Ephesians 2:8-10 For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We concluded the Morning Message yesterday by stating that the above Passage of Scripture is one of the most important and yet most misunderstood Passages in all the Word of God. This has to do with the subject of Grace and Works.
The Book of Ephesians contains some of the most practical guidelines for Christians to live by. However, what is misunderstood is that believers do not obey these guidelines in order to be saved and acceptable in God’s sight. On the other hand, they obey and follow these guidelines BECAUSE they are saved and the Holy Spirit encourages obedience to the Word of God.
The truly saved and born-again believer in Christ will hate the sin they deal with. The Holy Spirit of God will continually convict them of their sin and lead them back to the guidelines found in the Word of God. When we fully surrender and submit our lives to Christ and the Kingdom of God and place our faith solely in the Finished Work of Christ of the Cross of Calvary, the Holy Spirit will go to work in us to bring about necessary changes. He will give us new desires. I had a Pastor once who used to say, “God will change your want to.”
We cannot change this on our own. All the willpower in the world is not strong enough to overcome sin. If it was, Jesus would not have had to go to the Cross. The simple fact is, sin is the problem and Jesus is the answer. This is the free Gift of Grace given to anyone who asks for it. We cannot work to receive it. Nor can we buy it or make bargains with God for it. Nothing we do will warrant us receiving the Grace of God except our having faith in the Finished Work of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Having said that, read this Passage again. For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the Gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. The Grace of God is available to anyone. No one on earth is excluded. God sent His Son to die on the Cross for the sins of everyone in the world. All we have to do is believe it. The greatest Gift of God is the Gift of Grace.
Everyone is born with the sin nature. We are all born sinners. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) God knows we are all sinners and that we are bound for Hell. That’s why He made a Way for us to be saved. Jesus is that Way. But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Everyone who rejects the Finished Work of Christ on the Cross will spend eternity in Hell. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
God wants everyone to be saved. He sent His Son to die on the Cross so we can live victoriously over sin here on earth and spend eternity in Heaven with Him. There is no work involved in attaining this Salvation and Victory over sin. It’s all a matter of faith; what we believe and speak. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto Righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)
There is no work involved. We don’t have to do anything. We don’t have to give money or serve on committees. We cannot earn our Salvation. It is a free Gift offered to us by God Almighty because He loves us and wants us to be saved. He wants the very best for us and we can have it by having faith in what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary. This is the Grace of God. No one deserves it. No one has earned it. No one has bought it. It’s not for sale. It’s absolutely free and it’s for you. Go ahead, take it.
This Gift will……….turn the tide……….in your life.
I once was lost, but now I’m found, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
