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.
God shows us Great Mercy and Grace throughout the Bible...Grace is a constant theme in Scripture...Grace means favor, blessing, or kindness...We, too, can always extend grace to our neighbors...Grace in the context of God take on a more powerful meaning...With man falling short of God's Glory and by our sins we are undeserving...Yet, God is willing through His Grace to LOVE us rather than condemn us through our sins...And He sent His One and Only Son to die for us on the cross to show us His Great LOVE and Grace...
St. Paul wrote that we are dead dead in your transgressions and sins, in which we live...When we follow the ways of this world and of the rulers of the earthly kingdom...The Holy Spirit is at work in all of us...And because of God's Great LOVE for us, He is rich in mercy, and has made us alive with Jesus even when we were dead in our sins - it is by grace we have been saved...God raised us up with Jesus and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His Grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Jesus...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...For we are God’s handiwork, created in Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do...
Author Philip Yancey says these things about God's Grace...“grace means there is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and nothing I can do to make God love me less.”...“God took a great risk by announcing forgiveness in advance, and the scandal of grace involves a transfer of that risk to us.”...“You cannot earn God’s acceptance by climbing; you must receive it as a gift.”...“Grace is Christianity’s best gift to the world, a spiritual nova in our midst exerting a force stronger than vengeance, stronger than racism, stronger than hate... Sadly, to a world desperate for this grace the church sometimes presents one more form of ungrace.”...“grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less—no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder...Grace means that God already LOVES us as much as an Infinite God can possibly LOVE.”...“God’s grace is not a grandfatherly display of “niceness,” for it cost the exorbitant price of Calvary.”...“Jesus gave us these stories about grace in order to call us to step completely outside our tit-for-tat world of ungrace and enter into God’s realm of infinite grace.”...“Law merely indicated the sickness; grace brought about the cure.”...“Jesus proclaimed unmistakably that God's law is so perfect and absolute that no one can achieve righteousness...Yet God's grace is so great that we do not have to.”...“Calvary broke up the logjam between justice and forgiveness...By accepting onto his innocent self all the severe demands of justice, Jesus broke forever the chain of ungrace.”...“The gospel of grace begins and ends with forgiveness...And people write songs with titles like “Amazing Grace” for one reason: grace is the only force in the universe powerful enough to break the chains that enslave generations...Grace alone melts ungrace.”...