Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 230

Life In Christ – 8

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Ephesians 2:4-5
(4)  But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us
(5)  (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved),

God loved us, not when we were good, but even when we were dead in our sins. His love and mercy saves sinners and makes them sons of God. God takes spiritually dead people and makes them alive – in Christ. This is an act of grace – which is God’s unconditional love for us.

Romans 4:4-8
(4)  Now to someone who works, wages are not considered a gift but an obligation.
(5)  However, to someone who does not work, but simply believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.
(6)  Likewise, David also speaks of the blessedness of the person whom God regards as righteous apart from works:
(7)  "How blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered!
(8)  How blessed is the person whose sins the Lord will never charge against him!"

Lets look at Romans 4:5 - “the One who justifies the ungodly” – God justifies sinners. God loves, saves, cherishes and transforms the ungodly. God does not bless us for being good – that would be a “wage”, an earned blessing, rather He blesses those who are ungodly – that God might be seen to be gracious! God is more of a Lover, than a Judge. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).

Romans 5:8-10
(8)  But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
(9)  Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
(10)  For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

While we were “yet sinners” Christ died for us. While we were a moral mess, Christ gave His life for us. If then, God loved us when we were a moral failure, how much more will He love us as believers? Christ’s blood covers us and turns away the wrath of God. Christians are not under the wrath of God. Rather they are in the love of God. If God blessed us and reconciled us when we were His enemies, how much more will He bless us now that we love Him and are His friends? God desires to bless us and His love is unconditional and unending. 

[I was converted by grace while trying to disprove the existence of God.  I certainly was not consciously searching for God. In fact I was fleeing from Him, denying Him and arguing with Christians at every opportunity. Yet, during an open day at a local Franciscan Friary, God appeared to me as a light and spoke to me and I believed. I was saved, not by my works, not by my searching and not by any religious mechanism, but totally by grace alone. I got saved against my own intentions. It was a glorious “accident of grace” orchestrated by a loving God.]

Sinners, wicked sinners, can be saved in a moment. But the “righteous” seem to take forever. In fact most of the Pharisees never got saved, even though they were disciplined, clean-living, bible-believing, and praying, fasting and tithing “religiously”. 

Sinners know they need the mercy of God – so they receive it. The Pharisees tried to get to heaven on their own earned merit – and of course failed. God does not bless us based on how “good” we are or how religiously observant we are. Rather He blessed those who open their hearts to His love, mercy and grace.

This truth, of God’s unconditional love, is often lost somewhere along the Christian journey. We know we are saved by grace, but we add something like “but those who are more religious are more special as Christians”. We add works, ways of earning God’s favor as believers, accumulating crowns through Scripture memory and church attendance. Somehow we think that doing good things will make God think of us as a good person. (This is often because we do not think of ourselves as such)

The shocking thing is that God already thinks of us as a good person – that is what justification means! We were justified when we were saved, God loved us before we were saved and even loves us after we are saved too! If you are a born-again believer then God thinks you are a good person and loves you. Your good deeds do not make you a good person in the eyes of God, it is Jesus Christ who does that for you.

Our good deeds are simply the outworking of our new good nature that is created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10). God calls us good because the new creation is good, because it is Christ in us, the hope of glory. We are saved for good works, not by good works. 

We are created new to be good-works-doing-creatures. Christ in you wants to do Christ-like things. Jesus in you wants to do what he did on earth before. Your new nature is meant to live as Jesus lived. So we are meant to do good works, but they do not make us a good person and they do not make us superior or special, they are simply the natural outworking of a God-indwelt life.

Ephesians 2:10 (ISV)
(10)  For we are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.

God loved you when you were ungodly and He loves you now you are saved and His life in you is the power you live by, not by your own energy, but by His mighty resurrection power. We have been made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5 above). If we were saved while we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-5) then now we are made alive we will know even more than that – we will also know Him dwelling in us and living through us in power. 

Romans 5:10
(10)  For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life!

God loves you just as you are. God loved you even when you were sinful. God does not expect you to earn His love. God does not even want you to try and do that. God wants you to believe that He loves you, is merciful and kind to you and that He will give you many good things in Christ. (Romans 8:32). 

Romans 8:32
(32)  God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won't he freely give us everything else?

God loves you with never-ending unconditional love, just as you are right now. You do not have to improve in order to make God happy. God is already happy with you. You are justified. You are loved. So stop striving. Just let the good works flow from grace received by faith.

Blessings,

John Edmiston <johned@aibi.ph>

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