03/02/2012 - WONDERFUL EXPLANATIONS

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For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

These two verses convey everything that a person must learn in order to always be happy. We just need to study them – which we will do briefly – for us to see the whole doctrine of salvation in its essence.

The Lord\’s work has been done, now all we have to do is believe in what He says for the work to be effective. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, says that we have been saved through grace. Mind you, he does not say that we will be saved. In fact, salvation came into operation in us when we accepted Jesus as our Savior. When we received the Son of God, our sins were forgiven, our \”record\” was cleaned and our spirit was recreated – all by the grace of God!

The apostle shows us also the importance of faith, saying that salvation is attained through it (Galatians 3:11). Indeed, it is by faith that we attain other blessings of the Lord, as for example, divine healing. Many need it, but they do not know how to achieve it, after all they pay no heed to what they understand when they hear the Lord’s voice through the preaching of the Word or the reading of the Bible. If, on the other hand, they take possession of what is taught to them, the Lord will give them a life full of achievements to which they are entitled.

The text is clear in stating that it was not by our initiative that we obtained the divine favor. Definitely it did not come from us; it is all God’s work, a gift that He gives to His creatures! By His amazing grace, we manage to achieve all that the Lord has for us – or will have.

So, if we did not do anything to deserve what is given to us freely in Christ we do not have to do anything to continue receiving what He has in store for us. If we walk by faith, why would we try to obtain something through different means?

He who glories, let him glory in the Lord who loved us (II Corinthians 10:17). When people start to think that God saw something special in them and for that reason He called them to be part of His people, they are moving away from the truth. What matters is not to philosophize but to believe that we are entitled to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus, our Savior, came to bring us. Once saved by grace, let us live victoriously through faith.

In Christ with love, 

R. R. Soares