The Gift of God

Ephesians 2:8-10

“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.”

The primary difference between Christianity and every other “religion” is revealed is this passage today. The rest of the religious world believes you can, in some measure and in various ways, do things to “earn” the good favor of God, and thereby be able to live in Heaven with Him.

In other words, they say your good works must outweigh your bad deeds. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how it all balances out before your death. There is no assurance of salvation, and very little real hope for eternity. Sincere seekers live daily under condemnation of the enemy and their own conscience.

But our Father God knows we can never be good enough to approach Him in His Holiness. Nothing we can ever do on our own in the way of good deeds or works can offset our natural sinfulness. Sin produces death.

But, praise Jesus, He came in the form of a man, lived the perfect, sinless life and died in our place. He paid the price for all our sin. Our faith in Him, and Him alone, results in salvation and redemption only because of God’s wonderful grace. Our “works” do not save us, but being truly saved results in us doing good.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

Ask the Father for a deeper revelation of the Gift of His grace; and, the salvation, rest and empowerment to do good works available only in Jesus.

Dive Deeper: Study Ephesians 2; Matthew 5:16; Romans 4:4-5; Titus 3:14; James 2:26; 1 Peter 2:9-10.