Let us turn in our Bibles tonight
to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2, and let's
read three verses here, verses 8 through 10. 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. Last Wednesday, we looked at
the first seven verses in this chapter, at the lost condition
of all men because of the fallen nature that we inherit from our
father, Adam. But I want to comment on the
words in verse seven, if you will. The last part of the verse
where the apostle says, the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. What a statement, what a statement. We could and we should look at
this statement and meditate upon it and it would serve for meditation
for our good for a number of hours. To think of God's kindness
toward us through or in Christ Jesus. The us, of course, in
the statement are those that we saw last time were by nature
dead in trespasses and sins. The riches, the exceeding riches
of his grace and his kindness toward us, who by nature were
dead in trespasses and sins, his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. In the Old Testament, when we
read about God's kindness, almost always it is his loving kindness,
his loving kindness. And Arthur Pink reminds us of
this truth in his book of the attributes of God on his chapter,
this attribute of the loving kindness of God. And I quote,
The loving kindness of the Lord, now listen, the loving kindness
of the Lord is never removed from his children. To our reason,
it may appear to be so, yet it never is. Since the believer
be in Christ, nothing can separate him from the love of God. When I read that, I thought about
Psalm 73, where Arthur Pink says, the loving kindness of the Lord
is never removed from his children, but yet to our reason, to our
reason, it may appear to be so. It may appear from time to time
to us that his loving kindness has been removed from us. And
I thought about this man by the name of Asaph. Turn back with
me to Psalm 73. It seems that he at least thought
that God's loving kindness had been removed from him. In Psalm
73, the first part of the Psalm, truly
God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart,
but he saw himself as an exception. But as for me, my feet were almost
gone. My steps had well nigh slept. For I was envious at the foolish
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. It seems that Asaph
reasoned with himself that God had removed his loving kindness
from him. And you read on through the psalm
and you see that he reasoned like this, he thought like this,
he felt like this, until he tells us in verse 17, if you look down
there, until. Let me just put some words in
his mouth. I thought that God's loving kindness
had been removed from me, until. until I went into the sanctuary
of the Lord." Now, when you think about that, until he went into
the sanctuary of God, the sanctuary of God at that time was the tabernacle. What else could be called the
sanctuary of God at that time other than the tabernacle? And
when he went into the tabernacle, went to the place of the tabernacle,
at least, he was made to realize what the Lord had done for him.
What God had done for him when he saw the altar, when he saw
the sacrifices, when he saw the priest officiating there in that
tabernacle and realized what God had done for him. And then
he saw the end of the wicked, those that he had been envious
of and had envied them because he saw their prosperity. And
it seemed as if there were no bands in their death, that they
were free from any fear concerning the future. Until he said, I
went into the sanctuary of God. Then, when I saw the sacrifices,
when I saw the blood, when he saw an animal being sacrificed,
that's the end of the wicked death. And that's when his heart was
turned to consider the loving kindness of the Lord. It's never removed from God's
children. Though many times we may think
it is, we may feel like it is. Satan may suggest to us that
it is. The flesh may think that it has
been removed. That old nature may suggest that
to us. But God's loving kindness is
never removed from his children. Never. because his children are
in Christ and there is no separation from God's love in Christ. Well, Mr. Fink went on in that
chapter and he gave seven ways, seven ways that we as believers
should respond to the loving kindness of the Lord, the kindness
of the Lord, the loving kindness of the Lord. Here's seven ways
that you and I, as God's children, we should respond to the fact
that our God is kind and gracious. As the text tonight says, the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
or in Christ Jesus. Number one, he said, we should
be imitators of him. God is kind, so we should imitate
this attribute ourselves. We should be kind. Look over a few pages to Colossians
chapter three and verse 12. When we think about his loving kindness,
first of all, we should be imitators of God. Be ye kind, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another. That's what we read in Ephesians
4. But here in Colossians 3 and
verse 12, the apostle said, put on therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved vows of mercies, kindness, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another. So, first of all, when we consider
the loving kindness of the Lord, it should remind us to be imitators
of Him. And Arthur Pink said, the more
careful we are about God's goodness, the more careful will we be about
our obedience. And then second, the sense of
this divine perfection strengthens our faith and promotes confidence
in God. The more we think about His kindness,
His loving kindness to us, then it promotes and strengthens our
faith, promotes our confidence in God. And number three, it should stimulate
the spirit of worship. David said, because thy loving
kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. And number four, it should be
our cordial when depressed. You know, what a cordial is,
that's an old word that people don't use, I don't think, often
anymore. I have a book back there in my
library by Thomas Watson, I believe. And it's a small booklet on Romans
8, 28. For we know that all things work
together for good to those that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. And the title of the book is
A Divine Cardinal. A Divine Cardinal. When a person
is weak, something is given to them to stimulate and give them
strength, then it should be a cordial when we are depressed. Let thy
merciful kindness be for my comfort, the psalmist said. Number five,
it should be our plea in prayer. When we pray, quicken me, O Lord,
according to thy loving kindness. And number six, we should appeal
to it when we fall by the wayside. In other words, when we stumble
and get cold in heart and when we fall into sin, we should appeal
to God's kindness like the Psalmist David did in Psalm 51 when he
said, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness. And lastly, it should be our
closing prayer in the evening. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness
in the morning. Our closing prayer, when we close
our eyes tonight, just before we drop off to sleep, cause me
to hear, to hear thy loving kindness in the morning. Now, as we look
at these verses that I've read, verses eight through 10, I have
four points I want to make. And I pray the Lord will bless
his word, such a special part of the scripture. First, they
speak of present salvation. For by grace are you saved through
faith. It is not for by grace you shall
be saved. It's not for by grace you may
hope to be saved. It is not, for by grace possibly
you will be saved, but no, for by grace are you saved. It's present, these verses speak
of present salvation. That is being saved tonight.
Saved tonight. To whom did these words apply
at first? Well, they applied to those in
Ephesus who had been quickened, they by nature were dead in trespasses
and sins, but they had been quickened, they had been made alive, they
had heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they believed
the gospel. More importantly to you and I
tonight, they apply to us, for by grace are we saved. Those of us who trust in Christ, You know, many people, and there's
a good part of the so-called Christian religion who tell their
followers that you cannot know, that you can only hope that when
you die, that you will be saved. But the very idea of assurance
of salvation is anathema as far as that church's teaching is
concerned. They have a problem with the
word of God, don't they? Because the apostle said, for
by grace are you saved. Whosoever, John said, whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, not shall be
born of God. Not when you die physically and
go out into eternity, then you will be born of God, then you
will be saved. No, whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is, present tense, is born of God. I know
whom, Paul said, I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded
that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him. against
that day. What had Paul committed unto
Christ? Well, no doubt it was his soul,
the saving of his soul, the keeping of his soul. And he didn't say,
I know what I have believed, but I know whom I have believed. I know Christ. Salvation's in
him, isn't it? He's the person, the son of God. Also the apostle John, wrote
in his first epistle, These things have I written unto you, now
listen, that believe on the name of the Son of God, believe on
His name, that is, believe on Him. These things have I written
unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that
you may know, that you may know that you have eternal life, and
that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Present salvation. These verses speak to us of present
salvation, of being saved today, being saved tonight. We have now, tonight, we've been
delivered from the penalty of sin. That's what the word saved,
of course, means. It means delivered, and we've
been delivered by the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ
from the penalty of our sins. And now we have passed from death
unto life. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trust. Now by grace you are saved. We've passed from death unto
life. Our Lord said this in John 5.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into
condemnation. But it is passed from death unto
life. I remember reading one time Charles
Spurgeon He had that school for preachers, and sometimes they
had services when those young men were allowed to preach. One
man preached, and he told the congregation, he said, I'm going
to tell you what that word hath means. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting
life. He said, I'm going to tell you
what that word means. It means you got it. You got it. You have it. Yessiree. So the
first thing about these verses, they speak of present salvation. Isn't it wonderful tonight to
know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior? You know,
it's always wonderful, but it seems we live in very uncertain
times, don't we? And this is brought out in the
Word of God, and we see it around us, experience testifies to the
fact that we don't know what's on tomorrow. We don't know what
a day may bring, but we know Him. If we trust in Him as our
Lord and Savior, we know that it's well with our soul. Now second, these verses speak
of salvation by grace alone. For by grace are you saved. The apostle, when you look at
these words, and if it wasn't for spiritual deception, spiritual
blindness, when you read these words, you would think, how in
the world is it possible that anyone can believe in salvation
in some other way than completely by grace? Because it seems like
the apostle here has made it as clear that no one should be
able to misunderstand. No one should be able to refute
what he says here. Look at these words. For by grace
are you saved. For by grace are you saved, not
of yourselves. For by grace are you saved. It's
the gift of God. For by grace are you saved, not
of works, lest any man should boast. What is necessary in saving
a sinner? What is necessary for a sinner
to be saved? I'm talking about a double-dyed
sinner. A center by birth, a center by
choice, a center by practice. What's necessary for a center
like you and like me? What's necessary in order for
a center to be saved? Well, first of all, there's got
to be a sacrifice, a propitiation that appeases God. that puts
away sin. It has to be a perfect offering,
a perfect sacrifice. And second, there must be a righteousness
given unto us that will allow God to be just and justify us,
allow God to receive us into his presence. A perfect sacrifice,
a perfect righteousness. Where are we going to find that?
We can't render that. If we give our body to be burned,
the apostle says, that will not atone for our sin. Where will
we find a perfect sacrifice and a perfect righteousness? Well,
in Christ alone. Those who believe in salvation
in some way other than by grace, who talk about salvation by baptism,
salvation by being faithful, salvation by tithing, salvation,
whatever rules and regulations men come up with, you never know,
you can never know if you've done enough works. There's no
way you can know. But by grace, grace are you saved
alone. You know, grace is most often
defined. This is the way I define it.
It's a good definition. It's defined as unmerited favor. Grace always speaks of the activity
on the part of one on the behalf of another. who is the recipient
of whatever it is and it's unmerited. He doesn't deserve it. If you're walking down the street
and there's a man there who is begging, he has his hand out
and he looks hungry and you say, come on friend, I'm going to
buy you your lunch. And you take him in and buy him
a lunch. That's not grace necessarily,
that's kindness. That's kindness. But let me tell
you something, if you're walking down the street and you see this
man and the first thing he begins to curse you, he begins to spit
at you, he picks up stones and throws them at you, and then
you say, friend, I want to buy you your lunch. Now we're getting
close to grace. He doesn't merit it. The beggar doesn't merit the
kindness, but he certainly doesn't merit grace. It's unmerited favor. That's why, while we think about
grace, it's God's favor to the undeserving sinner. Well, I've got to change my life.
I've got to make some improvements in my life. No. When you start
talking like that, you are removing yourself from the place of grace. Grace is to the undeserving sinner. That man, that beggar I just
described, he didn't deserve that. Your kindness, your goodness,
you're buying him his lunch. In fact, he did everything To
you, despite you. And so we come into this world
at enmity with God. Grace is God's favor to the undeserving
sinner, and not only to the undeserving sinner, but to the helpless sinner. The helpless sinner. Man is in
a pit, and there's no way he can get out. There's no way he
can claw himself out of this pit of depravity in which all
men are born. Not only grace is to the undeserving,
but it is to the helpless. For by grace are you saved. And we rightly attach the word
alone to the scriptures alone. What do we mean by that? When
we want to know about God and learn about God and find out
our relationship to God, where do we go? We go to the Scriptures.
The Scriptures alone. We do not go to the church creeds
and things of that nature. No, we go to the word of the
Scriptures alone. And then Christ alone. There's
one Savior. There's none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Peter said. And it's not only the Scriptures
alone and Christ alone, but it's faith alone. And it's grace alone. And that brings us to the third
point I want to make. They speak of salvation through
faith in Christ. Now, when you read this passage
of Scripture, and you read that salvation is not of works, but
It is through faith. What does that say to you? It
says to you that faith is not a work. It's not a work. Faith is a grace, but it's a
receiving grace. Look with me in Romans chapter
four. In Romans chapter four, and you
know that this has been around forever, Romans chapter 4 and verse 16,
Paul says, therefore, it is of faith that it might be by grace. If it were by any other way,
it could not be by grace. If it were in any other way that
we're saved other than by faith in Christ, it could not be by
grace. Why? Because faith is a receiving
grace. As we've often illustrated it,
it's the empty hand. It's the empty hand, the bread
that's put into the hand. That's all faith is, it's just
a receiving grace. Look in John chapter one. John chapter 1 and verses 12
and 13. But as many as received him,
faith is a receiving grace, to as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe. There's faith, isn't it? receiving,
to as many as received him, even to them that believe on his name,
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. The apostle Paul in Galatians
speaks of this faith as being faith which worketh
by love. Now, back in our text tonight,
I want you to look at verse eight. Ephesians 2 and verse 8. For
by grace are you saved through faith and that, that, not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God. Men have argued, I guess from
the time that Paul wrote this, men have argued over what is
meant by that word, that. And that, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Well, I believe that it refers
to faith, but think of it. It could refer to grace. That's
not of yourselves. That's of God. It could refer
to salvation. That's not of yourselves. That's
of God. Salvation is of the Lord. And
most certainly it does, no doubt, refer to faith. That, not of
yourself. That faith by which you believe
in Christ is not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. It is the
operation of the Spirit of God. Now fourth, here's the last thing. These verses, they speak of being
created in Christ Jesus on two good works. Now this should stop
the mouth of all who argue against salvation by grace alone. Even
the good works of believers after a person is saved, even the good
works that we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which were ordained by God that we walk in them before the foundation
of the world. You know, our Lord said this
in Matthew chapter seven. He said, make the tree good and
the fruit good. You have a tree that bears sour
fruit. For that tree to bring forth
good fruit, you've got to make the tree good first. And for
a person to bring forth good works, They must be made good
first. And that's an internal work of
God. It is God that worketh in you,
Paul said. God works in you, now listen,
both to will and to do. Both. God works in you, both
to will to do that which is pleasing to the Lord. God works in you
both to will and to do that which is according to his good pleasure. 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. May God make us and give us both
the will and the to-do of his good pleasure. I pray that the
Lord would bless these thoughts and words to all of us here tonight.
Aren't you thankful that salvation is by grace? through faith, and
that not of yourselves. It is gift of God. Amen. Let's sing a hymn before we're
dismissed.