Revisiting Grace – Ephesians 2:8-9

Remember our Mindful Monday’s scripture for this week is Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

God grace is amazing-CalvaryCouponers.com

So what does that really mean?

“For by grace” – By myself? No. By something I can do? No. By GRACE

What is grace?  I’ve seen it this way  God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

“you have been saved through faith”

Saved.  Saved from what?  Saved from separation from God because our sins.  We all have them. God is perfectly holy and He can’t stand to look upon our sin. He loves us, but He hates our sin and grieves the separation that our sin causes us from Him.  Saved from an eternity without Him.  He made a way of escape when Jesus took our punishment for us on the cross. Jesus proved that only He has the power to take away sin when he conquered hell and the grave when He rose again on the third day after dying in our place.

Through faith…not through you, not by anything you can ever do…only by faith.

What is faith?  If is the gift of God!  GIFT. Something GIVEN to you.  Now, if someone hands you a gift, is it automatically yours no matter what?  Not at first…you have to reach out and receive it…accept it…believe that it is yours.  That’s faith.

“and that not of yourselves”

Not of YOURSELVES.  Did you initiate it?  no…NOT of yourselves…  So is it something you can muster up or earn?  If that was the case, it would be of yourself, but this says it is NOT of yourselves.

it is the gift of God”

Gift of GOD. God initiated it. God saw the need. God did the work. If it’s a gift, it’s yours if you reach out and receive it.  That’s how getting a gift works. The giver offers the gift.  It’s a gift, not a wage. Not something earned.

“not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

If you were able to WORK to gain this, you could boast! God would have nothing to do with it.  You would be able to boat and point your finger and say, “Look what I did…I did that…”   God did it ALL…so nobody could boast.  Besides that…in our fallen human nature and and natural human depraved state, nothing we could ever do would be enough to gain us salvation with a perfectly Holy God.  Only Someone who IS perfect, sinless and holy is able to…and He did…His name is Jesus.  Only Jesus has the right to boast.

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