Ephesians 2:6-10

Ephesians 2:6-10 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God raised us up for his glory because of his loving kindness, mercy, and grace. Sometimes, older Christians believe they are very good; they live with the idea that they used to be bad but now they are good. They are pretty sure they do not follow the ways of the world, and they definitely do not follow the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Regardless, I sometimes wonder if they have lost their first love, if they fail to realize that their salvation is Christ's work and not their own. Paul understood salvation was not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, not our own workmanship. If we lose sight of God's miraculous work, we might begin to take credit for the work of the cross. If we smugly think we have earned our position in Christ through our efforts, we might easily criticize others, especially newborn believers who lack knowledge of spiritual realities. We wonder why they are not more like us: good, mature, Christians who obey all of the Bible and set an example of holiness for others. To test this belief, to see just how righteous a mature Christian is, we should watch when someone accidentally shuts the car door on their hand or clumsily steps on their broken toe or cuts them off in heavy traffic. Then you will begin to gauge their righteousness, their position of holiness, from a more accurate perspective.

Once my very righteous grandfather got kicked into the gutter by a cow he was milking. His righteous mantle slipped a little when he got up covered with manure and addressed that cow. That cow could testify that Grandfather was not always the kind and righteous man everyone imagined. Facing that cow, Grandfather learned what we all must learn: his salvation was a gift from God--not an entitlement because of his good works. I like to remember that incident because my grandfather was a very good man who loved God. He was a strong Christian, the kind that makes you feel sinful and guilty in his presence. But he was ransomed from the same pit of sin that we all inhabit.

Without Christ, we are lost and without hope. Only the grace of God makes us saints, not our actions. No matter what your pastors or spiritual leaders say or how wise they appear, they are still sinners saved by grace. In their humanness they depend upon mercy and grace. Humans sin. Do not ever follow after a person; follow Christ and listen to the Spirit's still small voice. Christ alone is our righteous, and He gives his righteousness to us when we place our full faith and trust in him, allowing the Spirit to guide and to direct our lives.

We cannot boast in our abilities or accomplishments, but we can work for his kingdom, knowing it is Christ in us our hope of glory. God has birthed us into his kingdom so that we might show forth his glorious grace and do the works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. If we feel somehow we have earned salvation, our passion to serve God will lessen and we will slip into a self-righteous state of lethargy and complacency. But if we realize God has redeemed us and made us his own through grace, we will praise his name and want to serve and to please him with a passion for the lost and a heart that longs to worship him and to share the good news with others who do not know him. May the Holy Spirit fall anew and afresh on us today and send us into the harvest fields as God's workmanship, joint heirs with Christ our Lord.