Church, the Apostle Paul has been taking us on an incredible journey through Ephesians. There is an old African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
And there is a lot of truth in that.
If I were to ask how many of you want to grow as disciples of Jesus—by Thanksgiving, by Christmas, or by next year—probably every hand would go up. We want to become more rooted and grounded in Christ. We want to trust God in ways we have never trusted Him before.
Every one of us must personally answer the question of who Jesus Christ is. Nobody else can answer that for you. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
Following Jesus is personal, but it was never meant to be private. God designed us for community. That is why we need the church. We need fellowship. We need small groups. We need brothers and sisters who will ride alongside us.
Last week, in Ephesians 2:1–7, Paul showed us what we were before Christ. We were not merely struggling or spiritually wounded. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We followed the course of this world, lived according to the desires of our flesh, and were by nature children of wrath.
We were lying beneath the wreckage of sin with absolutely no ability to rescue ourselves.
Then came two of the greatest words that Brother Roman shared last week:
“But God…”
God stepped into our wreckage. Because of His great love and rich mercy, He made us alive together with Christ. He raised us up and gave us a new position and a new identity.
Beginning in verse 8, Paul explains what that rescue means. He shows us how we were saved, why we were saved, and what Christ has done for those who were once far away from God.
The Gospel does more than pull us from the wreckage. God rescues us, rebuilds us, and puts us back on the road with a new purpose.
Today, I want us to see three truths from Ephesians 2:8–13.
WE ARE RESCUED BY GRACE (Ephesians 2:8–9)
Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
These are familiar verses, but we should never allow their familiarity to rob them of their power.
Paul begins, “For by grace you have been saved…”
Grace is God’s unmerited favor toward undeserving sinners. Grace is receiving what we could never earn. Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve rather than giving us the judgment we do deserve.
Grace is not God looking down from heaven saying, “You’re doing pretty well. Let Me help you finish the job.”
No! Grace says, “You could never save yourself, so I did for you what you could never do for yourself.”
Remember where we were at the beginning of this chapter – We were dead.
Dead people cannot contribute to their resurrection. A dead man cannot reach up and grab the paramedic’s hand. A dead man cannot perform CPR on himself. Someone else must bring life.
That is Paul’s point. God did for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Then Paul says, “you have been saved.”
He does not say you are trying to be saved. He does not say that if you work hard enough, maybe someday you will become saved. He says, “You have been saved.”
Why? Because Jesus Christ finished the work. On the cross Jesus cried, “It is finished!” The debt has been paid. The sacrifice has been offered. The price has been satisfied. Nothing needs to be added to the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Paul then explains how we receive salvation “through faith.”
Faith does not purchase salvation. Faith simply receives what grace provides.
Faith says, “I cannot save myself. I cannot erase my past. I cannot remove my sin. I cannot earn heaven. But I believe Jesus Christ has done everything necessary to save me.”
Imagine walking into a motorcycle dealership and seeing the bike you have always wanted. You ask the owner, “How much?” He says, “Nothing. Someone has already paid for it.” You say, “Well, let me pay something.” He answers, “You don’t understand. The entire price has already been paid.” “Then let me work for it.” “No. It has already been purchased for you. All that remains is for you to receive the gift.”
That illustration falls far short of Calvary, but it makes the point – Jesus paid the full price.
There is nothing left for you to purchase, nothing left for you to earn, and nothing left for you to add.
That is why verse 9 says, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
If salvation depended upon our works, heaven would be filled with people comparing accomplishments. But there will be no boasting in heaven except boasting in Jesus Christ.
Every redeemed sinner will have the same testimony: “I am here because of the grace of God.”
Good works cannot be the cause of our salvation. But that does not mean good works do not matter. They simply belong on the other side of salvation.
We do not work FOR salvation – we work BECAUSE OF salvation.
- Religion says, “Work your way to God.” The Gospel says, “God came to you.”
- Religion says, “Do.” Jesus says, “Done.”
We are rescued by grace. But God did not rescue us just to leave us standing beside the wreckage.
WE ARE REBUILT FOR A PURPOSE (Ephesians 2:10)
Paul continues, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Verse 10 answers an important question, Why did God save me?
Certainly, He saved us so our sins could be forgiven. He saved us so we could receive eternal life. He saved us from judgment.
But God also saved us for something. Paul says, “For we are His workmanship…”
That word workmanship speaks of something fashioned or crafted by its maker.
Think about that. The God who created the heavens, spoke the universe into existence, and formed the mountains, oceans, stars, and galaxies is working on you. You are His workmanship.
God found us in the wreckage, but He had no intention of leaving us there. He is rebuilding us.
Some of us were pretty rough projects when He started! We had dents. We had scars. We had broken pieces. Some of us had a lot of miles on us. Some had traveled roads we never should have traveled.
But when God looked at us, He did not see something to throw away. He saw something His grace could rebuild.
And He is still working.
He uses trials, blessings, disappointments, victories, and every season of life to shape us into the image of Jesus Christ.
Paul says we are “created in Christ Jesus.” Salvation is not God simply putting a fresh coat of paint on the old life – It is new creation.
Our identity changes. Our desires begin to change. Our direction changes. Our purpose changes.
Then Paul tells us why, “…for good works.”
Notice the order.
- Verses 8-9: We are not saved BY works.
- Verse 10: We are saved FOR good works.
Good works are not the root of salvation; they are the fruit of salvation.
Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Our good works should not cause people to look at us and say, “What a great person.” They should cause people to look toward heaven and say, “What a great God!”
Paul then says these are good works “which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
God has placed opportunities along your road.
There is someone who needs encouragement. A family who needs help. A young person who needs a mentor. A neighbor who needs to hear the Gospel. A ministry where your gifts can be used. A brother or sister who needs someone to ride alongside them.
Those opportunities may not be accidents – God has prepared good works for us to walk in.
Earlier in Ephesians 2, Paul said we once walked according to the course of this world. Now he says we should walk in good works. Our walk has changed.
- Before Christ, we walked according to the world. Now we walk according to God’s purpose.
- Before Christ, our lives reflected spiritual death. Now our lives should demonstrate spiritual life.
- Before Christ, we lived primarily for ourselves. Now we live for Christ.
The Christian life is not defined by perfection – it is defined by direction.
So ask yourself, “Where has God given me an opportunity to serve? Who has He placed in my path? Where can I demonstrate His grace this week? Who needs to see Jesus through my life?”
Church, God did not rebuild us so we could sit in the garage looking shiny. He rebuilt us to ride. He saved us for a purpose.
WE ARE BROUGHT NEAR BY CHRIST (Ephesians 2:11–13)
Paul writes, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh – who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands – that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Paul says, “Therefore remember…” Sometimes we are told to forget the past. But Paul says there are some things we need to remember
- Not so we can live under guilt
- Not so the enemy can condemn us,
But so we never forget how far grace has brought us.
Paul describes what we were apart from Christ. We were without Christ. We were strangers to the promises. We had no hope. We were without God in the world.
That is a devastating description. The greatest tragedy in life is not being poor, sick, lonely, or even dying physically. The greatest tragedy is living and dying without Jesus Christ.
Without Christ, we were far from God and had no ability to bridge that distance ourselves. But then we encounter two more beautiful words: “But now…” Earlier it was “But God.” Now it is “But now.”
Something has changed. What changed? JESUS! Paul says those who were once far away “have been brought near.”
Notice he does not say we worked our way near. He says we “have been brought near.” God did it.
How? “By the blood of Christ.”
- Not by religion.
- Not by baptism.
- Not by church membership.
- Not by morality.
- Not by charitable giving or good intentions.
We have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Sin created a distance between holy God and sinful humanity that none of us could cross.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We needed a bridge. At Calvary, Jesus built that bridge with His own blood. The cross spans the distance we could never cross.
Christ accomplished what we could never accomplish. You were far away. But now you have been brought near.
Church, if Christ has brought you near, live near Him. Walk with Him. Talk with Him. Worship Him. Serve Him. Spend time in His Word. Enjoy fellowship with Him.
Do not live like someone who is still far away when the blood of Jesus has brought you near.
And never forget where you came from.
Every rider remembers learning to ride. You remember those first miles and some of those early mistakes. After years on the road, remembering where you started helps you appreciate how far you have come.
The same is true spiritually.
- Remembering where we came from keeps us humble.
- Remembering what Christ did keeps us grateful.
- Remembering where we are going keeps us faithful.
CONCLUSION — REBUILT FOR THE WORK
Maybe today you’re still lying in the wreckage.
- You’ve tried religion.
- You’ve tried cleaning yourself up.
- You’ve tried doing better.
- You’ve tried carrying your own guilt.
Stop trying to rebuild yourself. Come to Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” Maybe you’re already saved, but you’ve forgotten why God rebuilt you. You’ve gotten comfortable. You’ve parked the bike spiritually. Then maybe God is telling you today, It’s time to get back on the road. There is still work to do. There are still people who need Jesus. There is still a purpose God has prepared for your life.
Fighting for My Pea Patch 