06-30-2019 – Salvation is by God’s Grace, through Faith, expressed in Good Works.

Bible Text: Ephesians 2:8-10 | Pastor: Pastor Mike | Series: Ephesians | 6.30.19 ~ Ephesians 2:8-10

Salvation is by God’s Grace, through Faith, expressed in Good Works.

Read Ephesians 2:8-9… Salvation is a gift from God.
See Romans 3:21-24; Romans 4:25; Romans 6:23.
God’s forgiveness is granted to those who believe in and receive God’s Son (cf Acts 4:12; 2:21).
In Jesus’ day, certain works were thought to render a person righteous in the eyes of God, absolutely not true!
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus said blessings and persecutions would come to those who follow Him, and no one goes to heaven based on outward works (verse 20), “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
See Galatians 2:15-16… No one is saved by what they might accomplish or avoid (cf. Romans 10:9-10).
Salvation is not the result of works, it is all by God’s grace; and yet, “good works” are important.
Read Ephesians 2:10… Good works are for God’s glory, that we might accomplish His will in this life.
Before you can do a “good” work for God, He does His good work in you (cf. Romans 5:8; 8:1).
In Christ (2Timothy 3:17), we are made “adequate, equipped for every good work,” for Jesus (Titus 2:14), “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
No wonder James says (James 2:17) “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself,” (verse 26) “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
2Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
Jesus said (Mark 1:15, 17), “Repent and believe the gospel. Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” (John 10:27-28) “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand,” (John 14:6) “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Have you received salvation through Jesus Christ?
If you are not a Christian, you need to get right with God, to receive forgiveness for your sins and eternal life.
Acts 2:21, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 10:43, “Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ ([for] He is Lord of all)— you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

6.30.19 ~ Ephesians 2:8-10, Salvation is by God’s Grace, through Faith, expressed in Good Works.
Read Ephesians 2:8-9… Salvation is a gift from God.
See Romans 3:21-24; Romans 4:25; Romans 6:23.
God’s forgiveness is granted to those who believe in and receive God’s Son (cf Acts 4:12; 2:21).
In Jesus’ day, certain works were thought to render a person righteous in the eyes of God, absolutely not true!
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus said blessings and persecutions would come to those who follow Him, and no one goes to heaven based on outward works (verse 20), “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
See Galatians 2:15-16… No one is saved by what they might accomplish or avoid (cf. Romans 10:9-10).
Salvation is not the result of works, it is all by God’s grace; and yet, “good works” are important.
Read Ephesians 2:10… Good works are for God’s glory, that we might accomplish His will in this life.
Before you can do a “good” work for God, He does His good work in you (cf. Romans 5:8; 8:1).
In Christ (2Timothy 3:17), we are made “adequate, equipped for every good work,” for Jesus (Titus 2:14), “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
No wonder James says (James 2:17) “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself,” (verse 26) “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
2Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
Jesus said (Mark 1:15, 17), “Repent and believe the gospel. Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” (John 10:27-28) “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand,” (John 14:6) “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Have you received salvation through Jesus Christ?
If you are not a Christian, you need to get right with God, to receive forgiveness for your sins and eternal life.
Acts 2:21, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 10:43, “Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ ([for] He is Lord of all)— you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”