Saved by Grace

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Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Devotion:

            In this scripture we have one of the greatest statements about how and why Jesus came to die for our sin and be raised to glory at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus came to save us out of our sin simply because he loved us. Even though we were still in our sin and enemies of God, Jesus came to rescue us from this condition. Jesus paid the full price for our sin. All we can do is gratefully receive his freely given gift by faith.

            One of the hardest ideas we, as humans, have to learn is that we cannot contribute anything to earn our salvation. One things that I have frequently heard when I ask someone how are you going to gain entrance into heaven is “I try to be a good person surely God will let me into heaven.” This is unfortunately a common theme among people today. However, the scriptures are clear on this point that good deeds will never get anyone into heaven.

            We can rely on God’s grace toward those who accept what Jesus has done for us by his life, death, and resurrection. Salvation is not a reward, but it is a free gift from God. We are made into new creatures in Christ. Because of this transformation of our whole being we are empowered to do good works to bring glory to God’s name.

            Grace is truly amazing. God is truly awesome. To think that the God who created the entire universe thinks so much of us insignificant creatures that God would send his son to save us. It blows my mind. We who are a people who couldn’t obey even a single commandment in the garden of eden are deemed worthy of the supreme sacrifice. To God be the glory. Let us praise him with our prayers.

Prayer:

            Holy, Almighty, Wonderful, and Awesome God we come before your throne of grace with boldness because of what Jesus did for us when you sent him to become one of us. Help us to praise you properly for all your wonderful deeds among us. Open our mouths and let our tongues pour forth your praise. For you alone are worthy of all our praise. We glorify your name because of your unmerited favor towards your people. We are humbled to be called your sons and daughters we do not deserve your loving kindness toward us. Thank you that you have provided the way in Jesus for us to become your children. Glory be to your holy name. Amen.

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