Saved by Grace

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Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Devotion:

            No matter how advanced we think we are in the practice of our faith, it is always good to be reminded of the basic principles of that faith. In these few short verses, the Apostle Paul lays out for us the core of our Christian beliefs. There is no getting around the fact that no matter how much Bible education one has obtained in one’s life you can never get around the fact that Christ has saved us by grace through faith.

            When the famous theologian Karl Barth was asked what the most important thing was, he had learned in all his years of study. He replied, “Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.” There is no more profound truth than that. The God who created all the heavens and this little blue ball we call Earth loves us humans so much that visited us in the person of Jesus Christ. God created us and he, through the Holy Spirit, sustains us, and by the blood of his son Jesus saves us and it is only because of God’s great love that we are saved.

            We humans, often try to complicate the faith by adding rules and regulations to what God has done for our salvation. The fact is that we can add nothing to what God has already done for us. When Christ said as he hung on the cross, for your sins and mine, the words, “It is finished” he meant that the salvation of humankind had been accomplished in his death. Nothing more can be added, and nothing can be subtracted from this basic fact.

            I have used many words in this devotion to state what the Apostle Paul summarized in 60+ words in our scripture for today. I do this in hopes of convincing you the reader that all my words are worthless compared to the surpassing love of Jesus. Jesus has prepared good works for us to be doing in his name. It should be our aim in life to walk in this world doing all the good we can do with the life with which we have been given.

Prayer:

            Lord God almighty, clear our vision and our minds. Let us see through all the man-made additions and complications that have been added to your finished work on the cross. Fill us with your love and mercy that we may walk according to your desire for our lives. May we simply love you God, with all our lives. Help us to fulfill your will for us as we walk in this world. Amen.

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