"And you [He made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by GRACE, you have been saved), and raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
~Ephesians 2:1-10~
Paul has just stated the fundamental message of Christianity. This here is the ESSENCE of what the gospel is all about.
The majority of people believe that they themselves play a part in their own salvation. They hold to the view that they either can gain their acceptance to God through good works and deeds or they believe that they themselves saw the "light" and came to the Lord by them seeing their sinfulness on their own and therefore repenting.
These views are not what the Bible teaches, and I believe the Bible to be the sole authority on the matter of Salvation. As just read in Ephesians 2:1-10, we cannot gain our own salvation by our own merit and neither can we see, by our own volition (ones own will and way), our sinfulness. Why is this?
We are born into this world with a sinful heart. We are corrupt in nature and in our very being. There are several passages of scripture that declare this fact. One of them being in the very first book of the Bible. Genesis 8:21 declares that the intentions of man's heart is evil from his/her youth. Psalm 51:5 states that we entered into this world as sinners. Ephesians 2:3 points to the fact that we are by nature "children of wrath". Giving just a couple more verses, Ecclesiastes 7:20 states that, "...for there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." Also, "...the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it." (Jeremiah 17:9). In addition, Proverbs 20:9 declares, "Who can say, 'I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" The answer is, NO ONE. Psalm 49:6-7 teaches that we cannot depend on any other human being to redeem us. Only the Lord can save sinful man.
Having read from a just few passages of scripture, we clearly can see that humans are sinful from the very beginning and the heart is ultimately against the things of the Lord. So, how is it then that we can see our own sinfulness when our eyes and hearts are originally blinded to the things of the Lord? How can we attain our own salvation when we possess wicked hearts from the beginning?!
I love the passage of scripture in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. It boldly declares, "...But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
As read in the above passage and as can be seen in Ephesians 2:1-10, salvation is all a work of the Lord. He is the One who opens our eyes to see the Truth, by His grace and mercy, and He is the One who saves us from our sins. Salvation is ALL of the Lord. We then respond to His promptings and receive the gift of grace. We then must live a life of one who is no longer a slave of sin and death but of one who is now made new through Christ Jesus.
I sometimes like to think that I had a part in my salvation, meaning that I was good enough or that I saw my sin and repented, but I need to be reminded of what is true...that my salvation is ALL of the Lord. It is so easy to lose sight of this fact, that is why we all must continually be reminded by what scripture teaches, that is why I wanted to write on these verses in Ephesians.
Are you living each day as if YOU played a part in your salvation, or are you depending upon and looking to the One who ALONE rescued you from eternal damnation?!
It is good to think about and ask ourselves these questions, friends.
~Grow in Grace~
2 Peter 3:18
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