Today's encouragement comes from Ephesians 2:8 & 9, where we find these remarkable words:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of your-selves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."We sinners are not saved by anything we do. We did not even conjure up our faith in Christ. These truths can be extremely hard for us to accept, because we are so geared in our natural flesh to believing the exact opposite. After the Fall of man in the Garden, all works commensurate with justification went out the window, (but our memory of them never left us).
To seek to be redeemed by works, or to supposedly sustain a relationship with God through works is a great affront to Christ and the gospel. If we could be saved by what we do, why would God the Father send His precious Son to die on a cruel cross for us helpless sinners? Let us be grateful that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. This pleases God; and it brings us the best of everything—all in our Redeemer.
[Puritan quote of the day: "To be rich in goods and rich in goodness is a hap-py condition." —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit"]
