Blake Allen, Student Pastor, LHBC
EPHESIANS 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Have you ever felt helpless? If you’ve lived long enough, you have probably been in a situation or two where you were powerless to change an outcome. As a man, this bothers me. I like to do things myself. I like to do things my way. I don’t like asking for help. I When I come up with a plan and am focused, I like to see something through. But when plans are ruined, unexpected detours appear, or circumstances change; new challenges appear. Some of these challenges may be to great to handle on our own. And when I am powerless to fix it myself I get frustrated.
But there is some things in life that is out of our control. Thankfully, when things are out of control for us, God is still in control. One of my all-time favorite passages in Scripture is Ephesians 2:8-9. What a great reminder for us that we were powerless to save ourselves. Thankfully, Jesus has the power and authority to save us. And we are saved from, by, and for something.
We Are Saved From Something
I love a good super hero movie. Growing up as a kid, I got hooked on the Marvel comic books. Watching the movies was awesome. In every superhero movie, there was always a villain, hero, and a people in need of saving. In God’s story, the villian is Satan, the hero is Jesus, and we are the people being saved from something…..
We have been saved from the power of sin and death. We all make mistakes. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. We were once lost with no hope. But thankfully, we were not left in our hopeless state. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in shall not perish but have eternal life. The best part about this story is that it is non-fiction. We were all powerless to save ourselves. But thankfully, we have been rescued.
We Are Saved By Something
We have been saved by something, or rather, someone. This being Jesus of course. Jesus is the hero of the story. It amazes me how often we forget this on a daily basis. Even though God is the author, sustainer, and savior of our lives, we approach life with a do better mentality. If we would work harder, do better, and get tougher, then maybe we won’t be so powerless. And yet, our good works and accomplishments couldn’t rescue us from sin and death. Only God could do that. This is one of the biggest differences between man’s glory and God’s glory. Now, we should work hard and give God our best, but Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:33 to seek Him first and His righteousness and all we need will be provided. He is our provision for salvation and life. We are saved by grace alone.
We Are Saved For Something
In verse 10, we are told we have been saved for something. We were created in Christ Jesus for good works. God designed us and saved us with a purpose in mind, namely, His workmanship. We are to do the good works of Jesus. We are not saved by good works but for good works. And we are to do the works of Jesus here on earth.
There are many other who need to discover the hero in the story. And we have been commissioned to tell them the story. Let’s go and do the works of the sent one who now sends us to tell the story.
It is by His grace alone that we are saved from, by, and for something. Have you experienced the grace of God at work in you life? Though we are powerless, His is powerful. Though we are not in control, He is in control of all.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, thank you for the reminder that we are saved by grace and grace alone. Amen.