Fake News: God only helps those who help themselves

Church, we live in a world that worships the grind.

We live in a culture that says:

“Nobody’s going to do it for you.”

“If you want something, you’d better go get it.”

“Keep hustling. Keep grinding. No days off.”

And somewhere in the noise of that mindset, someone decided to sprinkle some spiritual seasoning on it and say:

“God helps those who help themselves.”

It sounds good, doesn’t it?

Sounds motivational. Empowering. Like it belongs on a Pinterest quote or stitched on a pillow at Hobby Lobby.

But I came to tell you this morning—it’s not Bible.

It’s not gospel.

It’s not grace.

It’s Benjamin Franklin… not Jesus Christ.

And it’s fake news.

Because when you believe that “God helps those who help themselves,” you end up thinking God is just waiting for you to do your part so He can do His.

But Ephesians 2:8–9 tells a different story:

Let’s read it together....

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

Let me make it plain:

📢 Grace is not God paying you for your effort—it’s God saving you in your inability.

🏛️ Background: Paul’s Letter to a Performance-Driven People

Before we dive deeper into this message, let’s talk for a moment about the Ephesians—the people Paul was writing to.

Ephesus was no ordinary town. It was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire—a booming center for commerce, religion, and culture.

It was the home of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. People came from all over to worship, to trade, and to show off their success.

You could say Ephesus was the “New York City” or “Los Angeles” of the ancient world. If you had status, wealth, or spiritual power—you flexed it there.

Now here’s what’s interesting: many of the new believers in the Ephesian church had grown up in that culture of striving, performance, and religious superstition.

Before they met Jesus, they were used to:

Pleasing the gods through sacrifices and rituals

Earning spiritual favor through their own efforts

Climbing religious ladders to achieve enlightenment or blessing

They thought the gods helped those who did the right things, said the right prayers, and made the right offerings.

So when Paul comes along preaching salvation by grace through faith, it messed with their mindset.

“Wait… you mean I don’t have to earn this?”

“You mean God helps me even when I can’t help myself?”

“You mean I’m saved not by doing but by believing?”

Paul had to confront this performance-based religion head-on.

That’s why, in Ephesians 2, Paul reminds them:

“You were dead in your sins. But God made you alive—not because of anything you did, but because of His great love.”

He tells them:

“You didn’t climb your way into God’s grace. You were raised from spiritual death by His mercy.”

In fact, he goes out of his way to make it crystal clear:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8–9)

Paul’s writing to a people who were tempted to go back to their old habits of trying to earn divine favor—and he shuts that down immediately.

📢 Because the gospel isn’t about working harder—it’s about trusting deeper.

📢 The gospel isn’t “God helps those who help themselves.”

The gospel is “God saves those who know they can’t.”

So when we talk today about laying down our ladders and embracing the cross—that’s not just for 21st-century Christians in America.

That was for first-century believers in Ephesus too.

They struggled with the same lie:

“I have to earn it.”

“I have to prove myself to God.”

But Paul’s message is as clear now as it was then:

📢 Grace isn’t earned. Grace is given.

🧢 I. The Lie We’ve Believed

“God helps those who help themselves.”

That phrase has been repeated so much it sounds like Scripture. But it’s not.

What it actually says is:

“God waits on you to earn it.”

“You’ve got to clean yourself up before you come to Him.”

“You’ve got to work hard enough, be good enough, perform well enough—and then God will step in.”

But that’s not the gospel. That’s performance-based religion.

And performance always leads to two outcomes—pride or shame.

💔 II. The Problem with the Lie

1. Pride – “I earned this.”

You start thinking that you made it by your own strength.

You say things like:

“I prayed hard enough. I gave enough. I served enough.”

“I got myself out of that mess.”

You become the hero of your own story, and grace becomes a bonus, not a necessity.

But when pride creeps in, the cross loses its power in your eyes.

Let me tell you about Marcus, a young man I knew who grew up in church and thought he had it all together. He was the youth group president, went to every service, served faithfully.

But deep down, Marcus didn’t think he needed grace—he thought he had earned favor through effort. Years later, when life hit him hard and his strength failed, he had a faith crisis.

Why? Because if your faith is built on your performance, it will crumble when you can’t perform anymore.

That’s pride’s trap.

2. Shame – “I’m too far gone.”

The other trap is shame.

When you believe the lie, you start thinking, “If I’m not good enough, God won’t help me.”

“Until I clean myself up, I can’t come to Him.”

“Until I stop messing up, I can’t pray.”

“Until I fix it, He won’t forgive me.”

You end up hiding from grace instead of running to it.

Let me say it loud for the ones in the back:

📢 If you could fix yourself, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die.

📖 Real-Life Illustration: Rock Bottom Rescue

I once read the story of a woman named Tonya, a recovering drug addict. For years, she tried every self-help book, every rehab, every clean slate. But she kept failing. She’d get clean, then relapse. Finally, in a jail cell, stripped of everything, she cried out, “God, if You’re real, I have nothing left. I can’t fix me. I need You.”

That moment—not when she was strongest, but when she was weakest—was when God broke in.

She didn’t help herself.

She had nothing left to offer.

And that’s when grace showed up.

✝️ III. The Power of God’s Grace

Let’s go deeper in Ephesians.

“Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Eph. 2:4–5)

Church, you weren’t sick in sin.

You weren’t struggling in sin.

You were DEAD.

And the dead don’t help themselves.

Only God can raise the dead.

Let me show you something profound:

When Lazarus died in John 11, Jesus didn’t stand outside the tomb and say:

“Lazarus, if you can hear me, help yourself out. Wiggle a toe. At least roll over. Show me some effort.”

No!

Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!”

And what was dead came to life.

📢 Grace doesn’t wait for you to act—grace acts first.

📢 God doesn’t meet you halfway—He comes all the way.

IV. The Ladder vs. The Cross (Illustration)

[Bring a ladder on stage]

This ladder right here represents religion.

It says:

“If I climb high enough, God will notice me.”

“If I perform enough, God will love me.”

“If I fix myself, then He’ll save me.”

But here's the problem:

You’ll either climb and fall off trying…

Or make it to the top and still feel empty.

This ladder will exhaust you.

This ladder will shame you.

This ladder will never save you.

Now let me show you the cross.

[Point to a cross or display one on screen]

The cross says:

“You couldn’t come to Me… so I came to you.”

“You couldn’t fix yourself… so I paid the price.”

“You couldn’t earn it… so I gave it.”

📢 The gospel isn’t about climbing—it’s about surrendering.

⚖️ Real-Life Story: The Wealthy Climber

A man named Jim had everything—money, success, status. He believed in self-help and motivational gurus. He believed he was the master of his fate.

But when his wife died suddenly, and his child was diagnosed with leukemia, he realized he couldn’t hustle his way out of it.

He couldn’t climb high enough to fix that pain.

He ended up sitting in a church pew one Sunday, broken. A stranger hugged him during the invitation, and Jim gave his life to Christ—not because he had strength left, but because he had none.

He found that grace isn’t for the strong—it’s for the surrendered.

🧠 V. The Right Response

Now hear me: Good works matter.

But they are the fruit, not the root, of salvation.

Ephesians 2:10 says:

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

📢 You don’t work to be saved—you work because you are saved.

📢 I don’t obey to be accepted—I obey because I am!

Illustration: The Adoption Story

Imagine a child being adopted from an orphanage. The new father doesn’t say, “Clean yourself up, make straight A’s, and then I’ll consider adopting you.”

No! He says, “You are mine now.”

Only after the child is adopted does he start learning to walk like he belongs—because he already does.

We don’t work for God’s acceptance—we work from it.

V. Invitation & Altar Call: Lay Down the Ladder

Church, I don’t know who this message is for today — but I do know this:

Somebody in this room has been *climbing*.

Climbing the ladder of performance.

Climbing the ladder of approval.

Climbing the ladder of religion...

And you are tired.

You’ve been told:

“If you just pray more, God will love you.”

“If you clean yourself up, THEN He’ll come through.”*

“God helps those who help themselves.”*

But I came to tell you the truth — the good news:

📢 God helps those who know they CAN’T help themselves.

📢 God rescues the broken, the weary, the sinner, and the struggler.

If you’ve been trying to earn what Jesus already paid for —

Today is your day to stop climbing and start trusting.

Today is your day to lay down the ladder...

...and come to the cross.

Jesus said:

“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”* (Matthew 11:28)

If that’s you today —

If you need rest from your striving...

If you’re ready to receive, not achieve...

If you’re done chasing religion and ready for relationship...

This altar is open.

If you’ve never given your life to Jesus —

Not religion. Not church membership. But Jesus —

This is your moment.

Don’t wait for a better time.

Don’t try to clean yourself up first.

He’s not asking you to fix it — He’s asking you to come.

📢 He came all the way from heaven to earth for you.

The question is:

Will you come to Him?

So if you’re ready to say:

“Jesus, I surrender.”

“Jesus, I trust Your grace.”

“Jesus, I believe You died for me.”

Then come right now.

We’ll pray with you.

We’ll walk with you.

But church, please don’t leave carrying what Jesus already carried to the cross.

Lay down the ladder.

Stop striving.

Start trusting.