Urban Legends of the New Testament by David A. Croteau

Author:David A. Croteau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion/Biblical Studies/Exegesis & Hermeneutics
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2015-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

The Legendary Teaching on Ephesians 2:8

In the short letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he mentioned “grace” twelve times in only six chapters. This is an important concept to Paul. He wrote in Ephesians 2:8, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.” The Greek word translated grace is charis. It means “unmerited favor, or an undeserved gift.” The first several times I heard the definition of grace as “unmerited favor,” I had no idea what that meant. Let’s examine that definition. The English word merit comes from a Latin word that means “to earn.” It’s used today when referring to the idea that you have done something to earn a reward, or maybe your actions deserve a reward. To say that grace is “unmerited” means it is unearned or undeserved. The word favor most commonly refers to a kind act, as in “I did him a favor.” But in the expression “unmerited favor,” it refers to a gift bestowed as a token of good will. We use it today in an expression like “party favors” (a gift given to someone for coming to a party). So the expression “unmerited favor” refers to a gift that was undeserved.

In Ephesians 2:8, the gift that is not deserved, that is unmerited, is salvation. Let’s say a man dies, is lying in the street, and an ambulance pulls up to him. The medic hooks up the defibrillator, and he shocks the person lying on the ground and brings him back to life. The dead man did nothing to earn being made alive. He was just lying in the street dead. He didn’t sign a release form saying, “Go ahead and bring me back to life.” He didn’t agree to it; he didn’t consent to it; he did nothing to earn being made alive, nothing to earn being rescued or saved from death. This is what God has done for you in Christ Jesus, giving you life you did not deserve.

Introduction: What’s Wrong with That?

Some of you right now are scratching your heads, thinking, That is what I’ve always heard. What’s wrong with that? Remember, there are different types of urban legends. Most of the legends in this book are mistaken legends:135 wrong interpretations. This legend is a little different because I actually agree with everything I just stated. So if you are a little relieved, that’s good. You should be! This legend is an example of a teaching that is incomplete rather than incorrect. Grace truly is an undeserved gift, but it is more than that. Ephesians 2 might be the best passage to see the incompleteness of this definition.

Ephesians 2:8 in Context

Ephesians 2:8 is contained within a larger section: 2:1–10. Ephesians 2:1 explains that before Christ all Christians were dead in “trespasses and sins.” That’s how this passage begins. Verse 2 explains that sin characterized our life and that we aligned ourselves with the prince of the power of the air: Satan.

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