Eph 2.8-10 Grace Applied: The Saving Grace of God in New Creation

[0:00] Please take your Bibles and turn to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 2. As we continue the book of Ephesians, as review and introduction, chapter 1 of the book of Ephesians, we saw God's purpose of reconciliation, and as we move into chapter 2, we see God's way of reconciliation. So that's purpose of reconciliation, the covenant of redemption, and now God's way of reconciliation, or the covenant of grace. And in verses 1 to 10, we see a before and after picture.

[0:48] It's a before and after picture of a transformation that takes place, of dead sinners being made alive. Or deliverance from the old life and death to new life in Christ. And in those 10 verses, in chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, there are three conjunctions that we see.

[1:12] And in those three conjunctions, all three of them demonstrate what is indicative of the saving grace of God. Those three conjunctions in verses 1 to 10 are indicative of the saving grace of God towards those who have been purposed, purchased, and claimed by God, that which we saw in chapter 1.

[1:35] In other words, the covenant of grace according to the covenant of redemption. So in chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, those three conjunctions are and, but, and for. And these are three very important conjunctions. The first one is and you. And the and you tells us that it's a continuation of God's almighty power displayed within the setting of human failure. The and you is the continuation of the display of God's almighty power. And then it goes on to say, and you who were. The were tells us about the setting of human failure or the former state of the saints, namely being dead in sin or the misery of sin. Now the Baptist Catechism, question number 23, asks the question, did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? The answer is God, having out of his mere good pleasure from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a redeemer.

[2:52] So back to Ephesians 2, now in verse 4, we have the second conjunction, which is but, but God, which shows us divine intervention. It is a further illustration of God's almighty power, but God made you alive. It's divine intervention, grace applied to dead sinners being made alive in Christ. And then now, in verse 8, we have our third conjunction, which is for, for, for by grace. And this shows us new life in Christ by grace alone.

[3:34] So we'll read chapter 2 of the book of Ephesians. And you, he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 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 and his kindness toward us in

[4:42] 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Therefore, remember that you once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And he came and preached peace to you, who were afar off, and to those who were near. For through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Almighty God, as we consider your word, I pray that you would be at work here this morning by the empowerment of your Holy Spirit. I pray that you would intend the ministry of your word, that you would speak to all of us. I pray that you would show us the truths contained in your word, that which is spiritually discerned. I pray that you would give us all a spiritual understanding, that we might know the riches of your grace and praise you for it. I pray that you would use me. I pray that you would be at work here this morning and be all for your glory.

[7:25] I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So in Ephesians 2, verses 8 to 10, we see the exceeding greatness of God's almighty power We will examine, out of this text, the reality of new life, the source of new life, and the course of new life. So the reality, the source, and the course of new life.

[8:02] So first of all, the reality of new life, and that is, saved by grace through faith. So the question, what makes someone a Christian? This is a well-disputed question. It's a question that divides many of what makes someone a Christian. Some try to complicate it by turning it into an equation of such an amount of God, or such amount of grace, and such amount of our works in order to be justified.

[8:36] But what does the Bible say? What does God say? If the question is, what makes someone a Christian? The answer is, God does. God makes someone a Christian. Those whom the Father purposes, the Son purchases, and the Spirit applies the work of redemption to.

[8:55] In God's work of redemption, God makes someone a Christian. Not because of good works, but for good works. What makes someone a Christian? God does.

[9:07] For good works. Purposed by the Father, purchased by the Son, applied by the Spirit. Here, we see the gospel promise of free grace.

[9:18] It's not law, not works, not merit. In fact, Satan works to darken the light of the gospel by subtle ways of trying to infuse work into salvation, contrary to the gospel of grace.

[9:37] Whether it be salvation by works, Pelagianism, Jesuits, semi-Pelagian, persevering in justification by works, the apostle here in verse 8 declares that salvation, salvation to be God's unmerited favor, despite human demerit and in spite of us.

[10:02] So it says here, saved, verse 8, for by grace you have been saved. Saved from what? Now if you recall previous two sermons on Ephesians 2, first of all in Ephesians 1, we see that salvation is by God's work of redemption and the Father choosing, electing, predestining, through the Son, purchasing, through the work of redemption, and the Spirit applying it and sealing it.

[10:32] So we see the big picture of salvation. And then in chapter 2, we see it through the covenant of grace, how the specific person who is dead in sin is made alive.

[10:49] And we see the misery of sin in chapter 2, verses 1 to 3. Being dead in sin and trespasses, sin nature, we sin because we're sinners, a multitude of sins, heaping iniquity upon iniquity, sons of disobedience, in opposition to God, at enmity with God.

[11:17] We see the gravity of that state being, by nature, children of wrath under the condemnation of a holy, unchanging, eternal God.

[11:30] They are saved from sin and from wrath. So in this statement, we see salvation stated positively, we see it stated negatively, and then we see the reason or the significance thereof.

[11:48] So it is stated positively, by grace you are saved through faith. Positive statement of salvation. By grace you are saved through faith. And then it is stated twice negatively, not of yourselves, and secondly, not of works, and the significance is that no man may boast.

[12:11] So if you notice, it says saved in the past tense. There is a significance to that. Saved, why saved? Saved because justified. To be saved is to be justified before God.

[12:25] Romans 3.24 says justified freely by grace. Saved, remember, by grace you are saved. Saved is in the past tense because justified in the present.

[12:40] It is not a future hope of being justified. However, justified in the present in Christ who is risen and exalted. We are not waiting to see. Christ is risen, Christ is exalted.

[12:53] When made alive, we are united to Christ and we are justified in the present because it is a current legal declaration. salvation. We are currently legally declared to be just because we are in Christ.

[13:07] And we'll break that down further. But, for now, by grace you are saved through faith. By grace, the salvation being justified is God's free unmerited favor.

[13:23] Unmerited favor means it is not merited, it is not earned, it is not deserved, it is unmerited. So it is by grace, by God's free unmerited favor, you are saved, justified, current legal declaration through faith.

[13:41] The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith in chapter 11 systematically outlines what the Bible says about our justification. It says that God freely justifies those whom he effectually calls by pardoning their sins and accounting and accepting them as righteous.

[14:03] He does this for Christ's sake alone and not for anything produced in them or done by them. He imputes Christ's active obedience to the whole law and passive obedience in his death as their whole and only righteousness by faith.

[14:23] This faith is not self-generated but it is the gift of God. It then goes on to say that by his obedience in death Christ fully paid the debt of all those who are justified.

[14:37] He endured in their place the penalty they deserved. By the sacrifice of himself in his bloodshed on the cross he legitimately really and fully satisfied God's justice on their behalf.

[14:55] Yet their justification is based entirely on free grace because he was given by the Father for them and his obedience and satisfaction were accepted in their place.

[15:09] These things were done freely not because of anything in them so that both the exact justice and the rich grace of God would be glorified in the justification of the sinners.

[15:24] It is all to the glory of God. It is not to the glory of the sinner who is justified. It is all to the glory of God. It is a free gift of God the free grace of God not by works not by our own doing.

[15:37] By grace you have been saved through faith. So I will now examine through faith. This faith which are saved through is the laying hold of the grace offered in the gospel.

[15:50] It is embracing receiving resting on Christ as the explicit and exclusive object of faith. Galatians 2.16 says justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law.

[16:08] Justified by faith in Christ. And Romans 3.26 says that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

[16:20] Now there are those who have stronger degrees of faith and there are those who have weaker degrees of faith but yet faith is the laying hold of the grace offered in the gospel.

[16:38] It's the embracing of Christ. So it's very important that there is no increase of merit for increase of faith. faith. The Roman Catholics would try to assert that there's an accumulation of merit and a treasury of merit based on saints but there is no increase of merit for increase of faith.

[17:00] The merits are that of the object that faith embraces. So the merit is not increased by the person who by faith lays hold of the grace offered in the gospel.

[17:14] The merit is that of the object that faith embraces. That is Christ. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

[17:26] Period. Everybody who is in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation whatsoever. All who are in him there is not one judicial sentence against any of them.

[17:40] Take all who are in Christ Jesus and every single one of them regardless of how strong or weak their faith may be all of them there is no judicial sentence against any of them.

[17:53] The weakest believer is as free from condemnation as the strongest believer. Though faith may be differing in degrees the imputation of Christ's perfect righteousness is not by differing degrees.

[18:08] The merit is the imputed righteousness of Christ and the righteousness of Christ does not vary. In other words a piece of gold is worth just as much in the hand of a child as it is in the hand of an adult.

[18:27] Faith that receives and rests on Christ and his righteousness is the only instrument of justification. Confession tells us that faith is the only instrument of justification.

[18:43] So two questions. One, what is the origin of faith? Our confession tells us that the grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe so that their souls are saved is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts.

[19:01] Faith is ordinarily produced by the ministry of the Word. That is the external and the internal means. The external being the Word, the proclamation of the Word of God, the internal being the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts.

[19:18] Therefore, that is why the Reformed Baptists hold such a high view of the primacy of preaching. It is through the preaching of the Word that the kingdom is advanced. What is the basis of faith?

[19:32] If that is the origin of faith, what is the basis of faith? Our confession goes on to say, the principal acts of saving faith focus directly on Christ.

[19:44] Remember, the object of faith. Focus directly on Christ accepting, receiving, and resting upon Him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of the covenant of grace.

[20:02] So the principal act of saving faith is not thinking that I am going to deserve or earn or produce God's favor on me, which I deserve. No, quite the opposite.

[20:15] It's focusing on Christ, accepting, receiving, and resting upon Him alone for justification. The temptation is ever crouching at the doorstep to persuade us to insert our merit or our effort or our performance into our justification.

[20:34] Therefore, Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul, here, the negative is then stated to eliminate errors concerning the positive statement.

[20:45] So the positive statement is, by grace you have been saved through faith. And now the negative is stated to eliminate errors concerning that statement. to abolish the opinion that faith originates from within sinners who are spiritually dead and in opposition to God, he now here states, and that not of yourselves.

[21:05] By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. Human contribution is excluded from the grace of justification.

[21:16] Grace is unmerited favor. So human contribution is excluded, not of one's own power, not of one's own strength, not of one's own worth or merit.

[21:27] Rather, dead sinners need to be made alive. Fallen mankind needs to be made alive. This cannot occur from within oneself unless God gives it.

[21:44] It's a time of year where we change over our winter tires to our summer tires, and we do so, we use the wrench to torque the lug nuts, change the tires, put the lug nuts back on, use our torque wrench to torque the tires.

[21:56] Now, the lug nut is the recipient of what is occurring, of the torquing. The torque wrench is the instrument through which the torque wrench is not the source of the power.

[22:14] The torque wrench, however, is merely the instrument which is being used for the application from the source. So also is our faith as the instrument.

[22:27] Faith is a covenantal grace, the act of man by the enablement of God or the response people give to God's preceding measures.

[22:40] power. The saving grace of God displays the exceeding greatness of God's almighty power as the source of new life. So that brings us to our second point, our examination of the source of new life.

[22:56] We see in verse 8 it says, for it is the gift of God. And then we see also in verse 10 it says, created in Christ Jesus. So an examination of the source of new life, first of all, we see, for it is the gift of God.

[23:17] Now Philippians 1.29 says, you have been granted to believe. Believing is granted. And in 1 Corinthians 12.9 it says, faith is given.

[23:28] So the faith, the instrument of faith is given. Or in our text as it says, it is the gift of God. James 1.17 tells us that every perfect gift is from above.

[23:42] That is from God who is perfect and the author and cause of all perfection. And Matthew Poole says that all the parts and steps of spiritual life, from the first beginning of grace and regeneration to the consummation of it in glory are of God.

[24:01] And when you consider the very concept of a gift, let's say I was to give you a gift, it's something that you didn't have, I went and acquired it and I paid the price for it and I give it to you.

[24:13] You didn't have it, but now you do have it. But you are not going to pay the price, I have paid the price, so that you can now have it, so I can give it to you.

[24:24] The very concept of a gift. Being saved by grace through faith does not originate from human capacity or exertion or effort or human resources, but as God's gift, for it is the gift of God, the gospel of free grace.

[24:43] Our text starts off by saying for by grace, so we see here God's gift is God's gift of grace, divine intervention when we were hopelessly dead in sin and corrupt and with imprisoned wills by nature and following the course of the world.

[25:04] That was the state of the sinner. That was our former state. So we were hopelessly dead in sin with corrupt and imprisoned wills and by nature we were following the course of the world.

[25:16] S.M. Baugh says that faith, which is the capacity to believe in Christ, faith is itself a gift originating from God, mediated by his incarnate son and effected in them through the Holy Spirit, through the secondary means of gospel proclamation, as an act of new creation.

[25:39] And now here in our text, a second negative is here stated. The positive is, by grace you have been saved through faith. And here a second negative is stated, not of works.

[25:53] There is a gift of God, not of works. Against the error that faith is given on the merit of our action. Romans 11, 6 says, if by grace it is no longer by works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

[26:12] Also in Romans 4, 16 it says, therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace. The positive is stated, two negatives is stated, and now here the reason is given.

[26:27] The significance, not being that no man may boast, or that no man may glory in himself. No claim to credit on man's part, no claim to merit, no claim to boasting, rather, dead sinners are purposed, purchased, and claimed by God.

[26:47] And me, I was dead in trespasses and sin. All glory goes to God alone. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory.

[26:58] Remember from chapter 1, verse 6, it says, to the praise of the glory of his grace. The text goes on to say, for we are his workmanship.

[27:12] For it is the gift of God, not of works, that no man may boast, for we are his workmanship. Now when it says we, it signifies both Jew and Gentile, the saints, all who are called out of darkness into marvelous light, all who are called out of the world into God's kingdom of glory, all who are dead sinners made alive.

[27:44] We are his workmanship. What exists through grace is not already present in man by himself, it is the gift of God, it is by grace, that no man may boast, no man may glory in himself.

[28:02] Rather, we are his workmanship. So this is not self-generated, it is created. You see in our text, created. Produced, created means produced from nothing, a new creation, a new life, where there is no life.

[28:23] Justification is not from preceding merits within oneself. What is preceding in oneself is only death and condemnation, rather, created as from nothing, made you alive in Christ Jesus, in whom we live, move, and have our being, now as our mediator and head, justified by his active and passive obedience, by way of imputation, not our workmanship.

[28:54] We are his workmanship. Dead sinners made alive, a new creation, cut off from the world, and set apart for God, God's people, by God's work.

[29:09] I'm sure we've all experienced the frustration when you're watching a movie and the movie's being projected by a projector and so it's being displayed on a wall and somebody stands up and stands up in the way and by their standing up they block the display.

[29:27] What is supposed to be displayed is being blocked by this person standing up or what is being displayed is being eclipsed, if you will. It is blocking the true display.

[29:40] So also is thinking that we are justified by our own merits and not seeing salvation by grace through faith as being the gift of God.

[29:53] If you remember back in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 18 to 19 Paul prays, Paul tells the saints that he prays for them and explains what he prays for them and one of the things is that you may know the exceeding greatness of God's power.

[30:11] So again that you may know the exceeding greatness of God's power. And then in chapter 2 verse 7 it says show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

[30:28] And then one more in chapter 1 verse 6 if you remember it says to the praise of the glory of his grace. Do you see the common theme here?

[30:40] The purpose of creation and redemption is to bring all blessing glory honor and praise to God alone. Soli Deo Gloria. Again going back to our confession it speaks on justification in paragraph 11 and it tells us that faith receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness is the alone instrument of justification yet it is not alone in the person justified but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces and is not dead faith but worketh by love.

[31:21] Which brings us to our third point of examination the course of new life. The course of new life being walk in good works as we see in verse 10.

[31:35] created in Christ Jesus for good works. Now first of all good works are not to earn secure or maintain justification.

[31:50] Justification is by grace alone through faith alone is the gift of God. Rather good works are the result of justification. Good works which are defined by God and commanded by God in his word are the fruit and evidence of a true and living faith.

[32:09] So good works are not things that are contrary to God's word which we use by our own creativity or innovation is by the command of God as defined by God and they do not earn us justification rather good works are the fruit and evidence of a true and living faith.

[32:34] It is not man's action but God's command that makes good works good. God is not sitting around powerless just waiting around desperate for somebody to do something good for him.

[32:54] When you consider the Bible perhaps Paul of Tarsus and the blind zeal that Paul had God this is not a good work or the actions of Uzzah reaching out to stabilize the ark possibly good intentions despite the command not to this was not a good work or Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire possibly good intentions and an act of worship but without the command God is not desperate for his creatures to do something for him good works are that which are defined by God and commanded by God in his word and they are the fruit and evidence of a true and living faith remembering we are made alive we are new created by God's work for good works so again new created by God's work for good works renewed in order to act uprightly made alive in order to walk not according to the course of the world but according to his will that we should glorify

[34:05] God if you recall the before and after picture before the transformation before being made alive in the first part of chapter two as we were dead in sin walking according to the course of the world however being made alive we are freed from the bondage of sin and flowing from a renewed constitution we are not called out of this world to just remain walking according to the course of this world internal lust gives a luster to the vanities of the world to the course of the world and make them strong temptations to us remaining un-mortified corruption within us is like glue that fastens our affections to the world it fastens us to that which is death vanity and destruction we see here in our text that were created in

[35:09] Christ Jesus for good works prepared beforehand these good works purposed by the father prepared by God that the outcome and effect of those who have been predestined elected redeemed forgiven and sealed would be holy and blameless before him living a life of gratitude and service prepared beforehand for good works then goes on to say that we should walk in them first Corinthians 15 10 says but by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace toward me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was within which was with me that we should walk in them and walk we should serving

[36:11] God with love and gratitude as children and heirs progressing in good works to the glory of God as Ephesians 5 8 says walk then as children of the light consider Psalm 128 verse 1 blessed are all who fear the Lord and walk in his ways consider Romans 6 4 walk in newness of life or Romans 8 4 walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit remembering that in Ephesians 2 we have a before and after picture of a transformation and that before and after picture we see previously walked in darkness and death now walking in newness of life in Christ previously walking according to the flesh now walking according to the spirit previously walked in trespasses and sin now walking in good works previously followed the course of this world now following the course of the kingdom of glory the glorious inheritance!

[37:20] of the saints previously following satan the prince of the power of the air now following Jesus Christ our risen and exalted Lord we saw our previous state our state of misery and sin and in that state we followed after the course of the world we see a transformation that takes place God made us alive and we see the before and after picture between the two there was an ancient Roman practice of a convicted murderer having the victim shackled to the murderer to the convicted murderer and that's not just tethered to a dragon behind him but affixed to them basically back against back arms against arms legs against legs skin against skin so the murderer the one who was alive though living though alive the putrefaction the maggot infestation and disease of death is inseparable to the eventual demise of the living so it's not like just merely dragging around a corpse that is putrefying until it decays and falls off the very fact of it being fixed or attached or next to the person who is living would transfer over through skin contact the putrefaction the disease and the destruction of the dead the living attached to death why would someone who has been made alive shackle themselves to that which is death disease and destruction to their own demise death we might in thinking of that illustration ask the question why does the course of the world not smell of death at the time if anyone's gone away on a week long hunting trip or camping trip or canoeing trip where you don't shower or the lakes are starting to freeze so you can't go swimming each progressive day you get more and more dirty but you acclimatize to your stench shower pick up your dirty clothes and you realize how much they stink because you are clean you don't realize that before you shower because you become acclimatized or accustomed to the stench of it

[39:48] Jude 23 tells us but others save with fear pulling them out of the fire hating even the garment defiled by the flesh following the course of this world is preferring lusts over light lust for pleasure lust for gratification lust for indulgence ease comfort approval worldly camaraderie praise and glory but the course of this world cannot give you rest it will not satisfy it is deceit and destruction it is following after and being ruled by the prince of darkness Hebrews 11 tells us that by faith Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin esteeming the reproach of

[40:52] Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he looked to the reward John Flavel outlines three results of walking as a new creation is a changed course changed companionship and changed conversation now you might say in all these things there could be just an external pretense which is true this change is not just external but an internal change of mind it is true repentance to turn from the world to Christ it is a change of course 180 degrees faith and repentance are the flip side of the same coin repentance is the turning from faith is the turning to the course of death is preferring the creature to the creator preferring earth to heaven preferring temporal things to eternal scorning the eternal favor of

[41:54] God out of desire for the delights of the natural order being made alive by the quickening of the spirit being granted faith and repentance turning from the course of this world turning from sin to Christ the believer is no longer a citizen of this world and all its pleasures but citizens of the kingdom of God we are not at home we are on our way and we are set apart by godly living in the fear of God not to do the workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them the fruit and evidences of salvation in conclusion we see here trinitarian covenantal grace and the eternal covenant of redemption the father decreeing the son purchasing and the spirit applying the architect the treasury and the power of divine covenantal grace and making dead sinners alive together with

[43:07] Christ God's grace communicated to dead sinners in opposition and at enmity with him is absolutely entirely undeserved and unmerited it is truly the deepest sense of unmerited favor it is not reactionary it is not deserved it is not communicated by constraint it is covenantal grace and it is according to his eternal purpose his sovereign will God's way according to God's purpose the covenant of grace according to the covenant of redemption saved by grace through faith his workmanship created in Christ Jesus that we should walk in good works to the praise of the glory of his grace and while it's true that good works never saves anyone justified believers are never void of good works as fruit and evidence of salvation turn with me to

[44:14] Titus 3 verses 3 to 8 Titus 3 verse 3 to 8 and we see much parallels to our text for we ourselves were also once foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another but when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal!

[45:13] life this is a faithful saying God should be careful to maintain good works these things are good and profitable to men so here it says these good works are good and profitable to men and our confession of faith lists from various parts of scripture how good works are profitable It says through good works believers!

[45:46] express their thankfulness strengthen their assurance build up their brothers and sisters adorn the profession of the gospel stop the mouths of opponents and glorify God believers are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good work so that they bear fruit leading to holiness and have the outcome eternal life believers are to walk not according to the course of the world rather made alive means a new creation cut off and separated from the world for Christ who bought us we are not our own we have been purchased at a price the precious blood of Christ let's pray great God we thank you for your word and we thank you for that which you have revealed to us about yourself about your essence about your attributes and about your works we praise you for your work of redemption and making dead sinners alive in

[46:52] Christ Lord as we all of us fallen in Adam committing sin or by nature children of wrath and the condemnation of a holy and righteous God or do we praise you for justification by grace alone through faith alone the gift of God when we were in opposition to you at enmity with you sinning not seeking after you but following after the course of this world you intervened you made us alive you made us new creations a new disposition that we might follow after you a 180 repent from following after the world turn follow after Christ I pray Lord that you would help us to indeed seek to be faithful to you as followers of Christ whom have been purchased at a great price the precious blood of

[47:53] Christ shed poured out in our place that we might have a full pardon that we might have Christ's act of obedience to the law accredited to our account and Christ's passive obedience and suffering and death in our place that our debt has been paid in full your wrath has been satisfied Christ's righteousness credited to our account that we are seen or accepted as righteous for the sake of Christ and that we have access to you we have access to the throne of grace I pray that you would help us Lord this week as your workmanship to indeed walk in good works that you have prepared to your glory I pray these things in Jesus name Amen