7/1 - Ephesians 2

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (v. 8-9)

Paul makes this beautiful statement as a reminder to the Ephesians that their salvation, their peace, their hope, is all a direct result of God's grace and had nothing whatsoever to do with them. What's true for them, is just as true for us today. There's no amount of Bible studies, church services, or any other spiritual acts that we could do that would cause God to save us. It is His grace alone that allows us access to Him and the eternal life He offers.

Before Paul gives them this answer, he gives them some background on themselves which I believe is invaluably important to understanding the grace he talks about here. As we read this, it serves us well to take all the "you" references very personally:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." (v. 1-3, 12)

It's important for us to remember that we haven't always been saved. It gives us an appreciation for His grace and for verses 4- 5: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." In today's times, we're exposed to so much mess: billionaires who swindle thousands of people out of money, governors having affairs, countless murderers, nuclear war threats, raping, brutal crimes against children (this is all from just this week's news by the way). The conversations I hear about the people who commit these deeds, among Christians and non-Christians alike, is along the lines of"how could he think he could get away with it?", "he should get 150 years in jail for his unforgivable offense", "how could someone do something like that?" A brief realization of the passage above could clue us in to the fact that we, who consider ourselves incapable of these sort of things, were once lost in our trespasses and if it had not been for God's grace, it could have very easily been us. Our response then, shouldn't be "thank God I'm not like those sinners," because we see how Jesus felt about this attitude in Luke 18:11-14. It should rather be like the tax collector in this passage who realizes his unworthiness in light of God's mercy. Thank you God for your grace & mercy today.