However, Paul probably does not mean “good works.” Normally when he says “works,” he means “works of the Law.” His point is to stress that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the Mosaic Law. So even if Paul were using “works” to mean “good works” in Ephesians 2:8-9, there is no conflict with Catholic theology. For ‘if it is by grace, it is no longer by works otherwise,’ as the apostle says, ‘grace is no more grace’ ” ( Decree on Justification 8). The Council of Trent states: “We are said to be justified by grace because nothing that precedes justification, whether faith or works, merits the grace of justification. You do not have to do good works in order to come to God and be justified. 3:15, 5:5).īut the Catholic Church does not teach that we receive initial justification by good works. 2:12) or the kind we will one day receive (cf. It is the kind which we received when we first came to God and were justified, not the kind of salvation we are now receiving (cf. Amen.We know from other passages in Paul that salvation also has present and future aspects, so the kind of salvation Paul is discussing in Ephesians 2:8-9 is initial salvation. In Jesus’ name we praise you for the Gospel, and we pray that you would use our lives for the spread of the Gospel. We pray that this Gospel would spread around the world particularly to people who have never even heard it. God, we pray that this Gospel would spread through our lives today, this week, through our churches today, this week. God, help us to persuade people, to trust in Jesus by the power of your spirit to do that knowing that their eternity hangs in the balance.įather, we pray for life transformation in us that leads to Gospel sharing with those around us. Help us not just to share information about Jesus. God, help us today to sow seeds of the Gospel around us, to speak about your character, to speak about the offense of sin, to speak to others about the sufficiency of Christ of who Jesus is, to call others to personally respond to Christ. As we praise you, thank you for the Gospel, we pray that you will help us to spread this Gospel. Ephesians 2:8–9 Thanks and Praises God for the Gospel This is a gift from you for which we give you glory. We praise you for saving us by grace through faith. G-O-S-P-E-L, God’s character, the offense of sin, the sufficiency of Christ, personal response to him, eternal urgency and how we respond to him that then leads to life transformation. Verse 10 goes on to say, “Created in Christ Jesus for good works.” So, this Gospel changes the way we live, changes every facet of our lives. G-O-S-P-E, all of that leads to L, life transformation for we are his workmanship. Heaven and hell hang in the balance with how we respond to Christ, eternal life, eternal urgency. So, we’re provoked to trust in him today, to call other people to trust in him today because life and death, eternal life and everlasting death hang in the balance. All of our lives are dependent forever on how we respond to Christ. That leads to E, eternal life and eternal urgency. We trust in Christ and what he has done for our salvation, that’s the P. Our personal responses, not try to do a bunch of things for God no, we trust in what God has done for us. By grace you have been saved through faith, not your own doing. How do we respond to this good news of what God has done in Christ? We place our faith in him.
#Ephesians 2 8 how to#
Ephesians 2:8–9 Teaches Us How to Respond to the Good News So God’s character, offense of sin, sufficiency of Christ, then P, personal response.
His life, his death, his resurrection make salvation possible, which then leads to the P in Gospel. God has sent Jesus to do what we could not do, to save us from our sin. This passage describes us as dead in our trespasses and sins given over to the passions of our flesh like children of wrath by our very nature. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ. We see his holiness, his love, his grace, his mercy, and his wrath all over this passage, the character of God, G. He hates sin, and yet he loves to show his salvation. So think G-O-S-P-E-L based on Ephesians two here. I would even just real quick give you a quick Gospel acrostics. This is maybe one of the clearest verses in passages, Ephesians 2:1–10, describing the Gospel and how we can be saved. “For by grace, you 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.” – Ephesians 2:8–9
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