Ephesians 2 (Part 2)

Ephesians chapter 2, where we are studying. This is part 2, since it's the second installment of our study here through Ephesians. I guess I should probably open up myself, there we are. We're going to be reading verses 8, 9, and 10 this morning, and then we're going to get into those. Follow along please as I read.

Stop there. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for giving us time here today to get into the Word. And we pray that you would use this time to really minister to hearts and speak to us all about our salvation. Lord, I want to particularly pray for any who are here today at Calvary Chapel or who are watching online, who have yet to really come to you on bended knee. And I pray, my Father God, that having studied out these verses, there would be clarity of understanding related to our salvation, what you have accomplished for us. So use this time to really speak to hearts, Father, God. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen. I got to be completely honest with you. I wonder sometimes what in the world we would do without Ephesians 2:8 and 9. I mean, I use this passage so often. You've heard me quote it so often in teachings right here from this pulpit. And honestly, when I'm doing our water baptism class with the candidates who are going to be baptized, we really emphasize Ephesians 2:8, and 9. And it is such a powerful passage because it provides a balance to any other passage of scripture, which might seem to suggest that salvation is a result of personal effort. Now, if you asked me the question, pastor Paul, are there passages in the Bible that can make it sound like we need to work for our salvation or that we are rewarded according to what we do? My response to you would be, yes, there are some passages in the Bible that have an appearance of suggesting that we are saved because of what we do. But it's just an appearance. It's just an appearance. And one of the reasons for that is, whenever the Bible speaks of salvation, it assumes that those who are saved are going to live different lives. It assumes it. And so it speaks of salvation and the fruit of salvation as if they're one and the same. And it could leave people with the impression that maybe I do need to work or be a good person in order to be saved. Let me give you an example of one such passage. I'm going to put it up on the screen for you. It's in Matthew chapter 25. Jesus is telling this and He says,

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Interesting passage. But if you and I were to read that without the balance of the whole counsel of God’s Word, you might read that passage and come away with the idea, okay, I see here that because these people operated out of compassion and concern, they are being rewarded with salvation. “Come, (He says) you who are blessed” and come and inherit the kingdom. Why? Because you did this. And we might otherwise lean toward that sort of a conclusion were it not for passages like Ephesians 2:8 and 9. In fact, this passage, and there are others, too, but this passage helps us to interpret all those other passages correctly. If we're not focused in on what Ephesians 2:8 and 9 is about, we're going to misinterpret a lot of God’s Word. And believe me, a lot of people do, and it happens all the time. So what is that correct interpretation? I've basically taken these verses, I'm going to stick them up on the screen so we can see them all together. …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9) …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. (Paul writes) And (he says that) this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9) Now, that's so full of information. Like I said, I go through this passage pretty thoroughly when I'm doing my water baptism class, but I want to look here this morning at some of the key words. Here's the point, the whole thing is, it's all a key word or phrase. I mean, the whole thing is key. And I want to go through some of the major parts here. Let me show you the first key word that appears in this passage, highlighted there on the screen for you, grace. …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. (Paul writes) And (he says that) this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9) …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. (Paul writes) And (he says that) this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9) He says, Paul writes, “by grace we've been saved.” Grace is the Greek word, charis. It's actually where we get our word charismatic, but that's kind of a different meaning. Essentially the meaning of charis, if you boil it down, it means kindness. It's very simple, or favor. But the Greek word carries, and let me put this up on here, I guess it's already there. Greek: charis Definition: kindness Grace carries with it the idea of an act of kindness bestowed on someone without that person having earned it by their own actions.

Greek: charis Definition: kindness Grace carries with it the idea of an act of kindness bestowed on someone without that person having earned it by their own actions. And that literally is enveloped in the Greek meaning of that single word, charis. That which is given, which is not earned, but is merely given freely. Okay? So right off the get go when Paul writes, “by grace you've been saved,” or by grace we've been saved, the very first word that he uses, grace, communicates to you and I, that our salvation is not from us, it's from God. It was an act of kindness, as we're saying here, bestowed without the recipient having earned that act of kindness. Okay? Greek: charis Definition: kindness Grace carries with it the idea of an act of kindness bestowed on someone without that person having earned it by their own actions. In other words, we didn't earn our salvation. I didn't earn what I have from God, and neither did you. It is an act of grace, and that's a beautiful point that so many people stumble over, believe you me. The next phrase that we're going to highlight on that scripture reference there is, saved through faith. …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9) …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9) And I want to break this up a little bit, and I want to focus for a moment on that word, saved. Because saved is a powerful word, even though we've overused it as Christians. I don't know about overused. Let me retract that. Let me just say that we use it so much that it tends to lose its punch, its emphasis. You know what I mean? I mean, think about it. We talk all the time about, hey I got saved when I was 14 or I got saved when I was 32, and then the Lord… And then I got saved, then my family got saved, and we just talk about being saved and we kind of throw it around. But think about it for a moment. If somebody that you love, care about very deeply, burst into the room and said to you seriously, in a very literal sense, someone just saved my life. You would go, really? What happened? You'd want to know everything about it because that would be a big deal. Again, if they're speaking that way literally. Someone just saved my life. Wow, tell me. Well listen, it's just as big of a deal when you and I have been saved by God. When God announced the birth of His Son, He was very careful in that birth announcement to let us know who was going to be born. Let me show you…, and this is just one. When the Lord appeared to Joseph, it says, Matthew 1:20-21

…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” He's going to save them. Remember what the angel said to the shepherds? This day in the city of David, a Savior has been born, and on and on it goes. (Luke 2:11) You know what's interesting about that? When God looks at you and I, when God looks at mankind, and He looks at our greatest need, He knows that it's not a politician that He needs to send our way, or a revolutionary, it's a Savior. What we need, beyond anything else, is a Savior and that is what Jesus came to do. And that's why Paul begins by saying, it is by grace we have been saved. But there's more to that phrase. We'll put it back up here.

…by grace [we] have been saved THROUGH FAITH. And this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

And that is the rest of that part is, “saved through faith.” And this is another great phrase, and it's frankly, another way of Paul communicating that salvation is not the result of works. You can't brag about having faith, because even the faith you have was given by God. And frankly, all faith is, is reaching out and taking what somebody is giving you, and accepting it, receiving it if you will. When somebody gives you a gift, you receive it. By faith, we receive that gift. Faith is giving up on trying to do things our self, and letting God give us what only He can provide. And salvation is something that only He can accomplish. And faith is the process of just, frankly, giving up on me trying to accomplish that very thing, and saying, you know what, God? It's you or nothing. It's you doing this thing or nothing. That's where faith comes from. Nothing to brag about there. The next key phrase is from verse 8 on the screen here. …by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

Not of our own doing. Now you can see here Paul is just kind of repeating himself. He's already told us, it's by grace that we've been saved through faith. But now he kind of repeats and emphasizes not of your own doing. But it's an important thing for Paul to repeat here because salvation is not of our own doing. You guys hear me say that? I think that's a good thing to wake up in the morning and even repeat. Salvation is not of my own doing. Whew! It just feels good to say that. Salvation, the forgiveness and eternal life that I have, is not of my own doing. It's not of my own doing. You see, if I do repeat that, if I really, truly accept that in my heart, that when somebody comes along and tries to throw some, you got to do this on me, I'm going to be prepared. And people do that, don't they? You might be working with somebody, or some family member, well-meaning though they may be, or you pop into some other church, and they're trying to voice some sort of a work of you on top of the whole salvation thing. And they might say something like, you know don't you, you got to be baptized in water or you're not going to heaven. And at that point, you and I come back and we say, salvation is not of my doing. Salvation is not of my own doing. Or somebody says to you, you know don't you, that unless you go to church on the right day, and by the way, Sunday isn't the right day, you probably aren't going to get to heaven. And we come back and we say, you know what? Salvation is not of my own doing. Or how about this one? This is one that Satan loves to put on people. He looks you in the eye and he says, you really are a poor excuse for a Christian. You ever heard those words from the enemy? And you know what our response is? Salvation is not of my own doing. You see, I don't get there by being a good example, I get there because of what He did for me on the cross. You ready for the next phrase?

(Eph 2:8-9)

(Eph 2:8-9) “…it is the gift of God.” I love this one and the reason I like this, and, again, I emphasize this a lot when we are talking about water baptism. Because I like to talk to the people about gifts, we can all relate to gifts. Every so often I like to take a word that you and I use every day and look it up. So I did that. Gift. What does it mean? Well, it's a noun. Big surprise.

gift (noun) a thing given willingly without payment; a thing given willingly without payment; Here's what it says in one of the dictionaries I looked at. A thing given willingly without payment or without cost, if you will. Okay, we know that. We know that. It's something that is given to us where nothing is demanded from us, right? It's just given. In almost 40 years of marriage, I have never given Sue a present and then ask for money afterwards. Not only would that be the opposite of a gift, but it would be an extremely creepy thing to do. Even if you're asked to give one cent in return for a gift, it then becomes an obligation. It is no longer a gift. A gift, by definition, must be free. No charge. What does Paul say about your salvation? It is the gift of God. Isn't that wonderful? It's a gift, you and I have been given a gift. It's our salvation. Jesus died on the cross for you. You accept it? The gift of salvation is yours. The gift, it comes with forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. Sounds like the best deal I got, I've ever seen in a long time, right? And yet, how many people struggle over that very thing? The next phrase we're going to look at is where we kind of start with verse 9.

(Eph 2:8-9)

(Eph 2:8-9) “…not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Again, Paul is just repeating. It's not a result of works. There is no boasting in heaven. Nobody is going to be in heaven and pointing to themselves in any way. Every one of us who stands before the Lord in heaven is going to point to Him and say, He's why I'm here. I have done nothing to earn my way to this place. I'm here because of Him and what He did. Right? “…not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” What are some of the religious things that people boast about? Well, I put together a list of 10. Some of them may apply to you or may have at one time, applied to you. Some may not. 1. Confirmation 2. Water Baptism 3. Church membership 4. Church attendance 5. Holy Communion 6. Trying to keep the Ten Commandments 7. Living by the Sermon on the Mount 8. Giving to charity 9. Being a good neighbor 10.Living a moral, respectable life How many of you guys went through confirmation? Come on, get your hands up there. Yeah, confirmation. The only thing I was ever confirmed as is a sinner, that's it. I always wondered, what am I being confirmed as? You go…, and it was when I was in my teenage years and I, well, let's just not go there. But I went through these classes and it was like, I don't get it. Because at the very end they say, you've now been confirmed, and you get a Bible, and you get a little certificate saying you've been through confirmation classes. But the very strong impression is left with us that somehow I've ticked off one of the boxes that's required. Been through confirmation classes. You going to heaven, yeah, been through confirmation. You kidding me? Hey, I've also been baptized in water. I actually talked to a guy, I was in my 20s, believe it or not. At one point…, and I was talking to a guy and I was asking him about whether or not he was saved. I just asked him. I said, “are you a born again Christian? Do you know that your sins are forgiven,” and so forth. And he said, “yes.” I said, “well, how do you know?” He said, “because I was baptized.” Nothing about Jesus, nothing about the cross. Nothing about what He did on the cross. It was all about what this guy did. “I got baptized.” And again, that's for a lot of people, not only just another one of the boxes to tick off, for many people it's THE box to tick off. Maybe you've come out of a church that taught what we refer to as, baptismal regeneration, which is the doctrinal belief that unless you are baptized in water, you are not saved. Maybe that's where you came from. Some of our members actually did. Maybe you've been approached by someone who is from the ilk of baptismal regeneration and they put a lot of pressure on you about that very thing.

We're saved by grace through faith, and this not of ourselves. It is a gift. It is a gift. People, it is a gift, okay? We can't let go of the language of Ephesians 2:8 and 9. It creates the balance. Church attendance, Holy Communion, or as Roman Catholics refer to it as, the Eucharist or the sacraments. I've talked to Roman Catholics and asked them, “how do you know you're going to heaven?” “I've participated in the Eucharist. The Holy Spirit.” And sometimes Roman Catholics will even tell you, and I'm not slamming, okay? I'm just telling you some of the conversations I've had. Sometimes they'll even say to you, “I'm saved because of what Jesus did on the cross and by participating in the sacraments.” And, notice, you got to do these things. There's these sacraments that we have to also fulfill in order to be saved and one of them is communion and so forth. Is that what the Bible says? Does the Bible say you're saved by grace through faith and oh by the way, you also have to take communion, or you won't be saved. The Bible doesn't say that. It says it's the gift of God, not by anything you can do. It's the gift of God, right? Trying to keep the Ten Commandments, obviously that includes Sabbath keeping. Sometimes, I tell you, I get crazy comments on our YouTube channel. You don't see them, because they get deleted before anybody sees them. But, oh boy, some people really get mad at me. And I mean just for not teaching Sabbath keeping. They come right out and just say, “you are going to hell.” Because…, and they believe it with all their hearts. Living by the Sermon on the Mount, that's Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7. Wonderful passage, we spent a lot of time on it in our study through Matthew. And truly it's a beautiful standard of Christian living. But I'm here to tell you, you can't live that life apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. And you don't have the Holy Spirit until you're saved. So obviously the Sermon on the Mount is not something you have to do to be saved. It's a lifestyle that God projects for you and I after we are saved. But it is certainly not something that is required. Giving to charity, yeah. Being a good neighbor, like State Farm. And of course the ever popular, Living a moral, respectable life. Which is absolutely huge. And yet, none of those things that you see listed on there can save you, not one of them. And even if you tried to keep all of them, which you couldn't anyway, even if you tried, you couldn't be saved. You can't be saved by doing any of those things. I'm sorry to say you're not good enough. And that is, I know, a little bit of an insult, but that's kind of what Jesus does to us. He insults us. That's why we call Him, the Rock of Offense, right? People get offended by Jesus because He comes along and He goes, by the way, I'm your Savior and that infers something. You need one. Why would God send a Savior unless we needed a Savior? We needed to be saved. What do I need to be saved from? Your sin. How dare you. We like to think we're good. Jesus was approached by a young man, we're told. It's in the Gospels. He was a man of some means and position and he came to Jesus and he said, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life. Did you get the question? What must I do? And of course Jesus knew exactly who He was talking to right there. So He begins by saying, why do you call me good? No one is good but God. Now Jesus isn't saying He's not God, and He's not saying He's not good. He's challenging this young man's perceptions about good people, you see. Because this young man believed he was good and he could be good enough to earn salvation. So that's why he came to Jesus and said, what must I do? Tell me! Just tell me what I have to do and I'll do it. Right? And you guys know the story. Jesus eventually gave him an act of goodness that he couldn't attain to and he went away very sad. Because he couldn't do it. Well, guess what? None of us can do it. Because there's no such thing. Listen, it's a fallacy. We throw around the word, good about people, and I know how we do it. We're talking about somebody in conversation. We go, yeah he's a good guy, or, she's a really, she's a really good person, or something like that. But fundamentally, biblically speaking, you know that's not true, right? You know that we're not good. I mean, apart from God, there's no good in us. Paul says,

Again, kind of insulting, but a reality that we have to deal with. If we understand it and embrace it, I will never look to God and say, what must I do? That question won't even be on my radar, because I will know inherently I can do nothing. There's nothing I can do, right?

--- Now, it's interesting, we've looked through these verses; these 2 verses, 8 and 9 here in Ephesians chapter 2. And it's pretty clear when you go through these verses step by step. And you kind of parse them out like we've done here this morning, it's pretty clear to understand from this that we're saved by grace, through faith, not of ourselves, not by works. It's the gift of God. There's nothing I can do to earn it, so I just have to receive. I'm just…right? Pretty clear, wouldn't you say? Come on, you guys, tell me you're awake. Okay. All right. Isn't it interesting that the prevailing belief here in the United States of America, and even in other countries as well, is that the way you get to heaven is by living a good life. That is the prevailing belief, even in the face of Ephesians 2:8 and 9. And if you don't believe what I'm saying, just go to a funeral. In 35 years of pastoral ministry, I've done my share of funerals. And I've done funerals for believers and I've done funerals for unbelievers. And I don't mind doing funerals from the standpoint of ministering to the family, you know what I mean? Because that's what a funeral's for. The person who died is dead, a funeral's not for them, it's for the people who are alive. But can I be completely honest with you and tell you that there's a part of me that dreads funerals. And what I dread is when the family gets involved. Because they want to include their little poems and their little testimonies about their dearly departed person that are going to leave you with no question in your mind, that their departed loved one is now in heaven regardless of what they believed. Regardless of what they embraced as it relates to the Bible and what Jesus did for them on the cross. It doesn't matter. That's not what funerals are for. Funerals are just simply to say the nicest thing, to pick out something that they did that was meritorious or virtuous. And sometimes they got to dig, but they'll find something. And they will bring it up at that funeral and they will speak about that person. And there's nothing wrong about speaking nice about somebody, but let me just tell you, it is a very common thing in funerals for people to recite their poems and request certain songs that make no mistake about it, declare in no uncertain terms that when everyone dies, they go to heaven. And the reason they want you to know that their loved one is in heaven is because they deserve to be there. Because of the very things that they have mentioned in that funeral, they deserve to be there. And I got to tell you something, that's bothersome to me. Because you see, I'm also a pastor and a teacher, and I believe God’s Word with all my heart. And I believe we do people a disservice when we say things that aren't true. ---

Jesus said, no one comes to the Father except by me. (John 4:16) I didn't say it. You don't like it? No problem. Take it up with Him. He said, no one comes to the Father except by me. You either believe it or you don't. And if you don't, that's your choice. But if we're going to believe it, let's declare it. And I'm not saying that we should rag on people at their funeral. Heavens, I'm not saying that at all. And by all means, when someone has passed away, let's talk about the contribution they made. No problem. But I'm telling you, the little poems in the songs that get requested for funerals are as unbiblical as the day is long and I don't like it. I'm being completely transparent with you here today. Because this idea of what we deserve runs very deep in our DNA. Just to prove this. Let me give you a question that is not entirely uncommon. I'll put it on the screen. Here's a question. Q: I know a person who claimed to find Christ just a week before he died. But his entire life was lived apart from God. How could he live like the devil all of his life but still get into heaven? He doesn’t deserve to be saved. I know a person who claimed to find Christ just a week before he died. (or just a week) But his entire life was lived apart from God. How could he live like the devil all of his life but still get into heaven? He doesn’t deserve to be saved. This is not an uncommon question. There have been times, we'll hear about some serial killer. Somebody who's just committed some of the most heinous acts. I mean, flat out evil, evil things, during their lifetime. And then they go to prison, and before they die, or before they're executed, depending on what state they're in, they give their heart to Jesus. And, oh, it's so incredible how people like to comment on that. Oh, there's no way he came to Christ. Not possible. He was too evil. As if we know. As if we can know. This runs very deep in us, this idea that this person doesn't deserve to be saved because of the things that they've done. Brothers and sisters in Christ, can I just tell you that I think when you see some people face to face up in heaven, you're going to be shocked to find that they are there. And that God was gracious enough to forgive them of everything they ever did, and to wash them of every iniquity and every stain of sin, because His blood is enough. Let me show you how the Apostle Paul puts it.

1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save — sinners of whom I am the worst. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save (stinking rotten) sinners of whom I am the worst. I threw that other stuff in there just for a little color. You know what I mean. And you get the impression that's what Paul is conveying here. You see, again, we might have our doctrine down, but there's something in our hearts that just thinks that Jesus came to save good people. He came to save people who deserve to be saved. And Paul says, no, that's not it, He came to save sinners who don't deserve it. You know the Jews couldn't get over this. When Jesus went around ministering to the people of his day and He would have dinner with these people who were notorious sinners and the Pharisees and religious leaders would say, why does your master eat with that scum of the earth? Don't they know those people are going to just defile Him? They're wretched. They're vile and they're evil. And they don't deserve to have anyone who is a rabbi come into their home. What was Jesus’ response? It's the sick who need a doctor. I haven't come to call the righteous to repentance, I've come to call sinners to repentance. That means the worst of the worst, you guys. And that was us, the worst of the worst. Finally, verse 10. Now, let's talk about good works the way we're supposed to talk about good works. It says in verse 10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We've been making the point during these first two verses we looked at, verses 8 and 9, that there's nothing we can do of good works to earn our salvation. Now that we've established that in verses 8 and 9, Paul can go on and talk about good works. What are good works? How important are they for you and I? Well, they're very important, but they're only, they're given to us as believers, not as unbelievers. You get that? Now that we've been saved. God has given us good works to do, not to be saved, but to bring forth the fruit of our salvation. Do you guys understand that's what the Book of James is all about? We're not studying James right now, but James gives, that book gives a lot of people consternation. And I don't know if you're aware of this, but Martin Luther, I'm not talking about Martin Luther King, I'm talking about Martin Luther the Reformer in the 16th century. Do you know that Martin Luther believed the Book of James ought to have been thrown out of the Bible. Let me explain why. He was steeped in Roman Catholicism. In fact, he became a monk, became a priest, because he thought well, he did it actually on a dare. He dared God to save him. Literally, he was…, I don't want to get into the whole story. He was in a terrible lightning storm and he prayed and said, God, if you save me, I'll go into the priesthood. God saved him. It's like, yeah. Anyway, so here he is now, he's a priest and he's trying to find God within the context of Roman Catholicism in the 1500s. Not an easy thing to do and he's failing miserably. So he decides to do something. You ready? Read the Bible! Yeah! He started, and he started going through the Book of Galatians, through the Book of Romans, and he found Jesus. But he didn't just find salvation in Christ, he realized, we are telling people the wrong thing. We're telling people it's through all these works that they have to do. And it's not, it's free. It's a free gift. And that's why Martin Luther became the reformer that history makes him out to be, because he came to the realization that it's a free gift. Here's where he had a problem with the Book of James. James teaches, okay, you say you're saved? Wonderful, let's see it. That's a summary of the Book of James. In other words, James is one of those guys. And by the way, James was the physical brother of Jesus, a son of Joseph and Mary. And he would say this, you say you're an apple tree? Let's see the apples. Yeah, that's James. Well, and he made some statements like, you think you can be saved just on a confession without showing fruit? Well, that messed up Martin Luther because he had a hair trigger in that area, you see. Because he came out of this legalistic sort of a thing through Roman Catholicism and he was just tweaked by it. And so the Book of James just absolutely gave him fits. But the Book of James needs to be there because it is what we're talking about here in verse 10 of Ephesians chapter 2. Now that you're saved, right? Now, let's go forth and as the workmanship of God, let us do good works that have been prepared in advance for us to do. That's pretty cool, too, I don't even have to go looking for them. God has prepared them in advance for me to do.

I just have to yield to Him and do what is there for me to do. And it's so cool that He even says, I'm going to prepare you to do good works, I'm going to prepare the good works, and then I'm going to reward you when you do them. That's a pretty stinking good deal. One last thing about this, and I'm going to have Brandon and Amy come up and get ready to lead us in a final song. This idea of workmanship. Do you know in the original Greek, this word workmanship, when Paul says that we are his workmanship, it is the Greek word, poiēma. It's actually where we get our word poem. I talked a little bit ago that sometimes at funerals, you hear these just horrific poems that are so unbiblical. Not to say all of them are. Some of them are fine. But do you know what's interesting? You are His poem and it's a true poem. And the poem basically goes like this. God loves me, and I don't deserve one shred of it. God gives me heaven, and I don't deserve to be there. God gives me the promise of eternal life. He gives me love and forgiveness and acceptance, and I don't deserve a bit of it. Now, that might not have rhymed, but it's a poem, nonetheless. I found a lovely quote by one of my favorite authors from years gone by. Harry Ironside wrote, Creation is God's first poem, but salvation is His second poem, and you and I who are saved constitute the syllables in God's great poem of redemption. “We are His workmanship,” and therefore He is given all the credit, for He has accomplished it through His Son. — H.A. Ironside Creation is God's first poem, but salvation is His second poem, and you and I who are saved (we're the ones who) constitute the syllables in God's great poem of redemption. “We are His workmanship,” and therefore He is given all the credit, for He has accomplished it through His Son. — H.A. Ironside Isn't that beautiful? So, there is some nice poetry that we need to pay attention to and it's us. It's our lives. And this is what we convey to other people. This is the poem that is your life, that is conveyed to a lost and dying world. And it, again, it goes like this, God loves me and I don't deserve it. He saved me and I don't deserve it.

He forgave me and I don't deserve it. I have done nothing to deserve His love, nothing to deserve His forgiveness, and yet He pours it out on me abundantly.