The Gift of God

"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)" -Ephesians 2:4,5

It is important to realize that when God saved you, you were altogether dead before God on account of your sins.  Sin bears the punishment of death (Romans 6:23), and you, a sinful man, were condemned and dead already in the eyes of the justice of God.  It was not possible that you could redeem yourself in God's eyes, no good acts that could rub out the stain of sin on your life.  You were a dead man walking, and it was not in your power to resurrect yourself.  Can a dead man get up out of his coffin and make amends for the wrongs he committed in life?  With the Apostle Paul we must cry out in despair, "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?" (Romans 7:24)

Thankfully, the dominion of sin and death has met its match in the gracious love and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But how is it that God attributes the righteousness of Christ to us, and in so doing forgives us?  By no means but by His grace.  Paul continues in Ephesians, "God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." (Ephesians 2:8)  John 3:16 says that "everyone who believes in him [Jesus] will not perish but have eternal life."  How is it that we believe?  Where does this faith in Christ come from, and how is it that a simple act of belief, a simple act of trust and faith in what God has done is the means by which God takes the sacrifice of His Son and applies it to our account, rubbing out the record of every wrong we have done, every wrong we ever will do?  It is strictly by the grace of God that this door is open to us, and not merely open, but strictly through God's grace that we even possess the faith by which we walk through it, for Paul does not end his statement by merely noting that it is by God's grace that our faith is counted as righteousness, but goes on to say that we cannot take any credit for this at all.

If our faith were of ourselves, we could take some credit, for we could claim that among other people who have not believed, or who are resisting God, we at least possessed enough wisdom and foresight to accept what He has done for us.  But God will have no boasting at all, not even on the small point of faith, for as Paul tells us, "it is a gift from God."  Being a gift, a gift for which we can take no credit, we are left without any ground to boast upon.  No, we can only stand in awe and thankfulness before the God who showed His graciousness toward us by making us alive in Christ when we were altogether dead in sin; for graciously accepting our faith in Christ and responding to that faith by placing His Holy Spirit within us; for granting us this faith and this salvation as a gift, which has no part of origin within ourselves, no part for which we can take credit.

Therefore, let no pride enter your heart with respect to your salvation or your faith in God: it is not from you, it was the pure, undeserved gift of a gracious God.  So look up to Him with nothing but gratitude and a thankful heart for the grace He has shown you, for the grace He shows you every day.