SALVATION BY GRACE ALONE!
Ephesians 2:1-3 demonstrates that every person apart from Jesus Christ is dead in sins, in slavery to sin, under the wrath of God, and in a condition they have no ability or desire to escape unless they are born again by the Spirit of God. Yet, despite this clear teaching of Scripture, many insist that the natural man, through the exercise of his own will, can trust in Christ prior to being born of the Spirit of God. However, 1 Corinthians 2:14 teaches that “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The natural man does not have the spiritual ability to believe the Gospel of Christ unless the Spirit of Christ first changes his heart and gives him spiritual ears to hear. That is why Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 2:8 that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. Salvation is not by God’s grace plus something we do. It is not grace plus works or works plus grace (Romans 11:6). And in case we missed it the first time, Paul says it again in Ephesians 2:9, “not of works.” “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:1-3).
Salvation must be all of God’s grace alone. Those who confuse this by saying that we must cooperate with God’s grace in order to be saved are adding something that is not found in the text. Scripture says that we are saved by God’s grace alone, and even the act of believing in Christ must be granted unto us. Paul emphasizes this truth in Ephesians 2:9 when he says the faith to trust in Christ is “not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Faith in Christ is not something we offer to God. Faith is something that God gives to enable sinners to believe in Christ, to be united to Christ, and thereby receive all His benefits. The Heidelberg Catechism teaches, “The Holy Ghost works faith in our hearts by the preaching of the Holy Gospel” (Q&A 65). We simply do not have faith to believe in Christ unless it is given to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:29, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”
If you trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, it is merely the result of God granting it to you by His grace, and this truth is declared in many places in Scripture. Notice John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Those who are born of God believe in Christ. Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” And He said in John 6:65, “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by my Father.” No one has the spiritual ability or desire to come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit sovereignly gives them spiritual life from the dead. Therefore, salvation, along with the faith to trust in Christ, is a gift of God by His grace alone in Jesus Christ; not of works lest anyone should boast. And that is why the redeemed sing, “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”
Tuesday Encouragement: March 17, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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A CHRISTIAN'S SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER
My Father and my God,
I bow before You this Lord's Day morning through the Lord Jesus Christ, He is my righteousness, and by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, He is my Sanctifier. “How lovely is your Tabernacle, O Lord of host!” (Psalm 84:1). “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).
O my God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it is in You that “I live and move and have my being” (Acts 17:28). You made all things in heaven and on earth for Your glory and praise and for the good of Your church, Your redeemed in Jesus Christ. To You I give all glory, honor, praise, adoration, exaltation, thanksgiving, reverence, obedience, and worship. Cause me to do all these things more diligently, zealously, continually, faithfully, joyfully, lovingly, and prayerfully.
O Father, You are holy; I am sinful and I feel the pull of sin daily.
As the hymn writer declared, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above!"
You are righteous; I am practically unrighteous and I fall short of Your glory every day.
You are wisdom; I am foolish as my thoughts, words, and deeds reveal.
You are almighty; I am weak as I am dust and ashes and am daily falling to the earth daily.
You are all-knowing; I am ignorant of so much that I cannot even measure my ignorance.
You are eternal; I am finite, created from the dust of the earth, a simple creature!
You are transcendent; I am temporal, confined to a locality.
You are pure Spirit; I am flesh and bone.
You are compassionate; I am so often uncaring, and unkind.
You are love; I am often unloving, cold, and indifferent to others' needs.
You are strong; I am weak and fragile, frail, and sinful.
My heart is in constant need of change and progression in holiness, in Christ-likeness. I am easily distracted, easily tempted, easily led astray. I am so sinful, dear Lord. Help me! Too often I am emotional rather than rational. Uphold me, dear Lord Jesus, with Your strong arm! Don't let me stray from You or Your sheepfold. Don't let my heart grow cold. Light the fire within my heart, O Lord. Don't let me wander from You! Revive me for Your glory’s sake. Use me, teach me, guide me, uphold me, fill me with Your Power and Presence.
Forgive me, O Father, for my wretched sins of thought, word, and deed. Forgive me for "the lust of my flesh, the lust of my eyes, and the pride of my life—which is not of You but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). Forgive me for the sake of Christ’s person and work! He lived in my place and has fulfilled all the righteous demands of the Law on my behalf. He bore my punishment on the cross so that I would never be condemned. Christ has merited righteousness and forgiveness for me. You forgive me because of Who Christ is and what He has done, and not because of something in me. Of myself, I am only sin and corruption. But in Christ I am declared righteous and holy. Oh Father, what marvelous grace that You would give Your only Son to make a wretch like me His treasure! As the hymn writer, Robert Robinson, once wrote, "O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be! Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here’s my heart; O take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above."
O my Father, I do love You because You first loved me (1 John 4:19) and shed Your love abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). But I know my love is far from perfect. My love is weak, sinful, frail, and fragile. Therefore, cause me to love you with greater intensity and obedience and passion and service. Keep me confessing my sins to you since when I confess you are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Holy Spirit, keep me in Your Word. Fill me with Your Word. Fill me, Holy Spirit. Don't let me drift. Don't let me grieve You. Don't let me sin against You. Empower me for Your blessed service. Keep me walking on the straight and narrow path! Cause me to decrease so that Christ will increase in me so that I might declare and live the words of Scripture, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Bring all my thoughts captive to the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do this for Your glory! Use me for Your praise! For I am not my own, but I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, both in my body and my soul, both in my life and in my death, I am His and He is mine!
O Lord my God, here am I, send me!
In Jesus' blessed name I pray!
Amen!
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