“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” Ephesians 2: 8-9 NKJV
Welcome to the 15th devotional recap of the year. This week, we learnt about Christ’s perfect sacrifice, the place of works and the law in salvation, and that we are free indeed.
We started this week by learning about how the blood of Jesus is the perfect atonement for our sins. Just as the Old Testament foreshadowed in Leviticus 16, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His blood make us holy, blameless, righteous, new, and clean. The blood of Jesus is not ordinary. It symbolises our atonement and salvation.
On Tuesday, we learnt that Christ’s sacrifice was more than enough payment for our sins. The sacrifices under the old covenant were offered repeatedly, but because He is God, Jesus’ sacrifice was offered once and sufficient for all time (Hebrews 10:11-12). We do not need to do anything as additional payment for our sins because all of them—past, present, and future—have been forgiven.
Wednesday’s article answered the question of why the law was given. It was never a system to make people right with God, but rather to reveal the sinful nature of all mankind, pointing us to God’s only plan for salvation—Jesus Christ (Romans 3:19-20). Not only does the law drive us to acknowledge our need for a saviour, but it also opens our eyes to the grace of God.
Thursday’s article gave an insight into the relationship between salvation and works. Our anchor scripture highlights that salvation is a gift from God, and not something we can work for. Rather, we are saved to do good work (Ephesians 2:8-10). As His workmanship, we must endeavour to live for Him because He died for us. It should be evident in our good conduct and how we preach the gospel that we are indeed Christians (1 Peter 2:9-11, 2 Corinthians 5: 20).
We rounded up the week by learning to accept and live in the freedom we have received in salvation. God’s only way of making people right is by faith in Jesus; no one can ever be justified by works (Galatians 2:16). To try to supplement Christ’s perfect work of salvation is to toss aside that which is ‘perfect and complete’ for something insubstantial. God’s grace is a gift. Believe it and walk in the reality of it.
Dear believer, be reminded that grace invalidates work, and work invalidates grace (Romans 11:6). The grace that saved you is sufficient to keep you. Today and forever, enjoy your rest in the finished work of Christ.
Have a great weekend.
Bible Reading Plan: Catch-up Day – take some time today to catch up with the Bible Reading Plan.