Praise the Lord for His saving grace!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. –Ephesians 2:8-10

What a joy it was this weekend for us to obey the Savior Jesus Christ in His command to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Some of you might be wondering why we were baptized this weekend? It’s true that we had been walking many years as professed Christians – and as noble as our intentions were – the humbling truth is, we weren’t in Christ!

We had been walking all that time with a “to do list” faith, which is really no faith at all! We acted like we could somehow earn our salvation by the good deeds that we did for the Lord. We believed that our works not only contributed to our salvation, but also kept it secure before God.

Sadly, we aren’t alone in this false mindset. Many are misled into believing that it is good works that contribute to salvation, but that is not what God’s Word says, regardless of what men want to believe or impose.

God’s word is clear that good deeds are the result of a changed life – they are in fact the evidence of our renewal and regeneration as a “new creation in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Good works are not the basis for earning salvation (Ephesians 2:8, 2 Timothy 1:8-10, Titus 3:4-7) or for keeping it (Philippians 1:6, John 6:37).

The truth is salvation comes only through the perfect work of Christ – He alone saves – it is through His sinless life and the atoning sacrifice of His precious blood that we are washed from sin and made pure and holy before God. This is not accomplished through any good deed on our part, but is the sole work of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. When we come to God in full repentance and faith in His Son Jesus Christ – trusting that He alone saves – it is at that point that we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing salvation.

As God’s Word states above (Eph 2) good works are not what save a man or keep him saved, they are the natural outpouring of a saved person. In other words, the evidence of our salvation is apparent in the “new life” we have in Christ that compels us to do good works and walk with Him.

Our testimony is this: When the Lord brought us to our knees in repentance, and we surrendered fully to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, it was then that we were filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God, who compels us now to walk daily in the light as He is in the light (I John 1:6-7). We praise Almighty God for His mercy and grace! And we celebrate the new creation He has made us through His Son Jesus Christ!

Our prayer is that each person who reads this will fully surrender to Him in repentance and faith and be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:14-21). May God bless you with a humble heart and may you hearken His voice as He calls you to Him!