Our True Spiritual Condition
Nobody likes to hear that their spiritual condition is in a state of being lost. Nobody likes to hear that they are headed towards a judgment of guilty and condemned to hell. The fact of the matter is that everyone is guilty of sin and destined to be lost. God knows that fact, and that is why God made a provision to change the destiny of anyone willing to seek it.
Grace is the thing that God provides to us. It is seen in many ways. The greatest display of this grace is the sending of His Son to us. That the Son was willing to be obedient to God and give His life to God and also give His life for all mankind is the greatest act of love ever experienced by humans.
Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us that apart from God, we (all men) are dead to God. The reason is because we indulge in the flesh and practice sin. We know that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), so we really are children of wrath when we are separate from God.
Notice verse 4: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us," (This thought is expressed through out the NT) verse 5: "even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)".
All of this is to show the world (all mankind) that God does care about them and provides for them. All God asks is that people would devote themselves to God and worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24)
Verse 7: "in order that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus".
This grace brings salvation (makes it available to all men) to mankind. As we study God's word, the Bible, we see that those who accept the terms of God's grace are the ones who benefit from God's grace. Grace does not work alone, as many try to teach. It must be accompanied with faith. A faith that is active and obedient to the commands of God. And our obedience does not merit salvation, but we cannot be saved without obedience either. So we must come to the conclusion that when we obey, we are doing the works of God, and not ourselves.
Verse 8: "for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God".
Verse 9: "not as a result of works, that no one should boast."
Remember this whole context is dealing with the subject of God's grace. Verse 10 gives us the reason God showed His grace to us. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
We need to evaluate our spiritual condition based upon God's guidelines and not our own. Many people are very selective as to which parts of the Bible they will allow to have dominion over them. If we want salvation, we had better accept all of God's words, and live accordingly.
By Carey Scott

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