Salvation is not earned or kept by our works, but is the gift of God through Jesus Christ by grace, through faith. We learn from Ephesians 2, Galatians, and James that true faith does not remain dead, hidden, or merely verbal, but becomes living, visible, tried, and fruitful after salvation. We are shown that works of faith are not done to gain salvation, but because God has made us alive in Christ and given us the faith of the Son of God. The sermon calls us to stop trusting in our own strength, hate the trap of sin, resist temptation through Christ's faith and power, and let our lives show real faith by obedience, growth, and victory over the flesh.