July 14, 2025 • 33 mins
What does it truly mean to be saved? In this powerful opening message of the "God Saves" series, Pastor Timothy Mann cuts through common misconceptions to reveal the radical truth of salvation from Ephesians 2:1-10.
Like someone floating face down in water, our spiritual condition before Christ isn't just injured or struggling—we're dead. The stark reality is that apart from divine intervention, we're spiritually lifeless, enslaved to the world's values, under Satan's influence, and captive to our own sinful nature. This isn't describing particularly bad people—it describes all of us.
But then comes the divine turning point: "But God, who is rich in mercy." When we couldn't take a single step toward Him, God took the initiative. Not because we deserved it, but because of His character of love and mercy. Salvation isn't about self-improvement—it's spiritual resurrection.
Through vivid exposition, Pastor Tim reveals that salvation is entirely by grace through faith, not of works. We bring nothing to salvation except the sin that made it necessary. Even our faith itself is a gift from God, leaving no room for human boasting. Yet this humbling truth is also liberating: we are God's workmanship, His masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared in advance.
Whether you've been a believer for years, are newly saved, or still exploring faith, this message will deepen your understanding of what it means to be rescued by grace and transformed for God's glory. You'll discover why the backdrop of our spiritual deadness makes God's mercy shine so brightly, and why believers will spend eternity in awe of the grace that reached them when they were helpless.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth with Pastor
Timothy Mann from ProvidenceChurch in Ormond Beach, florida.
Join us now as we let God'sWord illuminate our lives and
guide us into His truth.
Today.
Today's message from Pastor Timis the first in the God Save
series entitled God Save Sinners.
And here's Pastor Timothy Mann.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Turn to the New Testament book of Ephesians.
New Testament book of Ephesians, verses 1 through 10 in
Ephesians, chapter 2.
One of the things I'm aware ofand know as a pastor is that a
lot of people today are confusedabout what it means to be,
really means to be saved or tohave a relationship with God.
(00:40):
Some think it's about tryingharder, being good or going to
church.
Others think it's just saying aprayer or believing certain
things.
But the Bible tells a muchgreater reality, a much greater
story, a much greater truth.
Salvation is not about what wedo for God, but about what God
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has done for us through Jesus.
And so in this new series,saved Understanding God's Work
in Us, we're going to beexploring what it truly means to
be saved, how God rescues usfrom sin, brings us into a new
life and secures us by His grace.
Whether you're sure of yourfaith or still wandering, I
(01:29):
believe this series will helpyou understand what salvation
really is and how you canpersonally know the God who
saves.
And when God saves you,everything changes.
Things begin to change thismorning, ephesians, chapter 2,
and I'll be reading from the NewKing James Version of the Bible
.
I'm going to read the first tenverses of Ephesians 2.
Now, of course, this letter,written by the Apostle Paul
under the inspiration of theHoly Spirit, was written to the
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believers in the city of Ephesus, the church there in Ephesus.
And in chapter 2, the Biblesays this and you he made alive,
who were dead in trespasses andsins, in which you once walked.
According to the course of thisworld, according to the prince
of the power of the air, thespirit who now works in the sons
(02:14):
of disobedience, among whomalso, we all once conducted
ourselves in the lusts of ourflesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind, andwere by nature children of wrath
, fulfilling the desires of theflesh and of the mind, and were
by nature children of wrath,just as the others.
But God, who was rich in mercybecause of His great love with
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which he loved us even when wewere dead in trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ.
Were dead in trespasses, madeus alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been savedand raised us up together and
made us sit together in theheavenly places, in Christ Jesus
, that in the ages to come hemight show the exceeding riches
(02:59):
of his grace in his kindnesstoward us.
In Christ Jesus, for by graceyou have been saved through
faith, and that not ofyourselves.
It is the gift of God, not ofworks, lest anyone should boast,
for we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
(03:21):
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
in them.
And we'll stop here.
And this is God's Word thatwe've just read.
Imagine walking along the beachand seeing someone floating face
down in the water offshore.
They're not waving their hands,they're not calling for help.
They're unconscious, lifeless.
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That's not someone who help.
They're unconscious, lifeless.
That's not someone who needs alife preserver or a float.
That's someone who needs to berescued, pulled out, revived,
given life.
And that's how the Bibledescribes our condition before
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God saves us Not spirituallyinjured, not spiritually
misguided, not spirituallystruggling, dead.
Dead that's the word the ApostlePaul uses to describe us In
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Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 1.
It says and you he made alivewho were dead in trespasses and
sins.
See, folks, our problem is notthat we're bad and need to be
made better.
Our problem is that we're deadand we need to be made alive.
This, this is one of theclearest passages in the bible
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about salvation.
In just 10 verses, the apostlepaul takes us from the depths of
human sin to the heights ofGod's mercy.
He takes us from the pit ofwrath to the riches of grace.
He takes us from what we wereto what we are in Christ.
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And if we don't understand thispassage, we won't understand the
gospel.
If we minimize sin, if weminimize sin, we'll distort
grace.
If we think we had something todo with our salvation, we'll
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rob God of His glory.
We had something to do with,our salvation will rob God of
his glory.
So today we're going to take ahard but honest look at what the
Bible says about our need forsalvation, god's work in
salvation and the purpose ofsalvation.
And so in these verses here'sthe big idea in these verses,
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salvation is entirely a work ofGod's grace.
He raises the spiritually dead,he redeems the helpless and he
creates us anew for His glory.
And so let's walk through thisvery powerful passage under
those headings creates us anewfor His glory.
And so let's walk through thisvery powerful passage under
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those headings, those threeheadings, and may the Spirit of
God today awaken us again to themiracle of grace.
So let's start, let's beginwhere the passage begins Chapter
2, verse 1.
Let's start where the passagestarts.
And that's with the passagebegins, chapter 2, verse 1.
Let's start where the passagestarts, and that's with the bad
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news.
The Bible doesn't sugarcoat ourcondition before Christ saves us
.
The Apostle Paul doesn't say wewere misguided, he doesn't say
we were a little off track.
He says we were dead in sin,who were dead in trespasses and
sins?
Dead in sin, spirituallylifeless toward God.
By our very nature we wereunresponsive to God.
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Look again at chapter 2, verses1 through 3.
Put your eyes on God's wordagain.
Look again at chapter 2, verses1 through 3.
Put your eyes on God's Wordagain.
And you he made alive, who weredead in trespasses and sins in
which you once walked, accordingto the course of this world,
according to the prince of thepower of the air, the Spirit,
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who now works in the sons ofdisobedience, among whom also we
all once conducted ourselves inthe lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of theflesh and of the mind, and we're
, by nature, children of wrath,just as the others.
I don't know about you, but Ithink this paints a very
sobering picture of the humancondition and before Christ in
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our life.
This is true of all of us, andso let's unpack it piece by
piece here just for a moment.
What we see here in this passage, first of all, is we need to
understand our need forsalvation.
We need to understand our needfor salvation again.
Paul says we were dead intrespasses and sins.
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This is not physical death, butspiritual death.
Sin didn't just wound us, itkilled us, killed us Like a
branch severed from a tree.
We're cut off from the life ofGod.
And he says we were dead intrespasses and sins.
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Trespasses and sins, that's abroader term.
It means missing the mark ofGod's holy standard.
And together trespasses, sins.
Together they describe a lifethat is fundamentally out of
step with God and spirituallydead towards God.
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Bible students, those of you whohave read the Gospels, the
Gospel of John, think of Lazarusin the tomb in the Gospel of
John, chapter 11.
He was dead.
He didn't ask for help, hedidn't move toward Jesus, he
didn't take the first step.
What happened?
Jesus called his name and gavehim life.
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That's a picture of howsalvation works, because before
God intervenes, we are not sickand seeking.
We are dead and drifting.
This is a vital truth to grasp.
Salvation doesn't begin with uslooking for God.
It begins with God coming torescue the spiritually dead.
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What else do we see here aboutour need for salvation?
Not only are we spirituallydead.
Look at verse 2 and 3.
It says we were enslaved to theworld, to the devil and to the
flesh.
The Bible uses three verypowerful.
It describes three verypowerful forces that held us
captive Before Christ saves us.
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We see the course of the worldhere, in which you once walked
according to the course of thisworld.
That word walked is ametaphorical term just to
describe how you live life.
You live according to thecourse of the world, meaning
before Christ saves us.
We follow the values of theworld.
We chased after success orpower or pleasure, approval, fun
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, money, lust, accolades.
We were shaped by the culturearound us, not the character of
God, and even though we thoughtwe were independent, we were
just going with the current of afallen world and another force
that held us captive.
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The Bible says here the princeof the power of the air.
It says here the prince of thepower of the air.
It says, according to theprince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in thesons of disobedience.
This is a reference to Satan.
Listen, he's not a myth, he'snot just a symbol of evil.
He is a real spiritual being, apowerful fallen archangel who,
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along with his demonic army,influences and affects, and in
fact has under his control,unbelievers, and he hates and he
opposes the work of God andthose apart from Christ, those
who are not saved, are under hisdeceptive sway, even if they
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don't realize it.
And then there is.
It says the lusts of the flesh.
We all once conducted ourselvesin the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of theflesh and of the mind.
We were slaves to our ownsinful nature.
We did what felt right, what wewanted, without reference to
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God and His will, and we thoughtwe were free.
But can I get a witness?
Sin is a cruel master.
Sin is a cruel master.
And look, the Apostle Paul isnot describing some particularly
bad group of people.
He's describing all of us.
All of us, I mean.
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Notice the shift in verse 3.
Look at your Bibles.
We all once conducted ourselves.
We all once conducted ourselves, religious and irreligious,
churchgoers and non churchgoers,the good kids and the rebels.
No one is exempt.
Sin is not just what we do,it's what we are apart from
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christ.
It's what we can call depravity.
So we continue to see our needfor salvation.
What does it say in verse three?
The second part of verse threetells us we were under god's
wrath and were by naturechildren of wrath, just as the
others, that's, just aseverybody else.
This is the most unpopular partof the gospel, but one of the
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most necessary.
God's wrath is real.
God's wrath is real.
It is His holy, just, properresponse to sin.
He is not indifferent to evil.
He doesn't just sweep sin underthe rug.
He is righteous.
And we, by nature, stoodcondemned under God's wrath.
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The Bible says we were childrenof wrath, meaning that our
default condition, our naturalspiritual state, was separation
from God and deserving ofjudgment.
And this is not, listen, thisis not just a warning about the
future.
It was or is, depending on yourstanding with God today, our
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condition in the present.
Some will say but I've alwaysbeen a Christian.
No, you haven't been aChristian.
No, you haven't.
No, you haven't Not.
According to Ephesians, chaptertwo, every true believer has a
BC, that is, before Christ.
Oh, you might've grown up inchurch, you might've learned
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Bible stories, you might've evenbeen well behaved, but listen
to me, you were still dead insin until Christ made you alive.
That's why grace is amazing.
That's why it's so amazing.
Because the backdrop is so dark, the light of God's mercy
shines so brightly.
And all of this applies toeveryone.
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If you are a mature believer,if you're someone who's been a
believer for a number of years,you're a mature believer.
Don't forget what God saved youfrom.
Don't forget what God saved youfrom.
I know this to be the truth.
The longer we walk with Christ,the more tempted we are to
soften the truth about ourformer condition.
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I wasn't all that bad, but I'mgoing to tell you, remembering
our spiritual deadness makes usgrateful for His grace.
If you're a new believer, or arelatively new believer, don't
be discouraged, believer, don'tbe discouraged.
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Everyone starts here.
Your story is not unusual.
It's exactly what scripturedescribes.
You were lost and now you'refound.
You were dead and now you live.
If you're an unbeliever, ifyou're not saved, if you're not
saved, this is your currentcondition, and listen to me very
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carefully no amount of religion, no amount of morality can
change it.
Hey, you don't need spiritualimprovement, you need spiritual
resurrection.
But the good news is, the Godwho raises the dead is rich in
mercy.
And so we've seen the bleakreality of our condition apart
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from Christ, dead in sin,enslaved by the world, enslaved
by the flesh, enslaved by thedevil and deserving of God's
wrath.
And so if the Apostle Paul hadstopped at verse 3, we'd be left
in despair.
But thank God he didn't,because now, as we move into the
passage a little further, wenot only see and hopefully come
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to understand our need forsalvation, but we see God's work
in salvation.
I want you to look at verse 4.
But God let's all say that.
But God, yeah, but God.
I think these are two of thegreatest words in all of
Scripture because they mark aturning point in the story, not
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just the story of the gospel,the reality of the gospel, but
they mark a turning point in thestory of every genuine believer
who has genuine, who has truesalvation.
And what do we see here?
Well, we see God's initiative.
He acted when we were dead insin Verse four but God who is
rich in mercy.
The contrast is reallybreathtaking.
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We were dead in trespasses andsins, but God.
We were objects of wrath butGod.
We were powerless and hopelessbut God.
And so the Apostle Paul, here,under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, wants us to knowthat the reason we are saved is
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not because of what we've done,but because of who God is.
Because of who God is.
He is rich in mercy.
Rich in mercy, I'm happy toannounce to you.
He is not stingy withcompassion, he's overflowing
with it.
He is not, his mercy is notreluctant, it's abundant.
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God delights in showing mercy tothose who do not deserve it.
And if, in some little inklingof a way, you sit here and you
think I deserved mercy, then youdon't understand salvation, you
don't understand grace.
Jesus said it this way.
He said I did not come to callthe righteous to repentance, but
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sinners.
And if you're sitting in here,you think I'm good, I'm good
enough, I'm righteous, then youain't got no mercy.
God delights in showing mercyto those who know they do not
deserve it.
Titus, chapter 3, verse 5,echoes this truth.
The bible says not by works ofrighteousness, which we have
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done, but according to his mercy.
He saved us.
Y'all doing okay.
What else do we see?
We also see God's motive hereHis great love.
The second half of verse 4 saysBecause of His great love, with
which he loved us.
Why did God save us?
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Not because we're lovable, notbecause we're lovable, but
because he is love.
And His love is not a responseto our goodness, it's rooted in
his character.
And the bible says in verse 5god loved us even when we were
dead in sins.
That's what verse 5 says.
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He set his affection on uswhile we were still rebels
against him.
Romans, chapter 5, verse 8 oneof my favorite verses in all of
the New Testament says itplainly.
It says but God demonstratesHis own love toward us in that,
while we were still sinners,christ died for us.
Never get over that.
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Never get over that.
You were at your worst and Godloved you with His best.
And the love that saved youwasn't based on your performance
, it was based on His purpose.
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And then we see God's action.
He made us alive with Christ.
Look at verse 5.
Even when we were dead intrespasses, he made us alive
together with Christ.
By grace, you have been saved.
This is what we doctrinallycall regeneration.
It's the giving of new life.
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Hey, salvation is notself-improvement, it's a
resurrection.
What God did for Christphysically at the tomb, he does
for us spiritually in salvation.
He brings the dead to life.
And notice the Apostle Paul'suse here of with Christ and
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together.
In these few verses Verse 5,you've been made alive together
with Christ and together.
In these few verses, verse 5,you've been made alive together
with Christ.
Verse 6, raised us up togetherVerse 6, made us sit together in
the heavenly places in ChristJesus.
This is union with Christ,union with Christ.
What happened to Jesus happenedto us spiritually.
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When he rose, we rose.
When he was exalted, we wereincluded.
One of the most exciting thingsis salvation is not just
forgiveness.
We make it often just aboutthat.
Salvation is not justforgiveness.
It's new identity, new position, a new power, new hope.
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And then we see God's power.
He raised and seated us withChrist verse 6, and raised us up
together and made us sittogether in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus verse 6.
I want you to notice somethinghere.
The Apostle Paul is using thepast tense here.
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He's using the past tense here.
That's because, in God's eyes,this has already been
accomplished.
You may be sitting in here thismorning and you may feel weak,
spiritually speaking, but youare already seated with Christ
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in victory.
You're already seated withChrist in victory.
You know what that means.
That means your salvation isnot temporary, it's not
probationary, it is accomplished.
You are secure in Christbecause you are joined to Him.
You're joined to him Because ifsalvation began with God and
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was accomplished by God and issecured by God, then the glory
goes to God, not to us, not tous.
What do we see next?
Well, we see God's purpose, andit's to display the riches of
His grace.
Look what the Bible says, verse7.
That in the ages to come, hemight show the exceeding riches
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of His grace and His kindnesstoward us in Christ Jesus.
Why did God save us?
To display His grace forever.
You thought it was all aboutyou, didn't you?
You thought he didn't wantheaven without you To display
His grace forever.
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If you are saved, you are atrophy of grace.
In eternity, saints and angelswill look at you and not say Wow
, what a great person.
No, but they'll say Glory, whata great person.
No, but they'll say glory, whata gracious God.
Look at who he saved this time.
God will spend all of eternityshowcasing His kindness to us in
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Christ.
You know what that means.
That means we'll never outgrowthe gospel.
We'll never get over grace Forall eternity.
We will be stunned, shocked, bythe mercy that reached us.
We'll be stunned by it.
And again, this applies toeverybody, everybody.
If you're a mature believer,this is your daily anchor.
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Your position in Christ listento me very carefully your
position in Christ is not basedon your feelings, but on God's
finished work, and so rejoicethat you are seated with Christ,
secure, accepted and loved.
If you're a new believerrelatively new you have a new
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life.
New believer relatively new,you have a new life.
You have a new identity andpraise God.
You have a new future.
You are not who you were, and sodon't let the enemy or the
world tell you otherwise.
God made you alive and he didit because he loves you.
And if you're an unbeliever andnot saved, god is rich in mercy
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.
He's not waiting for you toclean yourself up because you
can't.
You can't.
He's not looking for you toimpress Him because you don't.
He's offering resurrection tothe dead.
If you'll turn to him, he'llmake you alive in Christ.
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What else do we see?
Well, as we come toward the lastpart of this, we need to
embrace.
Not only do we need to know ourneed for salvation, not only do
we need to see what God's workhas been in our salvation, but
we need to embrace the purposeof salvation.
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We need to embrace the purposeof salvation.
The Apostle Paul has just takenus from spiritual death to life
in Christ and now, in verses 8through 10, he sums up the
entire biblical doctrine ofsalvation in one of the clearest
, most quoted, most beautifulgospel summaries in the Bible.
Read it with me, look at it.
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Follow along as I read Verse 8,for by grace you have been
saved, through faith, and thatnot of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not ofworks, lest anyone should boast,
for we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
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in them.
This is the gospel in threeverses, so let's walk through
them phrase by phrase.
First of all, we see, salvationis by grace alone.
Salvation is by grace alone.
I'm going to say it one moretime, you need to get it
Salvation is by grace alone, forby grace you have been saved.
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The word grace means undeservedfavor and kindness.
Undeserved favor and kindness,favor and kindness, undeserved
favor and kindness.
It's not earned, it's notrepayable.
God's grace, his grace, meansgod does for us what we could
never do for ourselves.
Listen, follower of jesus, theapostle paul I want you to see
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this too.
The apostle paul doesn't say weare being saved, although in a
sense that's a realitybiblically speaking.
But Paul doesn't say we arebeing saved, although in a sense
that's a reality biblicallyspeaking.
But he doesn't say that here.
He doesn't say you are beingsaved and he certainly doesn't
say we might be saved.
He says we have been saved.
We have been saved, it's acompleted act.
This is something that God hasdone.
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Grace is the cause, salvationis the result.
Theologian JI Packers put itwell.
He said grace means God movingheaven and earth to save sinners
who could not lift a finger tosave themselves.
What else do we notice?
We see that salvation isthrough faith alone.
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We see that salvation isthrough faith alone.
Salvation is by grace alone andit's through faith alone.
Through faith, faith is themeans by which grace is received
.
It is not a work, it's a trust.
Faith says I have nothing tooffer, I receive what christ has
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done for me.
It is leaning completely,wholly, on jesus, leaning
completely on jesus.
I want to say it plainly sothat there's no misunderstanding
we are not saved by our faith.
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We are not saved by our faith.
We are saved by Christ and byGod's grace and faith is simply
the empty hand that receives Him.
Faith itself is not meritingreward.
It doesn't earn grace, it justopens the door to receive it.
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That's why even our faith is agift.
As the Apostle Paul continues,we see, salvation is a gift, not
a reward, and that not ofyourselves.
It is the gift of God, not ofworks.
Lest anyone should boast, thisreally couldn't be any clearer
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Salvation is not of yourselves,it is not of works.
It is the gift of God.
You know what that means.
That means you can't earn it.
It means you can't deserve it.
It means you can't boast in itmeans you can't boast in it, you
can't brag in it.
It's salvation whereby works,even a little.
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I mean just a little bit.
You know what happened?
We brag, we'd have room to brag, we'd compare ourselves, we'd
believe we contributed.
But the gospel leaves no roomfor pride.
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No room for pride.
The only proper response isworship, gratitude and living
for his glory.
As it has been said, we bringnothing to salvation except the
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sin that made it necessary, andthis is the great offense of the
gospel.
It humbles us, and this is thegreat offense of the gospel.
It humbles us, it tells uswe're helpless without Jesus.
But it also blesses us becauseit tells us that we are so loved
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that God gave his son for us.
And so here's the goal.
Here's the goal Verse 10.
Salvation really results in anew life of good works Verse 10.
For we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
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in them.
So the Bible right now shows usthe purpose of salvation.
And it's not just to get us outof hell, although that's a
pretty good side benefit, Iwould say and it's not just to
take us to heaven, althoughthat's a wonderful glory and a
wonderful future we have.
The Bible makes it very clearthe purpose of salvation is to
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make us new people who will livefor God's glory, to make us new
people who will live for God'sglory.
We are God's workmanship, weare His masterpiece, we are His
poem.
The Greek word here we havetranslated His workmanship.
The Greek word is poiema, wherewe get our word poem.
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Your life is God's work of art,remade by grace.
You are, it says, created inChrist Jesus.
That's new, that's creationlanguage.
That's new creation language.
Not just cleaned up, not justpatched up, remade from the
inside out.
And I want you to notice theorder here.
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We are not saved by good works,we're saved for good works.
The works don't save you, butthey show that you have been
saved.
They're the fruit, not the root.
They're the evidence, not thecause.
They're the evidence, not thecause.
And here's the most beautifulpart God prepared these works in
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advance.
God prepared these worksbeforehand, before you were born
, before you believed, god hadalready planned the good works
that you would walk in.
You know what that means.
That means your life haseternal purpose.
Your life has eternal purpose.
Your life has eternal purpose.
Your salvation is not the end,it's the beginning of a life
(33:17):
lived for the glory of God.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word
of God stands forever.
That's Isaiah 48.
Thanks for tuning in to theFoundations of Truth podcast
with Pastor Timothy Mann fromProvidence Church in Ormond
Beach, Florida.
Join us next time and untilthen, keep building your life on
God's eternal truth, the Bible.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth with Pastor
Timothy Mann from ProvidenceChurch in Ormond Beach, florida.
Join us now as we let God'sWord illuminate our lives and
guide us into His truth.
Today.
Today's message from Pastor Timis the first in the God Save
series entitled God Save Sinners.
And here's Pastor Timothy Mann.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Turn to the New Testament book of Ephesians.
New Testament book of Ephesians, verses 1 through 10 in
Ephesians, chapter 2.
One of the things I'm aware ofand know as a pastor is that a
lot of people today are confusedabout what it means to be,
really means to be saved or tohave a relationship with God.
(00:40):
Some think it's about tryingharder, being good or going to
church.
Others think it's just saying aprayer or believing certain
things.
But the Bible tells a muchgreater reality, a much greater
story, a much greater truth.
Salvation is not about what wedo for God, but about what God
(01:00):
has done for us through Jesus.
And so in this new series,saved Understanding God's Work
in Us, we're going to beexploring what it truly means to
be saved, how God rescues usfrom sin, brings us into a new
life and secures us by His grace.
Whether you're sure of yourfaith or still wandering, I
(01:29):
believe this series will helpyou understand what salvation
really is and how you canpersonally know the God who
saves.
And when God saves you,everything changes.
Things begin to change thismorning, ephesians, chapter 2,
and I'll be reading from the NewKing James Version of the Bible
.
I'm going to read the first tenverses of Ephesians 2.
Now, of course, this letter,written by the Apostle Paul
under the inspiration of theHoly Spirit, was written to the
(01:52):
believers in the city of Ephesus, the church there in Ephesus.
And in chapter 2, the Biblesays this and you he made alive,
who were dead in trespasses andsins, in which you once walked.
According to the course of thisworld, according to the prince
of the power of the air, thespirit who now works in the sons
(02:14):
of disobedience, among whomalso, we all once conducted
ourselves in the lusts of ourflesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind, andwere by nature children of wrath
, fulfilling the desires of theflesh and of the mind, and were
by nature children of wrath,just as the others.
But God, who was rich in mercybecause of His great love with
(02:37):
which he loved us even when wewere dead in trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ.
Were dead in trespasses, madeus alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been savedand raised us up together and
made us sit together in theheavenly places, in Christ Jesus
, that in the ages to come hemight show the exceeding riches
(02:59):
of his grace in his kindnesstoward us.
In Christ Jesus, for by graceyou have been saved through
faith, and that not ofyourselves.
It is the gift of God, not ofworks, lest anyone should boast,
for we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
(03:21):
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
in them.
And we'll stop here.
And this is God's Word thatwe've just read.
Imagine walking along the beachand seeing someone floating face
down in the water offshore.
They're not waving their hands,they're not calling for help.
They're unconscious, lifeless.
(03:42):
That's not someone who help.
They're unconscious, lifeless.
That's not someone who needs alife preserver or a float.
That's someone who needs to berescued, pulled out, revived,
given life.
And that's how the Bibledescribes our condition before
(04:08):
God saves us Not spirituallyinjured, not spiritually
misguided, not spirituallystruggling, dead.
Dead that's the word the ApostlePaul uses to describe us In
(04:31):
Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 1.
It says and you he made alivewho were dead in trespasses and
sins.
See, folks, our problem is notthat we're bad and need to be
made better.
Our problem is that we're deadand we need to be made alive.
This, this is one of theclearest passages in the bible
(04:57):
about salvation.
In just 10 verses, the apostlepaul takes us from the depths of
human sin to the heights ofGod's mercy.
He takes us from the pit ofwrath to the riches of grace.
He takes us from what we wereto what we are in Christ.
(05:20):
And if we don't understand thispassage, we won't understand the
gospel.
If we minimize sin, if weminimize sin, we'll distort
grace.
If we think we had something todo with our salvation, we'll
(05:43):
rob God of His glory.
We had something to do with,our salvation will rob God of
his glory.
So today we're going to take ahard but honest look at what the
Bible says about our need forsalvation, god's work in
salvation and the purpose ofsalvation.
And so in these verses here'sthe big idea in these verses,
(06:08):
salvation is entirely a work ofGod's grace.
He raises the spiritually dead,he redeems the helpless and he
creates us anew for His glory.
And so let's walk through thisvery powerful passage under
those headings creates us anewfor His glory.
And so let's walk through thisvery powerful passage under
(06:29):
those headings, those threeheadings, and may the Spirit of
God today awaken us again to themiracle of grace.
So let's start, let's beginwhere the passage begins Chapter
2, verse 1.
Let's start where the passagestarts.
And that's with the passagebegins, chapter 2, verse 1.
Let's start where the passagestarts, and that's with the bad
(06:53):
news.
The Bible doesn't sugarcoat ourcondition before Christ saves us
.
The Apostle Paul doesn't say wewere misguided, he doesn't say
we were a little off track.
He says we were dead in sin,who were dead in trespasses and
sins?
Dead in sin, spirituallylifeless toward God.
By our very nature we wereunresponsive to God.
(07:17):
Look again at chapter 2, verses1 through 3.
Put your eyes on God's wordagain.
Look again at chapter 2, verses1 through 3.
Put your eyes on God's Wordagain.
And you he made alive, who weredead in trespasses and sins in
which you once walked, accordingto the course of this world,
according to the prince of thepower of the air, the Spirit,
(07:41):
who now works in the sons ofdisobedience, among whom also we
all once conducted ourselves inthe lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of theflesh and of the mind, and we're
, by nature, children of wrath,just as the others.
I don't know about you, but Ithink this paints a very
sobering picture of the humancondition and before Christ in
(08:03):
our life.
This is true of all of us, andso let's unpack it piece by
piece here just for a moment.
What we see here in this passage, first of all, is we need to
understand our need forsalvation.
We need to understand our needfor salvation again.
Paul says we were dead intrespasses and sins.
(08:24):
This is not physical death, butspiritual death.
Sin didn't just wound us, itkilled us, killed us Like a
branch severed from a tree.
We're cut off from the life ofGod.
And he says we were dead intrespasses and sins.
(08:46):
Trespasses and sins, that's abroader term.
It means missing the mark ofGod's holy standard.
And together trespasses, sins.
Together they describe a lifethat is fundamentally out of
step with God and spirituallydead towards God.
(09:08):
Bible students, those of you whohave read the Gospels, the
Gospel of John, think of Lazarusin the tomb in the Gospel of
John, chapter 11.
He was dead.
He didn't ask for help, hedidn't move toward Jesus, he
didn't take the first step.
What happened?
Jesus called his name and gavehim life.
(09:31):
That's a picture of howsalvation works, because before
God intervenes, we are not sickand seeking.
We are dead and drifting.
This is a vital truth to grasp.
Salvation doesn't begin with uslooking for God.
It begins with God coming torescue the spiritually dead.
(09:53):
What else do we see here aboutour need for salvation?
Not only are we spirituallydead.
Look at verse 2 and 3.
It says we were enslaved to theworld, to the devil and to the
flesh.
The Bible uses three verypowerful.
It describes three verypowerful forces that held us
captive Before Christ saves us.
(10:13):
We see the course of the worldhere, in which you once walked
according to the course of thisworld.
That word walked is ametaphorical term just to
describe how you live life.
You live according to thecourse of the world, meaning
before Christ saves us.
We follow the values of theworld.
We chased after success orpower or pleasure, approval, fun
(10:42):
, money, lust, accolades.
We were shaped by the culturearound us, not the character of
God, and even though we thoughtwe were independent, we were
just going with the current of afallen world and another force
that held us captive.
(11:02):
The Bible says here the princeof the power of the air.
It says here the prince of thepower of the air.
It says, according to theprince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in thesons of disobedience.
This is a reference to Satan.
Listen, he's not a myth, he'snot just a symbol of evil.
He is a real spiritual being, apowerful fallen archangel who,
(11:26):
along with his demonic army,influences and affects, and in
fact has under his control,unbelievers, and he hates and he
opposes the work of God andthose apart from Christ, those
who are not saved, are under hisdeceptive sway, even if they
(11:48):
don't realize it.
And then there is.
It says the lusts of the flesh.
We all once conducted ourselvesin the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of theflesh and of the mind.
We were slaves to our ownsinful nature.
We did what felt right, what wewanted, without reference to
(12:09):
God and His will, and we thoughtwe were free.
But can I get a witness?
Sin is a cruel master.
Sin is a cruel master.
And look, the Apostle Paul isnot describing some particularly
bad group of people.
He's describing all of us.
All of us, I mean.
(12:29):
Notice the shift in verse 3.
Look at your Bibles.
We all once conducted ourselves.
We all once conducted ourselves, religious and irreligious,
churchgoers and non churchgoers,the good kids and the rebels.
No one is exempt.
Sin is not just what we do,it's what we are apart from
(12:56):
christ.
It's what we can call depravity.
So we continue to see our needfor salvation.
What does it say in verse three?
The second part of verse threetells us we were under god's
wrath and were by naturechildren of wrath, just as the
others, that's, just aseverybody else.
This is the most unpopular partof the gospel, but one of the
(13:19):
most necessary.
God's wrath is real.
God's wrath is real.
It is His holy, just, properresponse to sin.
He is not indifferent to evil.
He doesn't just sweep sin underthe rug.
He is righteous.
And we, by nature, stoodcondemned under God's wrath.
(13:42):
The Bible says we were childrenof wrath, meaning that our
default condition, our naturalspiritual state, was separation
from God and deserving ofjudgment.
And this is not, listen, thisis not just a warning about the
future.
It was or is, depending on yourstanding with God today, our
(14:05):
condition in the present.
Some will say but I've alwaysbeen a Christian.
No, you haven't been aChristian.
No, you haven't.
No, you haven't Not.
According to Ephesians, chaptertwo, every true believer has a
BC, that is, before Christ.
Oh, you might've grown up inchurch, you might've learned
(14:31):
Bible stories, you might've evenbeen well behaved, but listen
to me, you were still dead insin until Christ made you alive.
That's why grace is amazing.
That's why it's so amazing.
Because the backdrop is so dark, the light of God's mercy
shines so brightly.
And all of this applies toeveryone.
(14:52):
If you are a mature believer,if you're someone who's been a
believer for a number of years,you're a mature believer.
Don't forget what God saved youfrom.
Don't forget what God saved youfrom.
I know this to be the truth.
The longer we walk with Christ,the more tempted we are to
soften the truth about ourformer condition.
(15:14):
I wasn't all that bad, but I'mgoing to tell you, remembering
our spiritual deadness makes usgrateful for His grace.
If you're a new believer, or arelatively new believer, don't
be discouraged, believer, don'tbe discouraged.
(15:40):
Everyone starts here.
Your story is not unusual.
It's exactly what scripturedescribes.
You were lost and now you'refound.
You were dead and now you live.
If you're an unbeliever, ifyou're not saved, if you're not
saved, this is your currentcondition, and listen to me very
(16:00):
carefully no amount of religion, no amount of morality can
change it.
Hey, you don't need spiritualimprovement, you need spiritual
resurrection.
But the good news is, the Godwho raises the dead is rich in
mercy.
And so we've seen the bleakreality of our condition apart
(16:24):
from Christ, dead in sin,enslaved by the world, enslaved
by the flesh, enslaved by thedevil and deserving of God's
wrath.
And so if the Apostle Paul hadstopped at verse 3, we'd be left
in despair.
But thank God he didn't,because now, as we move into the
passage a little further, wenot only see and hopefully come
(16:47):
to understand our need forsalvation, but we see God's work
in salvation.
I want you to look at verse 4.
But God let's all say that.
But God, yeah, but God.
I think these are two of thegreatest words in all of
Scripture because they mark aturning point in the story, not
(17:09):
just the story of the gospel,the reality of the gospel, but
they mark a turning point in thestory of every genuine believer
who has genuine, who has truesalvation.
And what do we see here?
Well, we see God's initiative.
He acted when we were dead insin Verse four but God who is
rich in mercy.
The contrast is reallybreathtaking.
(17:31):
We were dead in trespasses andsins, but God.
We were objects of wrath butGod.
We were powerless and hopelessbut God.
And so the Apostle Paul, here,under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, wants us to knowthat the reason we are saved is
(17:52):
not because of what we've done,but because of who God is.
Because of who God is.
He is rich in mercy.
Rich in mercy, I'm happy toannounce to you.
He is not stingy withcompassion, he's overflowing
with it.
He is not, his mercy is notreluctant, it's abundant.
(18:14):
God delights in showing mercy tothose who do not deserve it.
And if, in some little inklingof a way, you sit here and you
think I deserved mercy, then youdon't understand salvation, you
don't understand grace.
Jesus said it this way.
He said I did not come to callthe righteous to repentance, but
(18:38):
sinners.
And if you're sitting in here,you think I'm good, I'm good
enough, I'm righteous, then youain't got no mercy.
God delights in showing mercyto those who know they do not
deserve it.
Titus, chapter 3, verse 5,echoes this truth.
The bible says not by works ofrighteousness, which we have
(19:00):
done, but according to his mercy.
He saved us.
Y'all doing okay.
What else do we see?
We also see God's motive hereHis great love.
The second half of verse 4 saysBecause of His great love, with
which he loved us.
Why did God save us?
(19:20):
Not because we're lovable, notbecause we're lovable, but
because he is love.
And His love is not a responseto our goodness, it's rooted in
his character.
And the bible says in verse 5god loved us even when we were
dead in sins.
That's what verse 5 says.
(19:41):
He set his affection on uswhile we were still rebels
against him.
Romans, chapter 5, verse 8 oneof my favorite verses in all of
the New Testament says itplainly.
It says but God demonstratesHis own love toward us in that,
while we were still sinners,christ died for us.
Never get over that.
(20:02):
Never get over that.
You were at your worst and Godloved you with His best.
And the love that saved youwasn't based on your performance
, it was based on His purpose.
(20:23):
And then we see God's action.
He made us alive with Christ.
Look at verse 5.
Even when we were dead intrespasses, he made us alive
together with Christ.
By grace, you have been saved.
This is what we doctrinallycall regeneration.
It's the giving of new life.
(20:44):
Hey, salvation is notself-improvement, it's a
resurrection.
What God did for Christphysically at the tomb, he does
for us spiritually in salvation.
He brings the dead to life.
And notice the Apostle Paul'suse here of with Christ and
(21:06):
together.
In these few verses Verse 5,you've been made alive together
with Christ and together.
In these few verses, verse 5,you've been made alive together
with Christ.
Verse 6, raised us up togetherVerse 6, made us sit together in
the heavenly places in ChristJesus.
This is union with Christ,union with Christ.
What happened to Jesus happenedto us spiritually.
(21:29):
When he rose, we rose.
When he was exalted, we wereincluded.
One of the most exciting thingsis salvation is not just
forgiveness.
We make it often just aboutthat.
Salvation is not justforgiveness.
It's new identity, new position, a new power, new hope.
(21:52):
And then we see God's power.
He raised and seated us withChrist verse 6, and raised us up
together and made us sittogether in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus verse 6.
I want you to notice somethinghere.
The Apostle Paul is using thepast tense here.
(22:13):
He's using the past tense here.
That's because, in God's eyes,this has already been
accomplished.
You may be sitting in here thismorning and you may feel weak,
spiritually speaking, but youare already seated with Christ
(22:34):
in victory.
You're already seated withChrist in victory.
You know what that means.
That means your salvation isnot temporary, it's not
probationary, it is accomplished.
You are secure in Christbecause you are joined to Him.
You're joined to him Because ifsalvation began with God and
(22:55):
was accomplished by God and issecured by God, then the glory
goes to God, not to us, not tous.
What do we see next?
Well, we see God's purpose, andit's to display the riches of
His grace.
Look what the Bible says, verse7.
That in the ages to come, hemight show the exceeding riches
(23:17):
of His grace and His kindnesstoward us in Christ Jesus.
Why did God save us?
To display His grace forever.
You thought it was all aboutyou, didn't you?
You thought he didn't wantheaven without you To display
His grace forever.
(23:37):
If you are saved, you are atrophy of grace.
In eternity, saints and angelswill look at you and not say Wow
, what a great person.
No, but they'll say Glory, whata great person.
No, but they'll say glory, whata gracious God.
Look at who he saved this time.
God will spend all of eternityshowcasing His kindness to us in
(24:02):
Christ.
You know what that means.
That means we'll never outgrowthe gospel.
We'll never get over grace Forall eternity.
We will be stunned, shocked, bythe mercy that reached us.
We'll be stunned by it.
And again, this applies toeverybody, everybody.
If you're a mature believer,this is your daily anchor.
(24:24):
Your position in Christ listento me very carefully your
position in Christ is not basedon your feelings, but on God's
finished work, and so rejoicethat you are seated with Christ,
secure, accepted and loved.
If you're a new believerrelatively new you have a new
(24:46):
life.
New believer relatively new,you have a new life.
You have a new identity andpraise God.
You have a new future.
You are not who you were, and sodon't let the enemy or the
world tell you otherwise.
God made you alive and he didit because he loves you.
And if you're an unbeliever andnot saved, god is rich in mercy
(25:10):
.
He's not waiting for you toclean yourself up because you
can't.
You can't.
He's not looking for you toimpress Him because you don't.
He's offering resurrection tothe dead.
If you'll turn to him, he'llmake you alive in Christ.
(25:35):
What else do we see?
Well, as we come toward the lastpart of this, we need to
embrace.
Not only do we need to know ourneed for salvation, not only do
we need to see what God's workhas been in our salvation, but
we need to embrace the purposeof salvation.
(25:55):
We need to embrace the purposeof salvation.
The Apostle Paul has just takenus from spiritual death to life
in Christ and now, in verses 8through 10, he sums up the
entire biblical doctrine ofsalvation in one of the clearest
, most quoted, most beautifulgospel summaries in the Bible.
Read it with me, look at it.
(26:18):
Follow along as I read Verse 8,for by grace you have been
saved, through faith, and thatnot of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not ofworks, lest anyone should boast,
for we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
(26:39):
in them.
This is the gospel in threeverses, so let's walk through
them phrase by phrase.
First of all, we see, salvationis by grace alone.
Salvation is by grace alone.
I'm going to say it one moretime, you need to get it
Salvation is by grace alone, forby grace you have been saved.
(27:01):
The word grace means undeservedfavor and kindness.
Undeserved favor and kindness,favor and kindness, undeserved
favor and kindness.
It's not earned, it's notrepayable.
God's grace, his grace, meansgod does for us what we could
never do for ourselves.
Listen, follower of jesus, theapostle paul I want you to see
(27:24):
this too.
The apostle paul doesn't say weare being saved, although in a
sense that's a realitybiblically speaking.
But Paul doesn't say we arebeing saved, although in a sense
that's a reality biblicallyspeaking.
But he doesn't say that here.
He doesn't say you are beingsaved and he certainly doesn't
say we might be saved.
He says we have been saved.
We have been saved, it's acompleted act.
This is something that God hasdone.
(27:46):
Grace is the cause, salvationis the result.
Theologian JI Packers put itwell.
He said grace means God movingheaven and earth to save sinners
who could not lift a finger tosave themselves.
What else do we notice?
We see that salvation isthrough faith alone.
(28:09):
We see that salvation isthrough faith alone.
Salvation is by grace alone andit's through faith alone.
Through faith, faith is themeans by which grace is received
.
It is not a work, it's a trust.
Faith says I have nothing tooffer, I receive what christ has
(28:35):
done for me.
It is leaning completely,wholly, on jesus, leaning
completely on jesus.
I want to say it plainly sothat there's no misunderstanding
we are not saved by our faith.
(28:55):
We are not saved by our faith.
We are saved by Christ and byGod's grace and faith is simply
the empty hand that receives Him.
Faith itself is not meritingreward.
It doesn't earn grace, it justopens the door to receive it.
(29:16):
That's why even our faith is agift.
As the Apostle Paul continues,we see, salvation is a gift, not
a reward, and that not ofyourselves.
It is the gift of God, not ofworks.
Lest anyone should boast, thisreally couldn't be any clearer
(29:38):
Salvation is not of yourselves,it is not of works.
It is the gift of God.
You know what that means.
That means you can't earn it.
It means you can't deserve it.
It means you can't boast in itmeans you can't boast in it, you
can't brag in it.
It's salvation whereby works,even a little.
(29:58):
I mean just a little bit.
You know what happened?
We brag, we'd have room to brag, we'd compare ourselves, we'd
believe we contributed.
But the gospel leaves no roomfor pride.
(30:19):
No room for pride.
The only proper response isworship, gratitude and living
for his glory.
As it has been said, we bringnothing to salvation except the
(30:41):
sin that made it necessary, andthis is the great offense of the
gospel.
It humbles us, and this is thegreat offense of the gospel.
It humbles us, it tells uswe're helpless without Jesus.
But it also blesses us becauseit tells us that we are so loved
(31:05):
that God gave his son for us.
And so here's the goal.
Here's the goal Verse 10.
Salvation really results in anew life of good works Verse 10.
For we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand that we should walk
(31:26):
in them.
So the Bible right now shows usthe purpose of salvation.
And it's not just to get us outof hell, although that's a
pretty good side benefit, Iwould say and it's not just to
take us to heaven, althoughthat's a wonderful glory and a
wonderful future we have.
The Bible makes it very clearthe purpose of salvation is to
(31:48):
make us new people who will livefor God's glory, to make us new
people who will live for God'sglory.
We are God's workmanship, weare His masterpiece, we are His
poem.
The Greek word here we havetranslated His workmanship.
The Greek word is poiema, wherewe get our word poem.
(32:11):
Your life is God's work of art,remade by grace.
You are, it says, created inChrist Jesus.
That's new, that's creationlanguage.
That's new creation language.
Not just cleaned up, not justpatched up, remade from the
inside out.
And I want you to notice theorder here.
(32:33):
We are not saved by good works,we're saved for good works.
The works don't save you, butthey show that you have been
saved.
They're the fruit, not the root.
They're the evidence, not thecause.
They're the evidence, not thecause.
And here's the most beautifulpart God prepared these works in
(32:54):
advance.
God prepared these worksbeforehand, before you were born
, before you believed, god hadalready planned the good works
that you would walk in.
You know what that means.
That means your life haseternal purpose.
Your life has eternal purpose.
Your life has eternal purpose.
Your salvation is not the end,it's the beginning of a life
(33:17):
lived for the glory of God.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word
of God stands forever.
That's Isaiah 48.
Thanks for tuning in to theFoundations of Truth podcast
with Pastor Timothy Mann fromProvidence Church in Ormond
Beach, Florida.
Join us next time and untilthen, keep building your life on
God's eternal truth, the Bible.
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Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!