http://www.intouch.org/read/magazine/daily-devotions/salvation-the-work-of-our-sovereign-god?firstItem=95bb0a06-08a8-4a68-9a44-905605c739b4
Today’s scripture reading:
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many
sins. You used to live in sin,
just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers
in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who
refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate
desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were
subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us
life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you
have been saved!) For he raised us
from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms
because we are united with Christ Jesus. So
God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of
his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are
united with Christ Jesus. God
saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this;
it is a gift from God. Salvation
is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about
it. For we are God’s
masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good
things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:1-10
Today’s
devotional:
Salvation refers
to the freedom gained when God rescues someone from slavery to sin and makes
that person part of His family. This deliverance is accomplished only through
His Son Jesus, who died in our place so we might be reconciled to the Father (“Yet now he has reconciled you to himself
through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought
you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before
him without a single fault.” Col. 1:22).
This statement often evokes questions:
What if I
try to live morally right, working hard at my job and being good to my
family—won’t God accept me? Such
questions assume that the Lord saves us on the basis of the way we live. But Romans
3:10 says, “There is none righteous,
not even one.” In God’s sight, even our virtuous acts are like dirty rags (“We are all infected and impure with
sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the
wind.” Isa. 64:6).
Holy God will not have dealings with unrighteous people except through the
Savior, Jesus Christ.
Won’t the
Lord accept us because of His goodness? God is loving and good, but He is also just. He won’t overlook sin, no
matter how small we think it is. Pride makes us reject the idea that we need
forgiveness or cleansing from sin.
If we serve
in our church or help the poor in God’s name, aren’t we part of His family? Good works do not solve our sin problem or reconcile
us to God. Only Jesus does (“Therefore,
since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God
because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Rom. 5:1).
Good works are an important result of salvation, as opposed to a basis
for it.
Salvation is a work
of God’s grace, not the product of man’s effort. When we respond to the
Spirit’s prompting, believe in Jesus, and are born again as God’s children (Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,
you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John
3:3), we can be assured of our place
in heaven. How sure are you?
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