Title: Salvation by Grace/Ephesians 2:1-10
Contents
Today, everyone on this earth is living a life centered on economic activity. Everyone, regardless of individual or country, is trying to solve the quality of life in terms of economic problems.
But when we think about it a step further, we realize that we are living on a grace so great that money cannot measure it. Human beings are a union of body and soul, so the body can survive because of the grace of parents and the grace of the natural environment. However, it is because of the saving grace of Jesus that our souls are saved. All these graces are incalculable in money. Just as the physical life, health, and money we received from our parents cannot be counted, the grace of Mother Nature that God has given us cannot be calculated, because the grace of salvation of Jesus is infinite grace.
1. The meaning of grace
Today's text 2:8 says: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this does not come from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
grace is,
1) It is the heart that God has lovingly, pretty, and pity for humans. We see this heart through our parents as well.
2) Grace means a free gift. It means that you received it for free.
3) Also, the realization of gratitude for the free grace is called grace. It is said that after hearing the sermon at Gyohyoga and realizing it, he received grace. However, the characteristic of this grace is that it was received free of charge from the recipient's point of view, but when he realizes the grace, he realizes that it has passed until today because of his parents' incalculable love and sacrifice and dedication, and only then does he know about the grace he received freely is to be grateful. The same is true of the grace God has given to our lives.
2. Contents of God-given grace
1) Bodily grace given through nature
Infinitely pouring sunlight and its graceful heat, infinitely supplying fresh air, infinitely giving clear living water... Without these, we cannot live even for a moment. But these are free gifts and grace from God. If life is ignorant, you do not realize this. However, from God's point of view, the free environment of nature given to us is a gift given as a result of God's non-stop work even now. We must realize that all growth, fruition, reproduction, and constant purification of nature are the result of the labor God is working through the angel. In John 5:17, the Lord healed the sick on the Sabbath and said, “My father works, so I work.”
We must realize that the benefits of Mother Nature that we enjoy are that we are receiving the fruits of God's hard work. God rules and operates all things through his angels. How much money must humans invest in purifying polluted water today? How much does it cost to heal a diseased body part? But we got them all. this is God
It is the grace given to us through this nature.
However, it is said that life does not understand, “because his eyes are blinded and he cannot see, and his heart is darkened so that he cannot understand” (Isaiah 44:18).
2) The spiritual message given through Jesus Christ
This precious physical life is also under the fate of finite extinction, but the salvation of our souls is under the eternal promise, so the preciousness of this grace is even greater.
In order for God to save us, God gave His Son, who is greater and more precious than the universe, to die for us and sacrificed for us, so that we could be forgiven and saved from the punishment of our sins. This is the content of God's grace.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” “God, who is rich in mercy, through the great love with which he loved us, raised us from our trespasses together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”. Therefore, our salvation is the event of paying the price of God's love of devotion and sacrifice, and we received it freely. So grace is a gift. All you have to do is receive a gift. All we need to do is believe in and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Then, because this grace is so great, we cannot fathom it and do not understand it (Ephesians 3:19). It is as if a person who was lost in the sea was rescued from a warship, and as long as you hold on to the rope, you live, and if you ride on a warship, you will surely live. The saving grace of our God is so freely given and certain (John 10:29).
3. Why we need grace (2:1-3).
1) Originally, we were sinners before God and our lives were under the judgment of hell.
2) And it was because I served the devil instead of God and lived according to my own desires and stubbornness. As a result, they are under the punishment of God's wrath.
4. The attitude of the one who received grace
therefore,
1) You have nothing to brag about and become humble (verse 9).
2) A life of gratitude will follow.
3) A life for the glory of God will follow (verse 10).
We should all become saints who realize grace and repay it.