The apostle Paul says this in Ephesians 2:8,9:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Let’s notice in Ephesians 2:8 that the apostle Paul speaks of our salvation in the past tense, “you have been saved”, with a present effect “through faith”. We are saved by God’s grace through faith. What Paul is emphasizing is that God rescues us from sin, Satan, and death (Ephesians 2:1-3). Faith in God is the way we receive God’s saving grace offered to us as a free gift by trusting in Christ and what He did for us in His life, death, and resurrection. Faith itself is a gift of God, and it is not something that people do to make themselves acceptable to God. Because our salvation from beginning to end is all based on God’s grace and not on the basis on anything we do, there is no room for anyone to boast. The realization that none of us deserve God’s grace and mercy ought to cause us to appreciate and give thanks to God for His grace and His mercy. We will only appreciate the beauty of God’s grace when we recognize the awfulness of our sin and our utter dependence on God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. John Newton, the writer of the hymn, Amazing Grace, recognized that God’s grace was truly amazing.
The first verse of his hymn, “Amazing Grace” says,
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found,
Was blind but now I see.”
The apostle Paul gives this similar affirmation to how amazing God’s grace is in 1 Timothy 1:15,16:
“15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
May we continue to firmly trust in Jesus Christ and His work of salvation for us. May we also be truly grateful and thankful to God for His amazing grace and love for us in the sending of Jesus Christ for our salvation.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
