Ephesians 2:1-10
Anyone who thinks of himself as a pretty good person ought to take a look at God’s assessment of humanity. He says we all come into the world spiritually dead and are ruled by Satan, his world system, and our own sin nature, or flesh. In the Lord’s eyes, we are children of wrath who deserve only punishment.
On the other hand, God is so pure and holy that He is totally separated from all sin and cannot look upon it with any favor or approval (Hab. 1:13). Everything He does is appropriate and beneficial; by comparison, even mankind’s righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Yet even though we have nothing of value to offer Him, the Lord wants us for His own and has done everything necessary to draw us close.
Those of us who have placed faith in Jesus Christ have been made
spiritually alive in Him, and all our sins have been forgiven. There’s a
striking contrast between what we were and who we now are in the Lord.
But this change has nothing to do with how good we’ve been. Even the
faith with which we respond to the Savior comes from God. We can never
make ourselves righteous; it’s all a gift from Him. And once He declares
us justified, we will never be pronounced guilty again.
God has said that in the ages to come, He wants to show the “surpassing
riches of His grace in kindness toward us” (Eph. 2:7). For all
eternity, we will be showered with this awesome demonstration of His
love. As great as our blessings are now, they’ll pale in comparison to
what awaits us in heaven.
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