Ephesians 2:8-9 New Living Translation
“God
saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this;
it is a gift from God. Salvation
is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about
it.”
There is nothing you can do to earn
forgiveness from the sin you have committed throughout your life … not one
single thing. That statement alone will
probably cause more than a few readers to say “but I’m not a sinner”. I suppose it depends on what your definition
of sinner is, but unfortunately we don’t get to decide what sin is or isn’t. The Creator of the Universe decides
that. He has rules laid out thru the Ten
Commandments that are established to bring about a peaceful, fulfilling life to
its’ adherents. Knowing full well that
mortal man could never live by these Laws without slipping up God set up a
sacrificial system to pay for man’s sin.
It involved the blood of an animal without spot or blemish.
Wishing to include his entire creation
in his plan for the salvation of man, God sent his Son to be born, minister and
die for all sin. That’s a heavy load to
bear. Even the sins of one man is a
heavy load, but we are talking about the weight of all sin committed by all
people since the beginning of time.
Jesus came to die because God knew he was the only one pure and sinless
enough to take on all sin and be successful in eradicating it. The undeserved favor of God (his grace) was
the greatest gift ever given to man, yet man seems generally unaware of
it. Even those who have been redeemed
and cleansed seem to have a difficult time getting their arms around it.
When we receive a gift we accept it,
say thank you and put it to it’s associated use. In the case of salvation, we are to apply the
knowledge of sins forgiven to our life and allow it to revolutionize everything
in and around us. It’s nothing to brag
about, but rather is something to invite others to take part in. A life fulfilled is not one that serves and
pleases only ourselves. It is meant to
enable us to be God’s arm extended as a means of assisting others in Christ’s
name. Live like Jesus each day and treat
other not as they deserve to be treated, but the way you would like to be treated instead. Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible,
published by Tyndale House.
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