Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to look at a passage of scripture from Ephesians chapter 2. Beginning at verse 8 it says…..
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Today we’re going to start right at verse 8 and break this passage down bit by bit.
It teaches… for by grace are you saved through faith…
The word salvation means deliverance from sin and its consequences. Another dictionary says salvation is the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss or destruction. The Bible is very clear that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We as sinners cannot save ourselves.
Imagine being on the top of a huge skyscraper that’s on fire and there is no where you can go and nothing you can do to get off that roof. You cannot save yourself because it’s burning all around on the edges and there’s nowhere to go. Then a helicopter comes flying over the top of the roof and drops a rope to you and you climb onto that rope and they take you off that roof to safety.
You needed someone to save you. You needed help to get off that roof because you couldn’t do it on your own.
God wants to save us. He wants all men to come to a place of repentance. But we cannot save ourselves. We need God’s assistance and that is why he sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in Jerusalem.
The Apostle teaches…for by grace are you saved.
In one dictionary I have Grace is defined as unmerited Divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification.
Unmerited simply means that it’s not deserved. God helps us. He gives us Divine assistance for our regeneration. Regeneration comes from the word regenerate which simply means to be formed or created again. It means to be spiritually Reborn and converted. One other dictionary I have says having a spiritual rebirth. Well that was exactly what Jesus was teaching Nicodemus in John chapter 3 that he needed to be born again.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
So in order to do that he gives us Divine assistance. God sent his only begotten son into this world to die on the cross for our sins so that we could have forgiveness with God. And it’s completely unmerited because you cannot earn forgiveness.
The other day we were talking about how the Apostle wanted the people in the church to be forgiving and merciful with each other. You cannot earn mercy and forgiveness. It is something that is unmerited favor because when a person comes up and apologizes for their sins you simply need to forgive them when they say I repent. So I will say it one more time you cannot earn forgiveness.
When someone apologizes and says I’m sorry I did that… you need to forgive them. You’re not supposed to tell them, well if you do this and this and this first, then maybe I will talk about forgiving you. That is trying to earn forgiveness and I don’t believe that’s the truth of what the Gospel teaches here. It is not the way that God forgives us through Christ. God teaches us if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. (1 john 1:9)
We have innumerable amounts of Grace given to us through Christ. That’s why it teaches us to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need.
The archaic definition for Grace is Mercy and pardon.
Mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or to harm. If you pardon someone it means the act of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or an offense. The verb says to forgive or excuse a person error or an offense. Another dictionary says the excusing of an offense without exacting a penalty. Or lastly to allow an offense to pass without punishment. It’s about being forgiving.
So again, you cannot earn forgiveness. Some people will say, I’m not going to forgive you unless you do this or that and this and that and then maybe I’ll think about it.
God simply says to confess and to say I repent whether it’s to him or to a brother in the church that you have wronged. It’s about saying, I’m at fault and I’m sorry and then you’re supposed to forgive them and that’s the end of it.
So again the Apostle says, by grace are you saved.
Salvation is God’s work. Anything that results in our lives is a result of what he has done. It is his mercy and forgiveness that is doing the work in our hearts and our minds. Just listen to the apostle in 1st Corinthians 15:10 he says…
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
So you see here Paul doesn’t even credit himself with the things he was doing.
He gives the credit to God’s forgiveness doing a work inside of his heart.
Romans 11:6
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Hebrews 4:16
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Romans 3:23-24
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
We cannot earn our own salvation and the reason why is because all of us are sinners. There is only one way to get to heaven and it’s through the blood of Jesus Christ as our atonement unto God.
2nd Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God wants to save each of us but we have to come and confess our sins in order to be reconciled unto him. Now back to our study verse…By Grace are you saved through faith.
If you profess to have faith it means you completely trust and have confidence in Christ Jesus. In another dictionary it’s defined as loyalty to Duty or to a person or thing. When we possess faith we believe that God truly is real and that He will reward those who diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6)
Eph 3:16-17
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…
When we have faith we are placing our complete trust in him. We’re not placing our faith in our own works and deeds. Now back to our verse for today…
By grace are you saved through faith…
Our salvation is based upon unmerited Divine assistance from God through his forgiveness. It happens when we believe the truth of his Mercy In Christ. And salvation is not of yourselves it is the gift of God. So God extends to us a gift through his son Jesus Christ.
A gift is defined as something given willingly to someone else without payment. Imagine a bride and a groom just got married. After the wedding they are sitting at the head table in the reception hall and everybody is bringing up their wedding gifts to them. Attached on the top of each package is a note on the box saying that they owe $22.
Another person brings up another gift and on the top it says you owe me a lawn cutting. Those aren’t actually gifts because they’re not freely given. They are something that you have to pay for just the same as if you went to the store and bought it yourself.
Well, Jesus paid for our debts at the cross. We have a debt that we couldn’t pay but Jesus is God’s only begotten son and He is perfect, and the perfect atonement for our wrongdoings. Those who believe on Him can confess there sin and receive a free gift of his grace. It’s completely unearned and completely unmerited. That is the kind of forgiveness we want to have with each other in the church.
Back to our study verse…..not of works lest any man should boast.
When we do good works they are something that God’s divine grace is doing through us. The apostle was speaking in Galatians 1:23-24 said…
23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
24 And they glorified God in me.
God’s forgiveness and grace can do incredible things in a person’s life. One must never forget who is doing it. Salvation is not of works.
Remember the Apostle Paul wasn’t preaching himself. He that speaketh of himself is seeking his own glory but when you’re preaching another’s Glory it teaches us in the scriptures that there is no sin in them. So instead of boasting, saying look what I did,…we say, look at Christ and what he is doing in our lives! He gets the glory!
Who do we sing about when we come to church? Do we sing songs about ourselves or the praises of Jesus?
Verse 10 says,…for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
Once again we give the credit to Jesus for what is going on in our lives or any works that we do because they’re all motivated by his forgiveness that is working inside of our hearts through faith. We are his workmanship. He is the Potter and we are the clay. He softens our hearts through his grace and his Mercy and then he is remoulding us and making us into something new. We are created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
The only way we can do something good in our lives is because of what Christ does through us. Good works God has before ordained that we should walk in them, so again, we need to believe and trust in God’s forgiveness and his Mercy by which we are saved.
We cannot earn forgiveness. It is something that is completely unmerited from God. We are required to confess our sins to God and to others that you have wronged in the church but Salvation is not of Works lest any man should boast, we are His workmanship. He is doing the work through a forgiving heart.
Look at all the things that we have written by the hand of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. Look at what God’s grace can do when you believe and trust in his mercy and what he did for us at the cross.
Do you want a free gift today?
And that’s where I’m going to stop for right now good Lord willing we’ll talk some more tomorrow. Till then bye-bye everybody
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 