Thankful for Faith
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)
We've talked about the need for salvation, to be saved from our sins and to be granted Eternal Life. We've also talked about being thankful for the Prince of Peace who was sent to us this Holy Season to bring us peace with God and to gift us the peace of God. But I'm also thankful, in this time of celebrating Jesus' birth, for the gift of faith. The Bible says that we've all been granted a measure of faith. It is a gift of God's grace that we've all been given naturally. And we can develop this gift of faith by hearing the Word of God, because that's where faith comes from. Then we can use this gift of faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
Now a lot of religions have different works that you can do that will please their concept of god and bring you whatever gifts that they believe their god gives. And some people teach that Christianity is like that. There is no doubt that doing good works is a good thing. A few days ago we talked about being thankful for goodness. However doing good works in themselves cannot save you. In order to be saved, you must exercise the gift of faith that God has given you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what saves you. Otherwise people would be able to boast, "Oh look how good I am! I did this, this, and this, and God is going to grant me salvation". Or they might say, "You haven't done enough good works, therefore the Gate of Heaven will be closed to you". No, this is not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches that God has given us the gift of faith and when we use it to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, this is what brings our Salvation, our Deliverance, and our hope of Eternal Life. And I'm so thankful for that. Because quite frankly, some days, I don't do many good works. There have been days when I haven't done any at all that I can see. So I am so thankful that my salvation does not depend on me. Because I don't think I would make it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would not qualify for Eternal Life on my own. But I know, due to Jesus' faithfulness to me, that if I trust in Him, He will bring it to pass. Won't you exercise your gift of faith today and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of faith that you have given us all. Help us develop it and use it wisely to believe on your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, our Deliverer, and our soon coming King. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.
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