that salvation is an ongoing process:

“I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. You are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1–2)

Yes, we are not justified, as Paul tells us, by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16) but by faith. But every reading from the Church Fathers, and the full biblical context, clearly state that Paul is referring to the mosaic law of the Old Testament which we are no longer bound by; but he is not referring to the works of love that Christ has called us to. For Paul also tells us that if we, have faith but not love, we are “nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2-3).

James 2:24 states — and it’s the only place “faith alone” appears in Scripture — that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”  He precedes that statement, in 2:14 by saying, ” if someone claims to have faith, but not works. Can that faith save him?”  

And Jesus Himself declares the conditional nature of remaining in His love: “If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love.” (John 15:10)

As the Church Fathers taught, salvation is a gift of divine grace, freely initiated by God, yet requiring the believer’s cooperation. Grace empowers every good action, but it does not override human freedom. Irenaeus, Chrysostom, and Augustine affirmed that grace heals and strengthens the will so we may respond to God’s call in righteousness.

Because grace restores rather than replaces freedom, the Fathers also held that salvation could be lost through willful sin, unbelief, or neglect of one’s faith. Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen warned that it is not enough to begin the Christian life — one must persevere in faith and obedience (Matthew 24:13; Hebrews 10:26–31). Even Augustine maintained that believers must “remain in Christ” to be saved (John 15:4–6). Grace must be continually received and lived out through prayer, repentance, and good works.

Faith alone is a doctrinal invention that was unheard of, and nowhere to found for the first 1500 years of church history. The interpretation didn’t exist because the Early Church that were handed the scriptures didn’t interpret and weren’t taught to read the scriptures that way.

In summary, the early Church saw salvation not as a one-time transaction but as a lifelong cooperation between God and the believer. Grace is both the source and sustainer of faith, while the human will, restored by that grace, must freely respond in love and obedience. For the Fathers, to persist in faith was to remain in grace; to reject or neglect it was to risk losing communion with God. Salvation, therefore, was never seen as a “once saved, always saved” one-time decision. The totality of Ephesians 2:8–10, read in full context, is grace through faith — working itself out in love (Galatians 5:6; James 2:17; 1 John 3:18).