If you would, turn to Ephesians
2. Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2, and I'm going to
begin in verse 4. 4 through 10 is what I'm going
to read. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
are you saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come that he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are
you saved through faith, and 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. We start out this passage with
one of those buck gods. Had there not been a buck god
or a nevertheless there, Joe? Salvation would not have come
to man. Salvation would not have come
to a people of God, because there would be none. But we read here,
but God who is rich in mercy. His mercy endureth forever. But
as we read on, His mercy is a part of His love. Not just a general
love, But a love wherewith He loved us. Us is specific. It is towards a certain people. Just if you go back to Ephesians
1 verse 4. According as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. So God chose to
love us and the product of that, the result of that, the effect
of that choosing is for us to be holy and without blame before
Him. Even though by nature we're very
blameable. We walk just like everybody else.
There's nothing special about us that calls God to choose us. None of our works commended us
toward God or even do today. Good or evil. Our works as it
pertains to being chosen in Christ, both good and evil, were absent
of God's righteousness. We read here in this chapter
about our walk before we were called by God. According to the
prince of the power of the air is what it says. In other words,
the God of this world, Satan, We did what everybody else did
in this world, at least in our mind, if not outwardly. We actually
walked with them, it says. We had our way of life with them
and hated God, just like they did. Thank God it was not up
to our works, else we would not see these words, but God. God's love for us in Christ brought
us mercy, and that was to his chosen people, the us. Even when
we walked according to the prince of the power of the air, he quickened
us together with Christ then. Then we have this in verse 5,
as Earl used to say, it's like Paul couldn't stand it anymore.
He quickly adds, by grace are you saved. Christ is our head. Where the
head is, the body is. God has put us where Christ is
in the heavenlies. If you read on up there, it's
what it says. Any blessing of grace shown to us, His people,
will come through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. But grace
will come to those who are in Christ Jesus because He loved
the beloved Son and we are His. Then we get to where I want to
look at further this morning. Saved by grace through faith,
man has no boasting, and he is workmanship. I think I first heard this from
Jim McLarty, but where it says in verse eight, for by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God. The grace, the faith, and the
salvation is not of us. None of it is of us. It is totally
100% all of God and it is in Christ Jesus. We have favor from
God and it is found in Jesus Christ. We have favor from God and it's
not because of any works that we have done. We only have favor
in Christ Jesus and because of what He has done. If you do not
know Jesus Christ and if you do not believe Jesus Christ,
then there's no reason for you to say you know the grace of
God. You are at best are still dead
in your sin and salvation has not come to you yet. At worst,
you are a child of disobedience and without hope. And that's
just the way it is. But if salvation comes to you,
it will be by grace, and that is favor from God, Him showing
mercy to you, Joe, and that in Christ Jesus. He does this through
faith, it says here. It does not say He does this
when you do anything. It says He does all of this. Christ told the Pharisees, I
think it was, if you do not believe Jesus Christ, you will die in
your sin. I don't know about you, but I
don't want to die in my sins. Because if I do, I carry those
sins to God in judgment. And the law confirms that I have
sinned. I want to be saved or delivered
from that. But God gives faith. A gift to
his people so that they will believe Jesus Christ. Faith enables
us to believe Jesus Christ. The very faith of Jesus Christ
is given to the us, to them. He gives them faith. This faith
enables them to believe Jesus Christ and they do because of
His gifts. We're told by God through His
Word that without faith it is impossible to please Him. And I don't have this faith as
I'm born and asked. We might have some kind of faith,
but it's not the faith of Jesus Christ, because that is His faith,
and His faith is His to give as a gift. You're not born with
it, and you cannot work it up. We see it here in this chapter,
and I spoke about it. We are born into this world just
like everybody else, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind. I could not and would not believe
Jesus Christ if it were up to me. God made that evident to
me and he will to all of those whom he's pleased to show grace
to. But God giving us faith, the faith of Christ, we can and
do believe. Something impossible made possible
by God. Faith is our assurance of things
hoped for, and that is the hope of an everlasting life in Christ
Jesus and more. And it's the proof of those things
we do not physically see, namely Jesus Christ our Lord, but also
that new man to finally realize that is assured to us when Christ
returns. Faith tells me One day I will
truly be able to worship Jesus Christ as I should. But all those
promises made to Jesus Christ, whatever they all may be, we
are assured by faith that we will see them. We are the heirs
of all of it in our head, Jesus Christ. It says in verse 10 that we are
created unto good works. We read in Hebrews about all
those people who did these things in faith. And I'm going to read
one of those verses, verse 5. By faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death and was not found because God
had translated him. For before his translation he
had this testimony that he pleased God. How did he please God? By faith,
the gift of God. So believing, and you can say
obeying because faith produces believing and good works. In
fact, believing is a good work if it's done by a God-given faith. If God ordained it and made it
happen. And this God does for his people
by grace. He sends someone to preach us
the faith of Jesus Christ. Having been given faith by the
Spirit of God breathing life into us, then we believe. Many people hear the gospel,
the faith of Jesus Christ, but yet they do not believe, Hebrews
4, 1 and 2. Let us therefore fear lest a
promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard. If God has not given you faith
by His Spirit in the measure that He has pleased, you will
not believe God. For without faith, it is impossible
to please God. But if he has given you faith
and he sends you someone preaching the faith of Christ, you will
believe it. Romans 1, verses 16 and 17, we
read, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, in the gospel,
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is
written, the just shall live by faith. When you do believe it, you will
know Jesus Christ has saved me. And thank God for that. Or it
would be a miserable existence in this world had He not been
pleased to let us know of the faith of Jesus Christ in this
world. But all of this, all of it, is by the grace of God and
man has no boasting in it whatsoever. So man has no boasting. Verse
9 says, not of works, lest any man should boast. Paul was telling
us this by the Spirit of God to let us know, do not be boasting
because it is not of your works, but of grace. What's not of works? Salvation, grace, and faith. That's in our context. God has
so worked things out that man has no boasting that can be done
in the salvation of a man or a woman, not himself or any other. We are told right here in our
passage, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that
not of yourself, it is the gift of God. Someone might say, but
you can refuse this gift. No, you can't. Romans 9, 18 through
20 we read, therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy,
and whom he will he harden. Thou wilt say then unto me, why
doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replies against God, shall the thing formed say unto him
that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? He has mercy on whom He wills
and you can do nothing but receive that mercy. But you know what? You will be
glad for it and happy because of it and rejoice in it. Salvation
is a gift of God. Verse 5 and 6 tells us how and
why. Why? Because He loved us in Jesus
Christ. How? By Jesus Christ. He raised up Christ from the
grave and all those in Him having died with Him. We read in Romans
7. But He has been raised from the
grave and all of us, all of those in Him were raised with Him.
He ascended to the Father's right hand and so did we. Even though we were yet enemies
of the cross of Christ and of God. There's only one work that
we can have any boasting in and that's hating God and His Christ. But men love their boasting.
Those who are at the very least who have not been regenerated
because we all did this at one time, but we boasted in what
we did for God. But those who are of this world
and you see it more often in those who are religious and they
haven't And they love to boast at what they have done for God.
They boast that they have decided to follow Jesus by their own
choice. They boast that they do righteousness
before God, and they think their righteous acts are making them
accepted before God. Just like Joe was pointing out
that Moose said, putting on their rags of filthy rags to present
themselves before God. They have an idea that they'll
get rewarded for what they have done. They are lost and they
are liars. But as I have said, even God's
people at one time were walking right there with them. Even today,
this flesh will raise its ugly head and we will begin to boast
in ourselves. At the very least, in our minds,
if we don't do it outwardly. We need to mortify that because
there is no boasting that man can do because he has done nothing
to gain favor before God. Thankfully though, God has done
something. But God. As a believer, God will
chastise his own and they will learn once and again, salvation
is by grace through faith. Reprobates will not have their
minds changed. If we have anything of worth,
if we do anything of worth, it is God that did it and not we
ourselves. Paul tells us in one place, do
not boast as if you did not receive it. If you have anything, it
comes from God if it's worth anything at all. If you know
anything or do anything, if it has any worth, it was given by
God. But some are even more subtle.
They call themselves Christians and they hold to the same doctrines
it would seem. They believe in Jesus Christ
the Lord and what he's came to do. They say they believe that. But they add something else to
Jesus Christ and him crucified. They add something into God's
gifts because they want to do. Some add the law, the Ten Commandments. Some add church law or those
traditions passed down by their elders that indicate you have
to do this or that to be saved. Remember that one time Christ
was talking about those Pharisees and they had their traditions.
They kind of changed the Ten Commandments into something that
they thought they could do, but they still didn't even keep that. But we are not saved or kept
by any works, which we do. If we do works worthy, it is
only because God ordained them that we should walk in them.
Which isn't an interesting phrase. Our walk is in God's works, which
God has ordained. But our works, those which I
do, are not worth anything, even our righteousnesses. God says
so, so no need to go further into that. But whatever is of
grace does not include the works of man. No matter what we're
talking about, that canopy of grace, it has many facets. Turn with me to Romans 11. Romans
11. Romans 11. Romans 11 and verse 4. But what saith the answer of
God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so,
then, at this present time also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no
more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it
is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work. We read here that God has reserved
whom he wills to, to himself. It is called the election of
grace. But election in and of itself
is not salvation. But God's people have everything
They are giving everything that is under that canopy of grace. It all flows from the grace of
God. As we read in our text, we are
saved by grace. So salvation is by grace and
there's no question about that. But grace is complete. We don't
get one part of it and not another. We may get a different measure
of those things which are of grace, but we get all that comes
from grace. We are told that we have all
things in Christ Jesus. But listen to what else is of
grace. And I'm not done with Romans 11 yet, but just listen
to this, and I want to give it to you from Romans 3, 24 through
26. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for
the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of him that believeth
in Jesus. God justified us, made us right
or righteous before Him. Remember Ephesians, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. And that's how we
did it right there. But His grace also brought us
Christ who propitiated us and took our place. And it is His
righteousness, His works that we declare. Back to Romans 11
though, and if by grace we read, is your salvation by grace? Well,
if it is, then do not boast in your works because grace and
works do not mix. Salvation, any part of it, has
nothing to do with your works, but it is all of the grace of
God. Those whom he chose in Christ
Jesus are his workmanship, and if you do anything, it is because
he ordained it to be done. Or you would not do nothing.
So next, his workmanship. We are a product of what he has
made. Workmanship has a maker. and
that which is made. He is the potter, we are the
clay. The whole of human race is his
clay. He formed us and we did not form
ourselves. And there's nothing we can reply
to him about it because that will change his mind about the
choice he has made. But there are some, those us
spoken of in our text. Those that were created in Christ
Jesus. And I cannot really explain that,
but I do believe it. We can only think of it in the
way that God describes it and reveals it to us in His Word.
Christ is the head and His church is the body. His church is made
up of those who He chose in His Son. But think of your body. When your big toe hurts, your
head knows about it. What happens throughout our whole
body is known to the head and controlled by the head because
they are one. We can see that Christ accomplished
this. Let's go back to our text, verses
11 through 16. 11 through 16. that ye, being in times past
Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that
which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world. But now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood
of Christ. For he is our peace who hath
made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us. having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to
make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby. Just think about this. The whole
body is doing exactly as he ordained it to do. And as He, that is Christ, directs
you to do. We here on this earth see the
body dispersed everywhere. There's people of God everywhere.
But in Christ we are one body. Any that confesses that Jesus
Christ is coming to flesh is part of that body. Because they
are, it says, they are of God. I want you to see this. Turn
over to Romans 4. Romans 4. I know walkers went
through this not too long ago, so you should be very familiar
with it. Romans 4, but I really like this passage. Romans 4,
13 through 16. Romans 4, 13 through 16. For the promise that he should
be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed
through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For
if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void,
and the promise made of none effect. Because the law worketh
wrath, for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore,
it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of
the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who
is the father of us all." It tells us in the previous verses
Abraham received the sign of circumcision, that is faith,
which is that circumcision made without hands. But he received
faith in uncircumcision. The promise was not made to anyone
through the law, it says it right there, through any works done
by man. It was done through the righteousness
of faith, and that faith is the faith of Jesus Christ, not a
faith we work up, but a gift of God. If anyone of the law
is an heir, then faith is made void. But if you are of the law,
you are not an heir, because salvation is by grace through
faith in our text. The law worketh wrath. That is, it works wrath. Therefore
it is of faith that it might be by grace. To the end, the
promise might be sure to all the seed. Not to that only which
is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham. Both Jews and Gentiles, in other
words. Both are saved by grace through faith, and it is not
any works of the flesh. No man will ever see salvation
by their own works. Thank God for His grace, for
His amazing grace. Grace that is greater than all
our sin. Amen. Dear Lord God, thank You for
Your grace, dear Lord. In Your Son, Jesus Christ, dear
Lord. You have done it all for us.
Cause us to be thankful. Cause us to apply these words
to our heart, dear Lord. May we see them as we walk daily,
dear Lord. And when we fall, dear Lord,
we can look back to Christ, dear Lord, and you will pick us up
in Christ. All these things we ask in Christ's
name, amen.