Ephesians 2:1-10
Saved by Grace
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
In God's eyes and in His Great Grace it doesn't matter how bad we...We are human and flawed...We are weak and we sometimes sin in a regular way...It is by God's Grace we are saved...It doesn't matter where you are in your current life, no matter how bad your situation is...It does not matter if you have been convicted of murder and are in jail...God's Grace is what saves you...You are not hopeless, God's Grace is there...You are no more hopeless in God's eyes than the most respected person in the world...God is LOVE and He LOVES you, and it is by His Gift of Grace that He will save you...God's Grace covers us if we believe in Him and His Son...For it is by God's Grace we are saved, through our faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the Gift of God— not by what we have done or our works, so that no one can boast...For we are God’s handiwork, created in Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do...
A Welsh Protestant minister and medical doctor, Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes an important point about God's Grace...Lloyd-Jones writes: “To make it quite practical I have a very simple test...After I have explained the way of Christ to somebody I say “Now, are you ready to say that you are a Christian?”...And they hesitate...And then I say, “What’s the matter?...Why are you hesitating?”...And so often people say, “I don’t feel like I’m good enough yet...I don’t think I’m ready to say I’m a Christian now.”...And at once I know that I have been wasting my breath...They are still thinking in terms of themselves...They have to do it...It sounds very modest to say, “Well, I don’t think I’ good enough,” but it’s a very denial of the faith...The very essence of the Christian faith is to say that He is good enough and I am in Him...As long as you go on thinking about yourself like that and saying, “I’m not good enough; Oh, I’m not good enough,” you are denying God – you are denying the gospel – you are denying the very essence of the faith and you will never be happy...You think you’re better at times and then again you will find you are not as good at other times than you thought you were...You will be up and down forever...How can I put it plainly?...It doesn’t matter if you have almost entered into the depths of hell...It does not matter if you are guilty of murder as well as every other vile sin...It does not matter from the standpoint of being justified before God at all...You are no more hopeless than the most moral and respectable person in the world.”...