 THIS IS IMPORTANT! There is nothing you can do to earn salvation! No amount of being good and resisting temptation will ever be enough. One sin is enough to disqualify you from spending eternity with Jesus. I don't know about you, but I have sinned A LOT (and I consider myself a fairly 'good' person). The good news is that we're not saved by what we do, but what we believe, or rather, who we believe.
This isn't a license to sin. We don't do good works to be saved, but because we're saved. When you love someone, you do things to please them. It's the same with God. We don't do good works so that God will love us, he already does. We do good works because he loves us, and we love him.  God sacrificed his only son, Jesus, raised him to life, and seated us with him in the heavenly places, to show his kindness. This kindness is a testimony for everyone on the earth now, and for those to come. According to Barnes' Notes on the Bible:
How awesome that we sinners, are made clean, and get to live with Jesus in the heavenly places. I'm so grateful because I know that I don't deserve it. If my eternal home was based on what I deserved, it would be a dump. Praise God for his kindness! More on this in our next reading.  At the beginning of Ephesians 2 Paul talked about being spiritually dead. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.)
Even though we didn't deserve it, God demonstrated his love, grace and mercy by sending Jesus so that we could be rescued from this spiritual death. If you follow Jesus, you want to obey him because you're so grateful. Your life should produce the fruit of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). This is in contrast to people who don't follow Jesus, who do whatever they want. Does his mercy motivate you to love and obey Jesus?  In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul talks about being spiritually dead.
In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God. Yes, in the past your lives were full of those sins. You lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were. According to this passage, being spiritually dead is:
Life is a bit like Star Wars, you're either on the good side, or the dark side. If you're not with Jesus, by default, you're on the dark side. Doing your own thing is what Satan wants, so you default to the dark side. Praise God, there is a cure for this spiritual deadness. Stay tuned for our next reading. |
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