January 8
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BY GRACE ALONE, YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, 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 so that we would walk in them. 11 Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. – Ephesians 2:8-12
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According to an article online, “The gospel message is the good news of God’s grace, so it is important to know what grace is and to constantly seek to get a better view of what grace does in our lives. Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s benevolence, love, and mercy. Grace can be variously defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously. To fully understand grace, we need to consider who we were without Christ and who we become with Christ. We were born in sin (Psalm 51:5), and we were guilty of breaking God’s holy laws (Romans 3:9–20, 23; 1 John 1:8–10). We were enemies of God (Romans 5:6, 10; 8:7; Colossians 1:21), deserving of death (Romans 6:23a). We were unrighteous (Romans 3:10) and without means of justifying ourselves (Romans 3:20). Spiritually, we were destitute, blind, unclean, and dead. Our souls were in peril of everlasting punishment.
Paul reminds the believers in Ephesus that they were saved by God’s grace and they can never boast that they made a contribution for it or take credit for the gift of salvation. It is given to undeserving sinners. Paul reminds them of their lives before they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, they were hopeless. When Christ gave up His life for all undeserving people like us, He changed our standing with God. We are now saved and cleansed of our sins. We can make a fresh new start with God. We have hope in the knowledge that we can be reconciled with God and will have an entirely new beginning. What gracious and generous God we have!
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REFLECTION
• Why do many people miss the true meaning of grace? Why do some people struggle with the concept of grace given to those who believe in Christ?