Monthly Archives: April 2023

Salvation is By Grace

Bible Study

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

Salvation is the extension of being given what we do not deserve to be given. We deserve to be given punishment by God for the sins that we did and yet God decided to punish His Son instead. Jesus who had done no sin took it upon himself to receive the punishment that we were to be given and willingly received it to the end.

He traded our place and delivered the victory that we would not have been able to deliver ourselves. We were in no place to fully repay the sin that leads to death and for this reason, Jesus took it in our stead. Humanity was now declared free from sin as long as they accepted the finished work of Jesus. They were to be called ‘redeemed’ if the took what Jesus did on the cross as their own.

Without Jesus, we would not have been able to access the Father. Jesus himself told us that we cannot go to the Father without Him. He said, ‘No one comes to the Father except through me’

Salvation is by grace and we do not deserve the grace that God gave us. But He grace it to us anyway. 

Who can fully comprehend,
God’s love that is world-wide
who can grasp the call . . .
to come and be His bride?

Who can fully understand,
a love that is without end
who can figure out
having a eternal Friend?

Who can fully embrace,
love going into eternity
who can stretch their hearts
into this place of serenity?

Who can fully fathom,
love reaching deep within
who can see the real need
for forgiveness of their sin?

Who can fully comprehend,
the love God has for everyone?
Only those who can grasp it . . .
are the ones who love His Son!
~~~~~~

Ephesians 3:17-19

The Man Who Would Not Be Silenced

Uncategorized

Bartimaeus, after receiving his sight, though he is told to go his way, chooses to follow Jesus. He identifies the way he should be going as the way Jesus was going. Though he did not know that in just a week, Jesus will end up dead, he still follows him. When he is told Jesus is calling him, he throws away his coat and I believe his tools of the trade as well. He shows us that he was ready to leave everything behind and go to Jesus. Things that could remind him of his past were not worth holding on to. So he decides to throw them away and come to Jesus just as he is. His attitude reminds me of the hymn song, “Just as I am, without one plea,” In this hymn, the Lord bids us to come to him, and our response will determine the outcome of what will become of us. This is the kind of response we should all give to the Lord; And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come! 7 Walter Wilson equated the call on Bartimaeus to that of the disciples when Jesus called them to follow him. Like the disciples who heeded the call, Bartimaeus heeded the because he was 8 expectant of the outcome of coming to Jesus. So there was no way he was going to sit in defiance when what he had been longing for was at such a close wrong- his healing. His reaction is worth emulating. He does not want to carry life’s garbage with him to follow Jesus. Like Peter and some of those who left everything to follow Jesus, Bartimaeus leaves all he had and jumps to his feet to go to his caller. Matthew 4:19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 9 This is a great teaching to us believers of today. Once our souls are healed, do we follow Jesus still or do we go a different route?