But God, who is rich
in mercy, because of His great love
with which He loved
us, even when we were dead
In trespasses, made
us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have
been saved),
and raised us up
together, and made us sit together in the
heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He
might show the
exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ
Jesus. For by grace you have been
Saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Not of works, lest
anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:4–9
Paul was
reminding the Ephesians of God and Jesus Christ who being in the same
substance, the very essence of one another had great and rich mercy due to the
love of God and by the death of His Son Jesus Christ all who believe in Jesus
Christ would be saved and this by grace. Man is dead in their trespasses and
this can only be true if man is a sinner and by his sin has forfeited the right
to receive God’s grace. So some would preach, as did Pelagius who I quoted in
the last blog, and the man Jacobus Arminius who has influenced many people who
are Christian but believe that man has just enough of goodness to save
themselves. This is a form of Gnosticism whereby man may through some
assimilation of knowledge could be found good enough to be saved and inherit a
place in the kingdom of God. But, and this is a big “but,” man cannot save
himself for man does not have life, life was forfeited by the sin of Adam and
by Adam’s sin all men have inherited this sin. This sin made all men dead in
their trespasses for man can not do anything aside from trespassing,
trespassing the law of God for there are and are dead. Only by Christ can man
be saved and brought to life. It isn’t the acquiring of knowledge that saves a
man, it is not be some eloquent preaching that saves man, it is not by any
works of man that saves, man, for it is only by the Grace of God that man is
saved and that Grace which supplies to all of God’s children a faith which is a
gift from God and no man can boast of their philanthropy, their giving to
charities, to working in soup lines, to going to Church regularly, to being a
Sunday School teacher, etc. for to say that these are means by which a man can
be saved in contrary to Scripture. Man cannot save himself for if he could then
all he did was some good work, some good choice and this by his own efforts but
God says, NO! It is not by any works of man that saves man, salvation is by and
through God by means of the propitiation work of the Son of God, the Son of
Man, Jesus Christ, His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven that the
debt man owes to God but cannot be paid by man is paid by Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ then sits at the right hand of the Father and makes eternal intercession
for all of God’s children, to all that were given to Jesus Christ by the
Father. You know that you are one of God’s children, one to whom God has given
mercy and grace, the faith to believe in and upon His Son Jesus Christ if you
are putting on the image of His Son and then by this grace and faith, this
change for whom you live you do many good works but this is only to be doing
what God requires, it is not something special, it is a requirement of God for
all His children.
Pelagius
brought upon Christianity much harm with his profane fiction that Adam’s sin
was to Adam’s hurt only and that Adams’ sin did not hurt his posterity and only
by means of Satan who tried to deceptively hide the fact that this sin is
incurable. Man could by Pelagianism cure himself. What blasphemy! Cavil all a
person desires against this fact that man cannot save himself, that all the
preaching in the world will not save the world, but will bring to God’s
children the truth of God, His Son, and a change in their hearts, lives, and
actions by means of the truth revealed in God’s word that we go as commanded
and preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Man from the womb is sin, his soul
does not desire God for it is ungodly infected by inherited sin and has
inherited wickedness. Look around the world and see if this is not true. The
corruption of man is innate as proclaimed by King David under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit and written down for all to read and know; “Behold, I was
brought froth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Is
the Bible saying that the wife of Jesses, David’s father, was a prostitute, or
a woman of ill repute, or any other reason why she would be sinful do some
action of hers, or is the Bible pointing out the fact that man within the womb
is sinful? It is clear from all Scriptures on this subject that man is sinful
in the womb, and is sinful out of the womb and is in need of a Savior. David
was not throwing blame on his parents, rather he was commending the goodness of
God towards him. All of come into this world as descendants of Adam and are
inheritors of the sin of Adam, we are descendants of impure seed, we are
tainted with this world’s sin, and are in contagion due to this sin and we
cannot bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing (Job 14:4).
Do not be
dismayed! God can bring cleanness to an unclean thing, an unclean person and
this He does by His Grace, freely offered to all of His children, not by works,
you cannot boast, “look at me and what I am doing” for all you are doing is
only what you should be doing and if you are one of God’s children then you are
doing what you do out of your love for God and the desire of faith in His Son
to become in the image of Jesus Christ that we have as our object of affection
and enjoyment. We do not out of fear, not for any reason within other than our
desire to do the will of the Father as did Jesus: “Again, a second time, he went
away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me
unless I drink it, You will be done” (Matthew 26:42). May you and I be
found doing His will.
But Jesus answered him, saying,
“It is
written, “man shall
not live by bread alone, but by
every word
of God.’”
Luke 4:4
Live Today For Jesus Christ: Be His Image
Richard L. Crumb
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