IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT GRACE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“...it is by grace you have been saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:5B, 8-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Getting something for nothing.

It was a difficult concept to believe in the days of Jesus and the Apostle Paul.

And yet, such was the main premise of the Gospel of salvation established by the God of all creation. All one needed to do to be saved was to believe in His Son. That was it.

Now, this was totally counter intuitive to the way people thought in those days and I would submit it has continued to be a difficult proposition even today. I say this because most people are conditioned by the world to have to do something, to perform some required act to get something.

One must first graduate from high school with good grades to be admitted into college.

If a boy or girl scout accomplishes certain tasks, they can earn a special badge.

And a person needs to first labor before they can be paid a wage and if they hope to earn a promotion, they first have to work at a level of excellence that earns the new role with its increased responsibility.

Yes, most people feel that something must be done before something is given and this is what makes God’s plan for salvation so incredible because it’s all about grace and grace alone.

Nothing more, nothing less.

No wonder they call it “amazing”, right?

As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, we find him reminding the Ephesian Christians about how they were saved. He writes:

“...it is by grace you have been saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:5B, 8-9

The Apostle wanted the Jesus believers in Ephesus to know that their salvation had not been by way of their own doing. Nothing they did brought God’s grace except their faith in His ability to save through His Son. God’s grace wasn’t something warranted or deserved. Rather, it was a gift from God, a gift freely given, a gift that didn’t come free but at an enormous cost. One need only look to the cross to remember this. You can also remember this acronym formed by the word “grace”:

God’s

Reward

At

Christ’s

Expense

In the end translation, we have received no greater blessing from God than the blessing of eternal life gained only through belief and faith. Let us ever rejoice and lift up thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Father who loved us enough to not allow us to perish and He did it through grace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com