November 16 – Grace Alone

Ephesians 2: 1 – 9 NLT

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

On a nice day with the sun shining, if you were to read my mind about how I think about myself, you would discover I think I’m a pretty nice person. I help out neighbours and friends; I keep my house more or less tidy; I make nutricious meals; when I worked, I tried to do the best I could. See … a nice person. When thoughts about the mistakes I’ve made over my life crop up in my mind, I try to dismiss them. They’re embarassing. I don’t like admitting I have a tendency to mess things up. It’s discouraging.

As Paul wrote Ephesians, he is very blunt about who we actually are. “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.” (v. 2 – 3)

If we’re honest, we would have to admit we have a basic sin nature. We like to put ourselves first. We are not always forthright and genuine. We’re not always the best marriage partners or friends. We’re not perfect parents. We know we “twist” the truth at times. 

And yet, God loves us! “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” (v. 4 – 5) Read those verses again. God loved me/you so much he was willing to send his son to earth to have a relationship with us. That is so incredible! Amazing! 

I don’t have do to something, to behave in some way, to have God accept me. It’s not like a classroom where you have to make sure you do whatever the teacher says to pass. It’s not up to our work ethic, our perfection. It’s completely up to God!

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” (v. 8)

All I have to do is say to God – I believe! God’s grace is so marvelous, it’s hard for us to comprehend. We tend to want to work hard for what we get. Yet God just holds his hand out to us and asks us to believe. Those moments when we think about our past, the things we’ve messed up in life, those instances when we’ve failed … God says give them to me. I forgive you. 

God’s grace gives us life!

Our song for today is Saved by Grace by The Gaither Band.  I hope you enjoy this one – an old song done when the band was much younger.