I invite you to turn to Ephesians chapter 2. There are two verses here in Ephesians 2 that we'll be looking at. Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. These are some of the most profound and influential verses in Scripture. Ephesians 2. Verse eight, 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. Let's pray together. Father, I ask for your help now to faithfully proclaim the truths of these verses. And I pray that you would be at work in each heart here to humbly receive what you have for us today. Lord, you have used these verses in our lives. Many of us here have been touched by this truth so deeply that it articulates what we are most thankful to you for, that you have been gracious to us and have saved us. So, Lord, help us to rejoice in what is here. Use it today, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. These verses should be somewhat of a sigh of relief to us. If you take these verses to heart, all the weight of all of your sins comes off of your shoulders. That should be a sigh of relief. We've all probably had moments in our life where we've had that kind of relief come to us, where you're expecting something bad or hard coming, and then there's a change of course, and you feel all the pressure is removed. The steam has been released. When I was in probably middle school and high school, it happened several times when there'd be an exam coming up, and I was not the greatest of diligent students, and so I'd study, if at all, at the very last minute. And during the winter, especially when a difficult test was coming up, I'd be watching the forecast with great interest, just hoping that the snow would come. And when you see a forecast and it says 1 to 12 inches forecasted, you're just desperate that, please let it be 12, please let it be 12. Now, on the eve of an exam, it was all the more just hoping that there would be some sort of pardon for us coming. And so I wake up in the morning not having studied at all, looking at the TV or listening to the radio, just waiting for my school to be called. And finally, you hear those glorious words, school is canceled today. I get a reprieve. I don't have to take the test today. This is great. I'm going to go out and celebrate by playing in the snow all day. And then comes the next night. Oh, maybe it's going to happen again tomorrow. I didn't study at all. That moment when you hear that school is canceled are some of my best moments growing up. that reprieve, that sigh of relief, that feeling of, oh, it's not that bad today. It would be even better, wouldn't it, if not only was school canceled, but the teacher decided, you know what? I'm not even going to give the test. Instead, I'm going to give everybody 100 for that test. That would be even better. We rejoice at simple things like that. We feel the reprieve of that. And yet there is something wicked in us that when it comes to the greatest test of all, for some strange reason we think, I don't need a snow day for that one. I can take that one. I rejoiced at a lousy history test cancellation, but in my heart, I feel that I am good enough to take the test of all tests. Many of us have been in the position that if we were to die and face God, we are convinced that we could pass the test on our own. No snow day for me, thank you very much. I'll march right into that judgment room of God. I'll take the test and I'll pass it. That's the way many people feel. They feel like they'll go into that room, take the test, and the test giver will give them a pat on the back and say, well done, good and faithful servant, you passed the test. Well, why are we so arrogant? Why do we think that we can walk into that judgment room, that courtroom, and take that test and feel like we can pass it on our own? Do you even know what's on the test? I know many of you have come to the point to understand you'd fail the test, but there may be some today who are still thinking, I'm good enough, I'll make it, my good outweighs the bad. Well, do you know what's on that test? First question on that test. Have you ever worshiped anything or anyone, even for a moment, besides the one true and living God? Worship being defined as giving adoration, praise, or first place in your life to this person or thing. Have you ever done that? Second question. Have you always, in every moment of your life, even while sleeping, treated God with all respect, submission, and obedience, and love? Please note that if you answered yes to number one, then your answer to number two must be no. Third question, have you ever treated an object of creation as more important than the creator of that object? Hint, this question is very similar to number one, and you're likely doing the thing the question asks you about while reading the question. Fourth question, this is multi-part. Have you ever done anything sexually immoral, lied, dishonored your parents, stolen, hated someone or coveted? How'd you do on the test? That's the test. And in our natural state, we all head towards that test. And the reality is that if you try to complete that test on the day of judgment, you will fail. And you will not be able to get that failing grade and then go take it up with the examiner during office hours. And so we come to a passage like this. Listen to it again. For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. And you hear those two sentences, and you think, this is to me, the greatest news in the world. This is better than a snow day. This is saying that on judgment day, you are cleared without even taking the test, because God gives you the gift of salvation from his wrath. and it's a gift of grace. These verses summarize in succinct, clear, and powerful ways the gospel that saves you. There are truths in these verses that I want to unpack for you this morning. They're very clear truths, and they're very simple. They are that there is real salvation from the wrath of God, There is salvation that is by grace, that this salvation is through faith, that salvation by grace through faith is a gift from God, that salvation is not caused by you, that salvation is not earned by you, and that salvation is this way so that no one would boast. We desperately need this passage. because almost every word in these verses is contradicted by man-made religion. Every other religion in the world relies on what you do and on your goodness, not on true and absolute grace, in order for you to be right with God or to get eternal life or nirvana or whatever. Every man-made religion in this world spoils God's grace by producing some sort of feeling that man can't really be that bad to need salvation to be entirely by grace. Man-made religion taints the purity of faith by producing a thought that it can't really be possibly enough just to believe this. You have to do something, too. Man-made religion steals God's glory by producing an environment in which we boast about what we have done in order to procure salvation. This passage contradicts all of those things. And positively, on the other side, on the good side of things, this passage lays out for us the absoluteness of God's grace. It is a truth that is to be marveled at, believed, and depended on. And it reduces us to basically being recipients of the greatest gift that could ever be given. And that's not a bad position to be in. It teaches us that there's nothing we can add to the already perfect salvation that God gives. This is an example for how man-made religion kicks against the absoluteness of the grace that is offered here in these verses. Consider this. On May 13th, 2024, the Vatican published a bulletin describing this, a decree on the granting of indulgence during the ordinary Jubilee year 2025 called by His Holiness, Pope Francis. Pope Francis has declared that this year 2025 is a year of jubilee. This is meaning that this is a year in which the Catholic faithful may obtain plenary indulgences. Took effect December 24th, 2024. Doors of St. Peter's were flung open to symbolize that it is the opening of doors of mercy. According to the Catholic News Agency, these plenary indulgences that are offered during this year of Jubilee is this, quote, a plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. Plenary indulgences obtained during the jubilee year can also be applied to souls in purgatory with the possibility of obtaining two plenary indulgences for the deceased in one day, according to the apostolic penitentiary. Now, there are several problems with this. including that there is a belief that you can experience punishment for sins already forgiven. So that would mean that forgiveness does not then exclude all punishment. You can be forgiven and still experience punishment. Furthermore, it says that you can obtain indulgences for souls in purgatory. It means then that you can do something here on earth to benefit somebody who is in purgatory. and that the indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized, which would indicate that baptism is an act that cleanses the soul, and an indulgence can match that act. While each of those makes me both angry and sad at the same time, there's something else that I want to draw out here. According to the Bulletin by the Vatican, it says this, quote, During the ordinary Jubilee of 2025, by the will of the Supreme Pontiff, this Court of Mercy, which is responsible for all that concerns the granting and use of indulgences, wishing to encourage the souls of the faithful and nourish the pious desire to obtain the indulgence, seen as a gift of grace specific to each holy year, establishes the following indications, so that the faithful may take advantage of the norms for obtaining and rendering spiritually fruitful the practice of the Jubilee indulgence. So there's a lot there, but did you notice that the indulgence is seen as a gift of grace? The indulgence is believed to be a gift of grace. But here is how you obtain the indulgence. Here's how you obtain it. It says, quote, all the faithful who are truly repentant and free from any affection for sin, who are moved by a spirit of charity, and who during the holy year purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, will be able to obtain from the treasury of the church a plenary indulgence with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in purgatory in the following ways." Three ways you can get these indulgences. But first of all, notice you have to be free from any affection for sin. That's a problem. Here are the ways you get the indulgences. One, make a pilgrimage to a sacred jubilee site. Two, pious visits to sacred places. Three, works of mercy and penance. Did you catch that? An indulgence is a gift of grace that gives remission of the punishment of forgiven sins, and the way you receive this gift of grace includes works of mercy and penance, pious visits, or pilgrimage to sacred Jubilee sites. Now, if I believed that I was headed toward purgatory, or the souls of departed loved ones were already in purgatory. You better believe that I want to do everything I could to try to get as many indulgences as I could for myself and for them in this year that is open to me to get them. But the problem that I see with this is that they are saying an indulgence is a gift of grace. But then they say there is something you have to do to get that grace. If you put in the effort, you get the grace. And that grace relieves you of punishment for forgiven sins. Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you're using the same words but they don't mean the same things to each person. Like, consider a European and an American talking about football. They're talking well enough for a few seconds, and it quickly becomes apparent, wait a second, we're not talking about the same sport here. Yours has tons of pads and you hit each other all the time. The other one has a round ball and you kick it with your foot all the time. We're not talking about the same football here. That's the situation with the Catholic Church and the Bible. They use the word grace but it really means works. The Bible uses the word grace, and it means it as gift that you cannot work for. That's where this passage comes in so handy, because it helps us understand what grace really is. I know there are a lot There's a lot of Catholic influence in this area. And one of the reasons I bring this up is because the Catholic Church has distorted what grace really is when it says that you can get an indulgence, when you can get grace by going to a certain place or doing a certain work. That is in direct contradiction of what Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 says. And I hope that everyone here is freed from that burden that the Catholic Church lays on people. And you hear the real grace that is here in the scriptures. And as a result, when you receive this real grace, you should then be freed from the burden of feeling like you need to earn this grace. So let's look at these truths that are here in this passage. The first truth is that there is true salvation. Verse 8 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. You have been saved, Paul writes. This is a reality. It's not just a state of mind or some mystical hope. Rather, this is a real truth, a real experience, something that really happens. It's a real possession of those who are saved. It could be translated not just, you have been saved, which is a good way to translate it because it shows something that has happened to you and has continuing results, but it could also be translated, you are saved. It means something that you possess right now. In the context of Ephesians, salvation, It seems to be equated with three things. You can look back up at verse five, where the same word is almost used in verse five, by grace you have been saved. And Paul uses that phrase to basically describe three things that happen to those who are saved. He talks about in verse four, about God being rich in mercy, loving us with great love. And then verse five, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. That's the first element of salvation, being made alive with Christ. And then the second element of salvation is being raised up with Christ in verse six. And then also in verse six, being seated with him in the heavenly places. That's basically a summary of what the salvation Paul is talking about is, being made alive with Christ, being raised up with Christ, being seated with Christ. Salvation being made alive is direct contrast to what we were before Christ. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, and God by his grace makes us alive with Christ. God gives you a new heart, and with that new heart comes a desire and a longing for God. Being alive means that you are no longer a child of wrath headed toward eternal punishment. Being alive in Christ means that you have the forgiveness of your sins secured, that you've been adopted in Christ and you belong to Him. And then you've been raised with Christ, which means that you are now able to walk in His footsteps, to walk as Christ Walked. Being made alive starts your life and being raised has you live in that new life. Being raised means you no longer follow in the course of this world, you follow Christ. And then you're seated with Christ and being seated with Christ is having access to his power here and now. So as to fight against the spiritual forces of darkness that would try to snatch you out of his hand. Being seated with Christ means you have access to His power, who is at the right hand of God. You have been saved. This is the here and now. Happened to you, it continues, and it will continue into the eternity future. So make no mistake, this salvation is real. It really saves you from the wrath of God, really forgives your sins, really makes you alive, really raises you up, really seats you with Christ. And this all happens because of what Christ has done. And so you have been redeemed. You have been adopted. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You will never face the wrath of God. There is no purgatory. You are considered holy now, and you will be fully redeemed when your body is made new in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, without passing through a purging fire. That will happen. and you'll forever magnify His grace, and you will not spend a minute of the rest of your life in any wrath of God. Salvation is real. That's the first truth. The second truth is that salvation is by grace. Salvation is by grace. By grace, you have been saved. Perhaps the most obvious point of this opening chapter and a half of Ephesians is that your salvation is not dependent on you. God has done it all. This may be a bit repetitious, but I don't mind pointing this out to you again and again and again. If you look back at chapter one, the opening verses, beginning of verse three, you'll see just how much God has done. It's all of Him. Verse three, He's the one who blessed us. Verse four, He chose us. Verse five, He predestined us for adoption. Verse seven, in Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Verse eight, He lavished grace on us. Verse nine, He made known the mystery of His will. Verse 11, we have obtained an inheritance. It could be we've been claimed as God's own inheritance. Verse 13, we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Then into chapter 2, verse 4, God being rich in mercy. Verse 5, God made us alive. Verse 6, God raised us up. God seated us. It's all of God. God did this. God did that. God did all. That's His grace. Grace is often just translate it as meaning an unmerited favor or undeserved gift, and that's truly a good way to define it. Yes, but when you get into the biblical view of what grace is, it also includes God has done it all. He's done it all for you. That's grace. It's grace. God's gift of salvation, procured and given to undeserving sinners. Salvation comes to us by God's grace. The third truth is that salvation is through faith. Salvation is through faith. If salvation is by grace, then that necessitates the reality that the way that we receive that can only be by faith. Faith is basically the empty hands receiving the gift of God. It means we come with nothing and understand God has everything. It's a childlike position where the child doesn't earn any of the money, do any of the work, buy any of the food, but receives everything from their parents. That's what faith is. You come with open arms, open hands, leaving all of your sin, all of your works behind, nothing in your hands do you bring. Simply to the cross you cling. But faith in another sense is basically trust or confidence. A lot of times faith in our time is regarded as like this ignorant, stupid belief in that which is highly unlikely. That's not what biblical faith is. Biblical faith is high degree of confidence in the one who is most trustworthy. God has proven himself again and again and again. Faith is so important The book of Romans is basically all about it. Romans chapter 3 verses 21 onward says this, But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. All that God has done in Christ, the way that we receive it is simply by faith. Here's how this comes to pass in the lives of God's people. Someone proclaims the gospel. It could be across a coffee table. It could be next to somebody on a bus. It could be from a pulpit. You could hear it through the radio or the internet. Somebody preaches the gospel. And the gospel is basically that you are dead in your sins. You've rebelled against the Creator who made you to live a life that glorifies Him. And the consequence of that is eternal death, punishment in hell forever, facing God's judgment and wrath. You deserve that because you have committed sins against the God who has been kind to you, who made you. And He is a holy God, and He cannot tolerate sin, and so you must punish it. And yet at the same time, God loves sinners. And in His grace and His mercy, He has sent His Son into the world so that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, would live a perfect life, free from all sin, die a substitutionary death in the place of sinners, rise again in victory over sin and death. And he now calls all people everywhere to repent and put their faith in him, so that all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that he's the one who paid the price for their sins on the cross of Calvary, will be welcomed into the family of God. So you hear that message. You understand what it's saying. You can grasp the words. That's a level of knowledge. You could mock it as ludicrous, but you don't. You say, this is legitimate. I know what it says, and I believe it is true. But then you move beyond that, because that's not saving faith. Saving faith is not just saying, I know what it says, and I believe that it's true. Saving faith moves one step further. It says, I believe that is true for me, that I am a sinner. My sin deserves God's judgment. God sent his son for me, and I am putting my faith into Jesus Christ. I'm putting all my eggs in that one basket. My eternity is in Christ. I put all my confidence in him. So then that is saving faith. We get a good illustration of faith in Matthew chapter 8 with the centurion who comes to Jesus, who has a servant at home paralyzed, and he comes to Jesus and says, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And he said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me, and I say to one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my servant, do this, and he does it. Do you hear the faith there? He knows about Jesus. He believes it's true that Jesus has the capacity to heal, but then he actually exhibits that faith by going to Jesus and confessing his faith in him. You can just say the word and my servant will be healed. Do you have that kind of faith in Christ? Jesus, you came to die for my sins. You paid the punishment there. I believe that you can do that. I believe you have done that. I know now I am forgiven because of what you have done. That's faith. You put your faith in the Savior. You believe, you trust. It's important for us to know that faith is not a work. It's not something you do. It's rather someone you trust. God does not regard it as a work that you do. You put yourself in the hands of the one who can save you. Because salvation is a gift, the only way you can have it is by receiving it by faith. You cannot earn it. You defile it if you do that. You cannot work for it. You defile it if you try to do that. You just have to receive it by faith. There was an Australian sailor, Tim Shattuck, who was adrift at sea for two months off the coast of Mexico. This happened in 2023. The storm had damaged his catamaran. He wasn't able to cook any longer. He survived by rainwater and raw fish for two months. He was discovered by a fishing boat, a tuna fishing boat, saw him, saw his damaged vessel, they came along, found him. You can see the video of the sailors finding him. It's a touching video. He's finally found after two months at sea. He's absolutely thrilled to see these other people come to help him. It's kind of just an interesting story. But it took an unusual turn. I saw an interview with this man on an Australian news channel a week or so after he was discovered, and the interviewers were saying, we're so glad that you're OK. And then they asked him this interesting question. They said, I want to ask you a question. You had the ability to call for help, and that you were texting your family during the whole process. The whole time that he was adrift, he had access to his family. And so the anchor asks him, why didn't you shout out and say, yo, come get me? And so the man, Tim Shattuck, answers this in his Australian accent. He says, yeah, good question. There are protocols for a mayday call, and it might have been my pride. You see, he had access to just putting in a May Day call. He says his pride got in the way. Faith is the antithesis of pride. It's saying, I have nothing. Christ has everything. I need him. Help. Help. If you are still holding out and have not pushed that Mayday button of faith yet, don't wait another moment. Call on the name of the Lord today and be saved. Salvation is by grace through faith. The fourth truth is that salvation is God's gift. Salvation is God's gift. It says, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. The this refers to this whole complex of salvation by grace through faith. It's not your own doing, it is the gift of God. And Paul sandwiches the gift of God in between not your own doing and not a result of works to highlight just how much of a gift this is. It's another way of saying that salvation is by grace, but it puts it in the gift terminology. And it tells us that it's God's gift, not of you, Paul says, of God it is. Gifts increase in importance based on who gives them. Do you have anyone in your life that if you receive a gift from them, you say, oh, no, this is going to be another pie plate. I have 20 of them already. And do you have somebody in your life that gives you a gift and you say, I don't know what it is, but it's going to be good. When God gives a gift, he's not in the former, he's in the latter category. If God gives a gift, it's going to be good. It's going to be the best gift of all. He is the creator and inventor of all good things. Every good gift comes from above. Every good gift. Salvation is the good gift of God. He is the best gift giver. Salvation is God's gift. Truth number five, salvation is not our own doing. Again, it says, this is not your own doing. Literally, the way that Paul writes it is, not from us. It's not sourced from us is what it means. It's not out of us. Salvation does not come from us. Would you really be so arrogant as to think that this eternal life comes from such a spoiled life? Can that which is evil produce that which is good? Can a thistle produce apples? Does poison produce health? Does a sinful heart produce life? Salvation is not out of you, it's not from you. Eternal life and reconciliation with God and adoption, forgiveness of sins does not flow from us, it flows to us from God. That's the way it works. I think one of the most obnoxious mentalities is that is that belief that thinks there's something in us, something special in us that procures this great salvation. Something about us that is lovely. The way the Bible paints the picture is you're not lovely. You are a spiritually dead corpse. And God, in His love, raises you to life. Salvation is not out of you. Truth number six is that salvation is not a result of works. Salvation is not a result of works. You are not saved of yourself and you're not saved by your works. Works is basically equated with human effort. Romans 9.16 says, so then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. Listen to that again. It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. A common misunderstanding was kind of powerfully captured for me as I was looking at some stuff about purgatory. And in one article that was produced on a Catholic website, there were some comments. And in the comments section, there was a statement by a Catholic, but it's not just a Catholic problem, but it reveals the theology that underlies it. It said this, Quote, I believe that no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. I believe that if we do our best, or at least try to, God will understand and be merciful to us. We are all accountable for our actions, both good and bad, so we pay the price for our bad actions, which is only right. End quote. That's a tragic misunderstanding. If we just do our best, or at least try to. There was a survey in 2022 that put out the question, or made it the statement, God counts a person as righteous not because of one's works, but only because of one's faith in Jesus Christ. Over 3,000 people were asked, that statement there, asked to say whether they strongly disagree, disagree, not sure, agree, strongly agree. Again, listen to the statement. God counts a person as righteous, not because of one's works, but only because of one's faith in Jesus Christ. Only 34%, and this is put out to Christians, supposed Christians, only 34% strongly agreed with that. That leaves 66% that ranged from somewhat agreed to strongly disagreed. That statement is the core of the gospel, not of works, not of works. Salvation is not of works. There's one last truth here, number seven, that salvation is this way so that no one might boast. So that no one might boast. This is the way Paul concludes, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. God will not share his glory in saving a sinner from hell with anyone. He gets all the glory. He gets it all. Imagine a man who wants to bring you into his spiritual house and show you around. And he brings you in, he says, I want you to look over here. Here's my ledger. This ledger has every donation I've ever made in my life. See how thick this is? Pretty impressive, isn't it? You can feel it, it's weighty. I want you to look over here. This is my book of all of my prayers I've ever prayed in my life. Some are shorter and some are longer, but some of them are really beautiful. You should take the time and read these. These would, I'm sure, bless your soul. Look over here. This is the trophy I got. This is the humility trophy. I got this one first place. See that one? Over there is a list of all of the people who have thanked me through my life. Every time somebody says, thank you, I go and write it down over in that corner. Here's this sheet that I made this one up. But this one says, Well done, good and faithful servant. And I signed it for God because I know that's what he's gonna say to me. Then you go to another man's house and he pulls out this certificate, it's an adoption certificate. It says adopted by God. You say, how did you get that? What did you do to get that? Do? I didn't do anything. God adopted me into his family. Praise his name. You notice over in the corner this book. He says, oh, that's my ledger. You pick it up, you look at it. see all of these horrible things with a red line through them. The person says, that's the list of all of my sins. And you say, well, what's this red line through? Oh, Christ paid the price for all of them, every last one. Then you see on On the wall, a ticket says, entrance into the kingdom of God. Say, how did you get that? Did you get the chocolate bar or something? Did you say a lot of prayers? How'd you get that? God made me alive in Christ. I'm born again by his grace. And the person tells you, Every good thing in my life is a free gift, not by praying, not by being good enough, not by attending the church services, but by the free gift of God received by the empty hands of faith. if you are still clinging to any of your works, any of your own righteousness, let that go today and come by faith to receive the grace that God offers in Christ. Father, we pray that you would draw anyone here who doesn't yet know that gracious gift of salvation Draw them to yourself. Help them to see how everything is of you. Lord, we thank you that salvation is not of works. We have nothing to boast about except for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We boast in that. You are a good God, gracious, and we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.