Not of Works

Ephesians 2:1-10

Message No. 0590 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

If salvation came by morality, a lot of people would be far more pleasing to God than Christians. Don’t get me wrong, you cannot be living immorally and still profess to be a Christian. However, the mere fact that Christ came to die for us in order for us to be acceptable before God shows the hopelessness of our efforts. There are two many variables that make humans, humans, and even our best efforts do not completely absorb us from occasional behaviors that we are not proud of.

I have interacted with people of other faiths and when they role out the list of things they cannot do, I cannot but admire their efforts. For some, prayer is a prescribed process, and if they are praying and something happens, they have to stop and begin the process again, else their prayers would be invalid. The efforts required to serve other gods is so much that when something negative happens to their worshippers, they immediately attribute it to their failure to do one thing or another. To them, their gods punish them for missteps.

Knowing these, how could anyone forget the grace of God that is showered on us, Christians, knowing that our God loves us, not because of who we are, but in spite of what we are. In Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, the Bible says:

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

The death of Jesus Christ shows to us that no one can go before God to boast of how we qualified for salvation. While people of other faiths are working so hard to prove to their gods how righteous they are, we, Christians, come before God with humility to prove how wretched we are. Writing to the Galatians in chapter 2 verse 20, Paul stated:

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

That someone had to die to make us whole means that notwithstanding our best efforts, we are completely incapable of saving ourselves.

Religion is futile before God. That’s what the Pharisees did and always received condemnation from God. The only way to please God is to realize how unqualified we are and to surrender our lives to Christ to run and manage. He, it is, who is able to make us whole and keep us from walking in the way of sinners.

Work is good, of course, but work is what we do after realizing that it cannot save us. Work is what we do in support of the Kingdom of God, especially to ensure that those who don’t know God can understand that they need to surrender their lives to Him. Work is what we do to obtain rewards, but we cannot obtain rewards until we become members. No one can buy salvation by works. Without salvation, work will be tossed out as futile and worthless when we stand before God. This is the reason Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 7:22-23:

Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

There are people out there who have attended church for decades, yet they did not surrender their lives to Christ. They never miss church programs, always punctual, pay their tithes and contribute to God’s Work, but they have refused to acknowledge Christ as their Savior because they do not believe that anything is free. They want to purchase their own salvation. How futile and what a waste of time!

If you are yet to accept Christ as savior, I appeal to you to please stop and consider what you are doing. Our Savior may appear any moment and only those who surrendered their lives to Him would qualify before Him. Don’t attempt to buy your own salvation (like people of other faiths do), because you can’t. Only the Blood of Jesus Christ qualifies to wash sins away. The Bible says in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…” Please surrender your life today. Your live will never remain the same. Have a blessed week!

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 PLEASE ACT NOW:
 If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
 Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
 If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!