5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:5 ESV)
One of the most precious and classic passages in all of scripture about our salvation is found in Ephesians 2:1-10. In this passage, the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God, beautifully lays out a picture of what we were before Christ, what God did for us in Christ, and who we are now through Christ.
And all of this is given to us by grace!
God’s grace is indeed amazing. Our salvation is given to us by grace; that is, we did not – and cannot – earn it by anything we do. Sheerly because of God’s lovingkindness and mercy, he saved us.
When you and I think about all that God has done for us by sending his Son to die for our sins and raising him up so that we, too, can be risen with Christ our Savior, we are given hope. We are given reason to press on. We are given reason to pursue faithfulness to him.
Discouragement, mission drift, and stagnancy comes and goes in our lives and in our church’s collective life. The solution to these times of weakness is not to muster the strength in ourselves and attain victory in 12 easy steps. Rather, the solution is to be driven back in the deepest part of our hearts to a true faith and appreciation for what God has done for us in Christ! When we truly grasp that once we were rebellious sinners, dead in sin and apart from God, but now, God has raised us to new life in Christ – we will then display the grace of God by living as his workmanship, for his glory!
Take the time to read and meditate on Ephesians 2:1-10 prior to Sunday’s sermon, and come ready to rejoice in Christ!