Wednesday Devo

March 5th, 2025

Scripture:

Ephesians 2
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Commentary:

2:8 By grace refers to God’s favor upon those who have transgressed his law and sinned against him. But grace may also be understood as a “power” in these verses. God’s grace not only offers salvation but also secures it. Saved refers to deliverance from God’s wrath at the final judgment (Rom. 5:9); “by grace you have been saved” is repeated from Eph. 2:5 for emphasis. The verb form for “have been saved” (Gk. sesōsmenoi, perfect tense) communicates that the Christian’s salvation is fully secured. through faith. Faith is a confident trust and reliance upon Christ Jesus and is the only means by which one can obtain salvation. this. The Greek pronoun is neuter, while “grace” and “faith” are feminine. Accordingly, “this” points to the whole process of “salvation by grace through faith” as being the gift of God and not something that we can accomplish ourselves. This use of the neuter pronoun to take in the whole of a complex idea is quite common in Greek (e.g., 6:1); its use here makes it clear that faith, no less than grace, is a gift of God. Salvation, therefore, in every respect, is not your own doing.
2:9–10 Salvation is not by works. If it were, then those who are saved would get the glory. created … for good works. Salvation is not based on works, but the good works Christians do are the result and consequence of God’s new creation work.

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2265.

Questions:

The rise of all the issues of Roman Catholic church theology, and many more, eventually led to the rise of the REFORMERS. These were men like John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin that spent their lives turning people back to the basics of sound doctrine and away from the heresies of the Catholic church. We have these men (and others) to thank for bringing the church back to the truths of Scripture and salvation through our one and only mediator and savior, Jesus Christ. He died so we wouldn't need a priest or a Pope. We don't need someone to stand between us and God. We don't need a sacrament or financial donation or any other good work to save us. It's easy for us to fall into thinking we can do certain things that will earn more favor or love or forgiveness from God. How can you tell you are sliding that direction? What are the dangers?
Here's a quote from Marin Luther as he stood trial for standing against the Catholic church: "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me." This should be the heart's cry of every believer in today's culture. How might your life look differently if it was true for you? That unless Scripture says it, you don't believe it, and that your conscience is captive to the Word of God? How do you know if it is?

Pray:

That you would never try to earn anything from God.
That you would turn to Scripture alone for direction.

This Week's City 7:

Try to commit to memory!

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

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