Prepared for Preaching at Miracle Presence Church (Pakistan)
Translated by Pastor Ravi Daniel to UDYU
25-30 Minute Sermon with Translation
Friday 3:30AM Pacific – Friday 4:30PM Pakistan
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. (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV)
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He who is God and created all things. Through whom was the spotless lamb, free of blemish, the final sin offering for man’s unrighteousness. His sin offering was not like the bull, goat, lamb, doves or pigeon, animals which needed to be offered again and again. The sin offering of the son of God, Jesus Christ, the messiah, was final and the finisher of all sin offerings. The blood that was shed was the blood of God, Jesus Christ.
Greetings to Pastor Ravi Daniel that has given his life to the service of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This position isn’t easy, it is one of sacrifice. It’s one of giving up the desires of the world and serving the Father God. Please pray for him that God would give him love, gentleness and wisdom.
Greetings to Miracle Presence Church, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I greet you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we gather together for worship, may we realize the grace that has been shown to us. The only reason that you are sitting in this room and listening to this message is because the grace of God enabled you to see that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Holy Spirit dwells within you, that you may have life and life abundantly.
Today, the message is about how to understand salvation correctly. The purpose of this message is to give you a clear understanding of how you were saved. This is important, because if you misunderstand how you were saved, it could lead you to spiritual pride. Spiritual pride can lead you to judge others and think badly of other people. It can lead you to think you are better than others, but if you have the correct understanding of salvation, you will see that this way of thinking is impossible.
Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
It doesn’t say, “For by works you have been saved.”
It doesn’t say, “For by humbleness you have been saved.”
It doesn’t say, “For by beauty you have been saved.”
The bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith!”
Please say this with me, “I have been saved by grace through faith.”
What does grace mean?
Grace means, you receive something you didn’t deserve.
If you work at a job, you deserve a wage.
If someone harmed you, you deserve justice.
If you disobeyed your parents, you deserve discipline.
To deserve something means that we did an action that justifies a reward or punishment.
Grace means, you receive something that you didn’t deserve.
If you break the law of God, you deserve the wrath of God, but you received the grace of God.
If you break the law of God, you deserve a curse from God, but you received a blessing from God.
You have been given something that you are not worthy to receive. God is saying that while you should deserve punishment, you received a blessing. You should of received the wrath of God, but instead you received eternal life. This is what it means to received the grace of God.
Romans 5:8 the Apostle Paul write, “but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
The bible teaches us that God loved us while we were still sinners.
You and I are sinners. We have sinful hearts. There are times when the desires of our heart isn’t the desires of God. There are times where we allow anger to come up with in us. There are times where we are filled with pride. There are times where we covet our neighbors belongings. We are sinners before God. We are not perfect.
This is why we know God’s love is unconditional.
Turn to your neighbor and tell them, “God’s love is unconditional.”:
God loves you simply because he loves you.
God loves you even though you are unlovable.
God loves you even though have the stains of sin.
God loves you even though you disobeyed the law.
God loves you even though you are not ready to love God.
How do we know that God loves us?
Let me read Romans 5:8 again, “but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While we were still sinners.
While we deserved the wrath of God.
While we deserved eternal death.
While we deserved hellfire.
Christ died for us.
Turn to your neighbor and say, “Christ died for us!”
Christ didn’t die for the righteous.
Christ didn’t die for the perfect.
Christ didn’t die for the blameless.
Christ died for sinners, like you and me.
How does a sinner like you and me receive salvation?
How does a sinner like you and me receive forgiveness of sin?
BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!
Turn to your neighbor and say, “By faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ!”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”
Even the faith that you have, that faith isn’t from you.
The faith that you have isn’t by your understanding and knowledge.
The faith that you have is a gift from God.
God prepared it for you before you were born.
God knew your name because you came into existence.
God was waiting for this moment where you would receive this gift and be born again.
Say this with me, “My faith is a gift from God.”
This means, by the grace of GOD, He set his only son Jesus Christ to die for us and not only did He send his Son, but He sent the Holy Spirit to impart the gift of faith. Even FAITH is from God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, but it is a gift from God.”
It is a gift from God!
If I believe that God saved me because I was special, a good person, I can be very prideful. I can feel like I am special, because I did something to receive God’s love. I did this and I am able to do this. Then, we can look at others and say, “Why can you do this? Why can you have faith? Why can’t you be a good person?” We can be full of spiritual pride.
But, the truth is, you didn’t do anything. You didn’t live a perfect life. You didn’t obey the law of God. Even the faith you have, you didn’t do that. God gave it to you. Everything in the Christian Life is a gift from God. It’s not a result of works.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, And this is not your own doing, but it is a gift from God, not a result of works, so that none may boast.”
It’s not a result of works.
When our life is finished and God calls us to the next life in paradise,
there will be no one in heaven that can say, I am here because I am a good person.
there will be no one in heaven that can say, I am here because I did good works.
The only good person who did good works is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
We can only say, “I am in heaven, because God gave me the gift of faith to believe in the Messiah Jesus Christ who sacrificed His own life that I may have eternal life.”
Notice the end of our bible passage says, “so that none may boast.”
Do you know a prideful Christian?
Do you know someone who thinks they are great before God?
Do you know someone who thinks they received favor from God, because they are special?
Don’t follow in the footsteps of that person.
Follow the word of God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, but it is a gift from God, not a result of works, so that none may boast.”
As a Christian, we can’t boast in ourselves, because our sins placed Jesus Christ on the cross.
As a Christian, we can’t boast in ourselves, because none is righteous, not even one.
As a Christian, we can’t boast in ourselves, because even out faith is a gift from God.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, may we come before God in humbleness, knowing that we received something that we didn’t deserve. We received the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins. We receive eternal life by faith, which is a gift from God.
As we receive these blessings from God, may we be humble and loving to one another. Knowing that we are all here, not because we deserve it, but because God loved us first.
God Bless You Miracle Presence Church, may you humbly serve the Lord our God in spirit and in truth.