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The Gifts of God

by Tanya Dennis
2/15/2007 / Devotionals

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~ Ephesians 2:8-10 (NAS)

Most familiar with Christianity have heard the ticket analogy of salvation. Salvation is like a winning lottery ticket that you find in your front yard. You receive it freely, but you still have to cash it in. The analogy illustrates the gift of grace. We did nothing to earn it; we just found it. In this analogy "cashing it in" is our faith. We must have faith in Jesus Christ and His ability to save us. When we acknowledge that only He can save us, we do our part in the salvation process. Makes sense right?

Not long ago I posted Ephesians 2:8-10 in my kitchen. I read it while feeding the kids and cleaning up afterwards. I studied it as I ate and caught it each time I passed through. The constant presence of this passage forced me to pay attention to details. Perhaps it was the rhythmic way I read it or simply noticing, for the first time, the punctuation of these verses I learned something new:

We have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation.

Now, I proclaim just as loudly as the next Baptist that salvation is a gift. There is nothing we can do to earn our ticket to Heaven. But then when really pressed, I hem and haw over the technicalities. Well, you do have to believe. You have to ask Jesus to be your Savior. You have to confess your sins and ask forgiveness. But other than that well, and then you really should live a pure life. You need to look like a Christian, not just talk like one. But salvation is free!

I am not a legalist. Really. I firmly believe salvation is completely without merit. It is by mercy and grace alone that we may be called heirs of Christ. I just have difficulty defending it. I mean, we have to do something right?? Wrong.

Look between the dashes. It says: "and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." In the past, when reading this verse, I understood this phrase referred to grace. But read it again. The writer is saying FAITH is not from ourselves, but it, too, just like grace, is a gift of God.

How cool is that! We don't even have to cash in our tickets. God gives us grace (the ticket) and He gives us the faith we need and He requires (to cash it in). It is ALL a work of God! God created us. He gave His Son for us. Through grace He gives us salvation which we may accept through faith which He also gives us. As if all this were not enough, He gives us still more. He has given us the exact abilities we need to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. Even the good works, the things we think we finally get to do, are gifts from Him. All that we are, all that we have, all that we do everything is a gift from God because of His amazing love and awesome grace. Simply fuel for His glory. May our praise to Him echo like thunder throughout all eternity!

Tanya Dennis is a full-time mom and a part-time writer. She writes only to point others to God. Tanya has been published in FaithWriters Magazine and writes regularly for the Christian Children's Book Review. Learn more about her and her writing at www.inthedailies.blogspot.com.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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