After the Tables

What Good Are Works?

Week Three ~ Ephesians 2:1-10 ~ August 24, 2026

“For by grace you have been saved through faith…not as a result of works.” (Eph 2:8, 9) We know this much. Works have no part in gaining us salvation. Salvation – our reconciliation to God as our Father and our adoption into His family – is completely an act of God. We confess this, believe this.

This is one of the bedrock doctrines of Christianity. It is one of the deepest convictions to which we hold. God saves us by His grace through our faith in Christ. We cannot earn it. We do not tally a score to win it. We cannot squeeze in “by the skin of our teeth” if we do “just enough.” We depend on God to bring us to Himself.

So, what about these “good works” that Paul returns to in verse 10?

First notice that Paul places works in its appropriate place – after salvation. Good works do not lead to salvation, they are intended to flow out of salvation. Paul says we are “God’s workmanship,” His creations in Christ Jesus to do good works.

Salvation transforms us. We become what God had always intended us to be. As His children, we can fulfill His plan for us to do good works. Paul says these good works were prepared beforehand. God’s saving work does not end with making us alive in Christ. Now we walk in the good works He created us to perform.