"The Gift of God"

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

I think most believers know this scripture by heart. In his Epistle to the church in Ephesus, Paul reminds us that we cannot save ourselves from our sin. We are unable to make ourselves right with God. We are unable to keep the law and commandments, as the essence of our being is sinful. Even in our salvation through Christ, we are sinful, reminding us of God’s mercy towards His children.

The focus of this verse is that our only salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ. But this verse should also remind us of something else. Something so wonderful and glorious that it should not be overlooked. The fact that our Savior provides our salvation without any work on our part, a free gift of Christ, it is a gift we cannot lose. How wonderful is this assurance!

Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28). There are three terms related to our salvation, and we should know the difference between them. First is the word Righteousness. In our salvation, we are made righteous when Christ imputes or gives us His righteousness, exchanging it for our sins, which He bore on the cross. It means having a right relationship with God, seen as having perfect moral uprightness, justice, and obedience to His divine law. It means having the ability to reflect God's own perfect nature, resulting from both a declared right standing (imputed) and a life of mercy, and to live a progressively holy life (imparted). You will never be any more righteous than you are made on the day of your salvation.

Righteousness leads us to the second word, Justified. Justified is a legal forensic term used in its original Latin sense as a legal or judicial declaration. It departs from a moral or internal transformation, focusing instead on an external, authoritative pronouncement by a judge (or, in a theological context, by God as judge). Christ bore your sins past, present, and future; therefore, you have no sin before God, you are pronounced righteous and justified.

If we relied on our own works for justification, it would never be achieved because of our inherent sinful nature. While we will still sin after receiving salvation, our sins are forgiven, and as we live a life of spiritual growth and draw closer to Christ, we are brought to our third important word, Sanctification. Once we are made righteous and we are justified before God, we are changed. A supernatural change completed by the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel 36:26, God said through the prophet Ezekiel, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” This is the supernatural change I speak of.

In Romans 8:1, Paul wrote, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This is the essence of today’s verse. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves from our sins. Salvation is not something we can achieve; it is a gift given to us by grace through faith in the risen Son of God, Christ Jesus. Therefore, we cannot take any credit or raise ourselves above any other sinner. Our salvation is found at the foot of the cross, where we are humbled that the living God would come in the incarnation, suffer, die while bearing our sins on the cross, only to rise again defeating sin and death. In doing so, our condemnation for our sins is removed. Christ provides a way for all God’s elect to receive salvation simply by truly, honestly, and humbly believing in the Messiah Christ Jesus. This is revealed to God in our repentance, our turning from our sins, as we walk an ever-improving path of growth in Christ.

So, while Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us of our inability to save ourselves from an eternity in hell, it also tells us that the true gift of salvation is miraculously irrevocable. Once His, always His.

Have you received your free gift from God? Seek Christ, Seek Salvation, seek Life Eternal.

Praise God!

Grace and Peace!