It was a sort of a text, it really would be verses 8 to 10 of that chapter. For by grace are ye saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.

Now I like to sort of be topical and this Friday is the 31st of October and the world outside will celebrate Halloween on the 31st of October but to the learned Christian the 31st of October is Reformation Day The 95 theses, propositions for debate concerned with the questions of indulgences, written in Latin, were posted by Martin Luther on the door of the castle church Wittenberg on October the 31st, 1517. This event came to be considered the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Perhaps summed up by the five solas that I'm sure we've heard of. Sola Scriptura, scripture alone. Sola Fide, by faith alone. Sola Gratia, by grace alone. Solus Christus, through Christ alone. solo Deo gloria, glory to God, alone. And notice the emphasis there on the word alone. Not with something else, but alone. That's the key, isn't it? And that was the key of the Reformation, wasn't it? That our salvation is in Christ alone it's not all these other things like indulgences that I mentioned in the description earlier

but these words in Ephesians 2 8 to 10 where they're familiar they're lovely words aren't they they're very familiar words to us and it deals us in it with the grace of God in the matter of salvation for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast now Ephesians was written by Paul to the Christians in the city of Ephesus, which had a significant population of Gentile believers. Perhaps just summarising the whole book, Ephesians 1, there Paul tells us of the incredible blessings that the people had in the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells them how they have been chosen and sealed with the Holy Spirit. He also prays that they will have a good understanding of all the spiritual blessings they have in Christ. And it's so with us, isn't it? We have been chosen and sealed with the Holy Spirit And there are many blessings, countless blessings that we know in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul was concerned that the Ephesians would have a greater understanding of that. And I'm sure it's our heart's desire too to have a greater understanding, not just in our minds but in our hearts of the spiritual blessings in Christ.

And then chapter 2, which we read, begins by contrasting the believers' current position in Christ with their condition outside of Christ. And we read, didn't we, a couple of times, dead in trespasses and sins, and children of wrath. So that's how they were. But now in Christ, there has been a wonderful reconciliation and both the Jewish and the Gentile believers had known this wonderful reconciliation to God and to one another as well.

In the third chapter of Ephesians it further elaborates on God's plan to include Gentiles and Jews together in Christ. One way of salvation, isn't it? For us all. And it's through the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what nationality we are or whatever. There's one way of salvation. And this unity mentioned in chapter 3 was something that most people did not expect. Paul then thanks God for all the Ephesian believers whether they were Jew or Gentile and that's good isn't it for us to thank God for fellow believers and I'm sure there are perhaps many believers that we know and have known over the years and we don't put them on pedestals or anything like that but we thank God for them. And I think it's in the Philippines where it says, I thank God upon every remembrance of you.

But then chapters four to six encourage the believers in Ephesus to live up to their position in Christ. Verse 1 of chapter 4, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. And those three chapters, 4, 5 and 6, contain some of the most pointed and practical behavioural guidelines for Christians. Importantly, People do not obey these guidelines in order to become Christians or to become acceptable to God. Rather they follow these guidelines as a natural part of living out their position in Christ.

And look at this a little bit more. Back to verses 8 and 9 in particular to start with. Ephesians 2 the popular notion is that God accepts good people and rejects bad people. Most people whether in Christian countries or those steeped in other religions usually operate under the idea that God accepts or rejects people based on some level of of goodness and all religious performance and the whole book of Ephesians rejects this premise and Ephesians 2, 8 to 9 in particular refutes it For by grace, i.e. say through faith, that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. In verse 7, just before, there it says that God has given incredible blessings to those who are in Christ. that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. If we are the Lord's then we are incredibly blessed. Despite perhaps all the trials of life that we may have and so on if we are the Lord's we are incredibly blessed blessed in knowing salvation, in knowing our sins are forgiven, knowing peace with God, knowing where we're going to go when this life is passed. But even in the trials of life, we can know great blessing and great peace then.

And sometimes to those who are outside of Christ, they don't understand this. They don't They can't sort of get their heads around that. How can you be so at peace? How can you be so content given all that's going on and all that you've been going through in life?

So God has chosen hasn't he to save sinners. Jesus came into the world to save his people from their sins. God has chosen to save sinners not based on their goodness but on his kindness. He does this to demonstrate his grace that is to say is undeserved favour. Grace is a blessing that is undeserved and unwarranted. Grace is a gift freely given based on the kind intentions of the giver to a recipient who has no claim to it. And what God has done for believers in Christ is going to bring him glory.

And Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 in particular further explains how he gets all the glory. It is by grace that we are saved. It's by his grace that we are saved. and say we are undeserving and we can't earn it as we saw the couple of references we're dead in trespasses and in sins and if you're dead then you can't do anything when somebody has died in the natural world But that's it in terms of this world, isn't it? You can't turn around or you can't sort of go over and get them to stand up or walk up, walk away. No, they're dead. There is a finality, isn't there, about that. But it's the Lord only by the Holy Spirit who quickens You have quickened, enlivened who were dead in trespasses and in sins.

But it is, isn't it, about God's glory. It's not about anything that we can boast about. Not of works lest any man should boast. It's a gift of God and to God be the glory. And so that's how it should be, isn't it? It's a wonderful subject, isn't it? The grace of God.

1 Corinthians 15.10 there speaks of, but by the grace of God I am what I am. It's a lovely forward isn't it? It's a lovely thing to consider, the grace of God. People have letters after their names, they've got some award, some qualification, they've got their letters after their name. Surely like the best letter to have SSBG sinner saved by grace those are good letters to have isn't it after our name I'm a sinner saved by grace and we are saved through faith in order to be saved there is a necessary human response to God's grace we're not robots are we we're not robots

Now the response is not trying to be good enough to be saved. And we're dead in trespasses and sins so we can't sort of make ourselves alive. But we are, aren't we, to simply respond by trusting. having faith in God to save on the basis of Christ's goodness and to realise that we need saving, that we're sinners and that we need a saviour. Faith is simply casting our unworthy selves the mercy of a kind and forgiving and gracious God.

We read quite a bit about faith don't we in Hebrews 11 and verse 1 now faith is a substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen but that chapter isn't it it's full of it's called like the hall of faith got men and women there of faith who are recorded when none of them are perfect and far from it but they all had saving faith and we read don't we about at the end of verse 8 about this grace it is the gift of God and a gift is something you don't pay for it do you somebody gives you something they've paid for it you don't have to pay for it we read in Romans 6 23 for the wages of sin is death and wages you get sort of if you work then you get wages you you earn your wages well what will you earn is death but the gift of God well it's a wonderful gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord but it comes doesn't it through Jesus Christ him alone going back to the five solas and we read don't we in John 14 6 what the Lord said we know these words so well Jesus saith unto him I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me totally exclusive I am the way I'm not one of several or I'm not one of you know I'm not even like the best of so many no I am the way the truth and the life truth today seems to well Pilate said what is truth and sometimes we wonder what truth is sometimes.

There was something today I was looking at it came up with AI things as well and I sort of looked at it and it wasn't very helpful at all and I didn't think it was terribly accurate but it's the first thing that comes up the AI sort of explanation of something. And I sort of, well, ignore that and go to something that's a bit surer. But it seems today, isn't it, that truth is whatever. But we know that God is truth and that the Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ is the truth and the one way, the only way of salvation, the only way where we can be sure of Being with the Lord forever, knowing that our sins are dealt with, is through the Lord Jesus Christ and Him only.

Acts 4, 12. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name unto heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The salvation in no other And also there's the emphasis on we must be saved. You must be born again, as Nicodemus was told. Not a case of, well, doesn't matter if you're not. No, ye must be born again. So it's important, isn't it, that we are sure of these things, that we know that we're sinners, hell-deserving sinners, and that there is peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ and the finished work of his death there when he died at Calvary.

He lived that perfect life and died that atoning death. and we need to realise that we're sinners and we can be forgiven and washed in the blood of the Lamb for the blood of Christ that was shed cleanses from all sin. So it's wonderful to be saved but may it be though we don't do things in order to be saved may it be evident that we are by the good works that we do which we have in verse 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them Matthew 5.16 says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and what glorify your father which is in heaven.

So it's all about glorifying God. Why are we here? The Shorda Catechism puts it so succinctly so well first question man's chief end is what? To glorify God and then enjoy him forever and we can't enjoy the Lord forever if we're not glorifying him now because we would need to enjoy him now if we're going to enjoy him forever we want to be able to enjoy him now and we enjoy the Lord by glorifying God and obeying him and trusting in the Lord.

God does a remarkable work doesn't he in the lives of people. I was watching, there was a baptism service over at Eastbourne at the weekend and it came up on my phone and I watched a bit of it. So I didn't know the people who were being baptised. But two people were being baptised and one gentleman really came from a kind of a broken home. He had a couple of failed marriages. He had quite a trying difficult life. And then there was a lady who had been brought up in a Christian home. So two very, very different backgrounds, two very, very different situations. And yet what united them is that they were both saved by the grace of God they realise their sins and their need of the Lord and testify to that in the baptismal waters.

So we must never think that anyone's too bad or you're beyond redemption, you're too evil. We must never think of that. But also at the other end We must say, well, we mustn't rest on our laurels. Well, I've got Christian parents or I go to church. So I'm all right on the basis of that. No, in both cases, we need the grace of God. We need to realise that we're sinners, that we need forgiveness, that we need the grace of God. And it was sort of mentioned, wasn't it, last Lord's Day. Again, a sort of great contrast. You think of Paul when he was converted, breathing out threatenings, wanting to persecute the church. And then you read sort of in sort of the same sort of chapter about Lydia. the quiet work in her heart, how the Lord opened her heart.

So the Lord saves in many ways, so it is. You know, with people I'm sure here, or people we know, perhaps I had a dramatic conversion, couldn't tell you the time and the place exactly, and then others and particularly thinking of myself, I can't do that, I can't say it. It was a period, it was over a time and it wasn't a particular place or time or occasion that I can say. But the main thing is, is the work of God in your heart, that's the main thing. You change, you realise that you're a sinner, Your only hope of salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. As I said, those principles of the Reformation. And may it be indeed that in everything that God is glorified.

And may we be helped as the first question, in the Shorter Catechism says about glorifying God and as that verse in Matthew 5 says that people will glorify God when they see our good works and see what God, the good work that God has done in our lives. So may the good work that God has done and then may be reflected in good works we do, that God will be glorified and that people would recognize that and glorify God too. Just leave those thoughts there that are just on the Reformation theme Mendelssohn wrote symphony number five in D major minor it's known as the reformation symphony he compiled composed in 1830 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg confession The Augsburg Confession is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation. The Confession is a key document of Lutheranism and its presentation to Emperor Charles V in June 1530 was a momentous event of the Protestant Reformation. so on friday when it's the 31st let's think about the reformation and the blessings that we've had from that rather than being distracted by the halloween but the final movement of that symphony and the tune is what we're going to sing now so we're going to sing number 98 from hymns for worship to the tune 998 Martin Luther's hymn, a safe stronghold our God is still, trusty shield and weapon, he'll help us clear from all the ill that hath us now all taken.

The ancient prince of hell hath risen with purpose fell, strong male of craft and power he whereth in its hour. on earth is not his fellow.

So it's perhaps a bit of a difficult tune, but we haven't got an orchestra here to help us with the tune, but I'm sure we'll have the Lord's help in singing this hymn.

Number 98. He'll help us clear from all ill, That have us now all taken. The ancient Prince of Hell, He weareth in this hour On earth his law, his path.

With falsehood in our thinking, Falsehood were we downbringing, Christ the proper man, with whom himself hath bidden. Mercy, who is this same? Christ Jesus is his name. The lonesome heir of Son, yet another one shall conquer in the battle.

And where this world of devils He holds us not away, for while he But spite of hell shall have its course, T'is written by His cross. a lie. Cause all our children why? Yet is the prophet's law. His dreams shall never true.