Please open up your Bibles again to Ephesians chapter 2. We'll be focusing on verses 8 and 9.
I used to be really into art and painting when I was younger.
And at one point in my life I actually wanted to be a painter. That was my dream. I think I might take it up in retirement.
And I used to love in particular the Impressionists, and I still do. I love them.
They were a style of painters in the 19th century.
And Monet was one of my heroes.
And I remember going to the National Gallery for the first time as a teenager.
And they have a room full of Monet paintings.
And I remember when I first entered that, and I saw a real-life Monet close-up.
And I was just blown away.
I felt this, I kind of felt it in my stomach. I think my breath actually was taken away.
And my first thought was, this guy's a genius.
How on earth did he do this?
Yes, I loved the painting. It was gorgeous.
But it sent my mind to the artist.
The painting said so much about Monet.
His mind, his skill, his craft, his genius.
You look at the work, and it displays what the artist is like.
And up close in the National Gallery, you can see all the details.
How he painted the brushstrokes, the subtlety of colour, the contrast, the shape, the light.
You actually see how he's done it.
You see the details.
And you can't help but think, man, Monet is a genius.
Well, that is like God's work in salvation.
If salvation is the artwork, if God has done work in this world, a masterpiece, and it's called The Salvation of Sinners,
then that masterpiece tells us what God is like.
You can study that painting, look up close, and see exactly how he painted it,
and then know of the genius and the character of God.
And that's what I want us to do tonight.
I want us to stand right by the masterpiece and see just how exactly God saves us.
I want us to see the brushstrokes of salvation.
And these two verses we're looking at tonight, verses 8 and 9,
this is the up close of the masterpiece.
This is the very heart of Christianity.
I've said before that Ephesians 2, 1 to 10,
is quite possibly the best summary of the gospel.
Well, these verses are the summary of the summary.
This is the heart.
If you want to memorise a verse about the gospel, verse 8 would probably be it.
By grace, you have been saved through faith.
In the gospels, Jesus speaks of weightier matters of the law.
So all the law, all the Bible is important.
There isn't a word you can take out of it.
But some things are weightier.
Some things in the Bible matter, and some really, really matter.
And these verses we have in front of us,
these are some of the heaviest.
If you could carry these verses in your pocket, you would hit the deck.
And so we need to stand up close to these verses.
And I want us to just to take in the brushstrokes.
And this is for two reasons.
Firstly, because this verse is about how we are saved.
How the dead are raised to life.
How this dark world can be rescued.
So if you take this verse away, if you ignore this painting,
if you compromise on this, then salvation itself is at stake.
But secondly, and this is an even bigger reason,
we need an up close of this painting because this verse tells us about the artist.
So do you remember from this morning the goal of why God is saving sinners?
What is the purpose behind why anyone here is raised from the dead?
Look back to verse 7.
So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace.
God is saving people.
He's saved you.
He's painted this canvas in this way to show the world who he really is.
To show that he is gracious.
The painting of salvation even exists at all so that the world would know how gracious the artist really is.
And so this is about God's reputation.
And so if we miss these verses, if we compromise on this, we will get God all wrong.
And it will be like setting fire to a Monet.
And so if you're not a Christian here tonight, I want you to hear these verses not only because this is how you need to be saved,
but also because you need to know who God is.
You may be wondering what kind of God is out there, what God is like.
But well, come take a look at this masterpiece.
And see what he's like.
And if you are a Christian here, then we need to hear this because we need to know the artist who made us.
So let's look at the brushstrokes.
And let's see exactly how God has done all this.
And the first thing I want us to notice is that salvation is all from God.
Salvation is all from God.
Let's read our verses again.
Verse 8.
And did you notice, as we read all the passage earlier, that this isn't the only time Paul says this in the passage?
Look back to verse 5.
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved.
And raised us up with him and seated us with him.
So twice in the space of 10 verses, he tells us the exact same thing.
By grace you have been saved.
In fact, the first time, Paul even kind of interrupts his own thought, doesn't he?
As he's telling us God is rich in mercy, even when we were dead, God made us alive together with Christ.
Oh wait, hold up.
You need to know, by grace you've been saved.
Okay, now where was I?
Oh yeah, God raised us up, seated us with Christ.
First, it's like if he's talking about salvation, about God, he just needs to get this in.
It's like he's tapping on the canvas, saying, look, look, do you see how God has done this?
Look at this brush stroke.
And in verse 8, he says it again, but this time, not in passing, but he stops.
And he kind of puts big neon lights around it.
And what is he pointing out?
What is it about salvation?
Well, how does this verse begin?
By grace you have been saved.
We're being told all this, all your salvation, all your being made alive from the dead,
you're being raised up, you're being seated in heaven, all of this is by grace.
Grace is the brush stroke that we need to see.
And if we look closely, it's all over the canvas.
Now what is grace?
Grace is God giving us something we don't deserve.
It's God's undeserved kindness toward us.
So mercy, we thought about mercy last week.
Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve, not giving us wrath.
Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve.
Grace is God being kind to the undeserving.
And so if this is the close-up.
If Paul is pointing at this on the canvas, what does this world need to see?
This world needs to know salvation is all, all by grace.
All of salvation is God's undeserved kindness towards sinners.
Now remember, salvation tells us what God is like.
If the masterpiece tells us what the painter is like, what does grace tell us about the painter?
If you're in Christ here today, what does God's grace in your life tell us about God's role in salvation?
Grace tells us salvation is all from God.
If salvation is by grace, if that's how this masterpiece was made, then grace points us to the artist and grace tells us all of this salvation is from God.
It's all God's initiative.
It all began with God, from God, because of him, by his power.
Grace tells us God and God alone is your saviour.
Salvation belongs to the Lord alone.
So think of us being dead in our sins.
Lying stone cold dead in that mortuary.
Who raised us?
Who was behind that?
Who reached down and breathed life into you?
That was only God.
By grace you were made alive.
Who sent his spirit and united you to Christ?
Who raised you up into heaven and gave you heavenly life?
Who seated you on his throne?
Who was the only one that could possibly do that?
It was all God.
By grace you have been saved.
Amen.
Grace is God butting into your life.
Grace is God pulling you back from the cliff edge.
Grace is God finding you when you were lost.
When you had no interest in him.
You're back to him.
Middle finger up.
And bringing you back from the dead.
Look at the painting.
This is all from God.
There is only one artist in the room right here.
which means something important.
The flip side of this.
This means none of this is because of us.
Look what Paul adds, verse 8.
For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing.
It is the gift of God.
For those of us in Christ today, if you're a Christian,
our salvation, the fact that we are alive,
the fact that we are a part of this church
and know God and have a new heart,
this wasn't our own doing.
This wasn't from us.
We weren't dead in our sins, running away from God,
and then in ourselves,
we kind of mustered up some strength
and some godliness and some common sense
and brought ourselves back to God.
No, it was not your own doing.
Can, think of this, can a dead body,
think of a dead body in a mortuary,
can a dead body muster up its own strength
and some extra will and make itself alive?
Can a blind man just try really hard
and just stop being blind?
Can the deaf just decide to start hearing again?
No.
Something from outside ourselves,
outside our world,
needs to break in.
And so salvation cannot be our own doing.
Salvation is not us coming to our senses
and building this bridge back to God.
No, salvation is God coming down to you,
picking your corpse off the floor
and raising you from the dead.
And so look closely at the painting.
If we are saved by grace,
then grace means none of this is from us.
It is all from God.
And for some of us here,
we can look back at our lives
and we can see exactly that.
If it wasn't for God's initiative,
if it was just up to me,
then I would be so lost.
I would still be in that relationship.
I would have gone down that dark path.
If it was my own doing,
it is terrifying to think
where I would be right now.
But praise God it's not.
Because by grace,
you have been saved.
Which also means
salvation is not about deserving it.
That's my second point today.
Salvation is not about deserving it.
What does Paul call salvation?
Verse 8.
It is the gift of God.
So think about a gift.
A gift is undeserved, isn't it?
You don't earn a gift.
Now a paycheck,
your salary,
that is earned.
You work hard for a paycheck.
It's based on how you perform.
You do well,
you get more money.
But a gift,
you don't earn a gift.
A gift is given to you undeserved.
So think of your birthday.
I know there were a few birthday parties yesterday.
Think of those gifts that you got.
You didn't earn them.
We don't deserve gifts,
but people,
out of their kindness,
decided to give you that gift.
By grace,
you are given those gifts.
And what is salvation?
It is God's gift to you.
Because what do we deserve?
If it was based on a performance review of your life,
what do we deserve?
What does Ephesians 2 tell us?
We deserve wrath.
We are by nature
children of wrath.
A world running from God,
a world dead in their sins,
that world deserves wrath.
That world has earned
nothing from God.
Nothing.
If the world were to get a paycheck,
it would be zero.
In fact,
it would be worse than zero.
It would be negative money.
We are in debt to God.
If it were up to pure,
cold,
hard,
mathematical justice,
the only thing we deserve
is hell.
So let's just be very,
very clear about this.
God owes us
nothing.
When I was lost,
when I was a foolish teenager,
when I was going down that dark path
with my back to God,
God owed me nothing.
But God
has broken into this world
and reached down to you
and given you a gift.
He has come down
and given you his son.
The Lord Jesus
coming down to this forsaken earth,
that is God's gift to you.
The Lord Jesus
hanging on the cross,
that is God's gift to you.
The Lord Jesus
leaving the tomb,
rising into heaven,
seated on the throne,
that is God's gift to you.
Because when God saves you,
he says to the hell-bound sinner,
in all your debt,
in all your sin,
he says to you,
have all of this.
Have it all.
Have my son,
have his death,
have his life,
have him all
and have him forever.
And this,
this is grace.
This is God's
undeserved kindness.
And so we cannot think,
well,
God made me alive
because,
well,
I was one of the better ones,
really.
I wasn't too bad
and so,
so that's why I'm here today.
No,
we can't even dare
to think like that.
We are only,
only here by grace.
And so just look at this masterpiece.
What is the artist like?
What is our God like?
He is gracious.
And just think,
no one else is like this.
We struggle to give gifts
to people we like.
We don't give gifts
to strangers
and we certainly don't give gifts
to people who hate us.
But God,
God gave us,
us of all people,
the gift of everything.
And so if you're here tonight
and you want God,
and you know you need God,
but you think,
your past is too messy,
you think you can't come to God
with the things that you've done,
if you think that you need
to get your act together
before God can do anything with you,
I'm so glad you're here tonight.
Because you need to know,
salvation,
it's not about deserving it.
It's not about earning your way to God.
If you come to him now,
sin and mess and all,
if you just come to him now,
trust in him,
he will simply gift you everything.
look at the painter.
God is gracious.
But I want us to see another detail.
I want us to see another brushstroke.
If this is grace,
if this is how we are saved,
then salvation is not about doing.
It's about receiving.
If this is not our own doing,
if this is not about earning or deserving,
if this is all grace,
then specifically,
this is not about you doing anything.
Look at verse 8 again.
For by grace you've been saved through faith,
and this is not your own doing,
it is the gift of God,
not a result of works.
Think back to that paycheck.
If what we deserve on that paycheck
is not even zero,
it's negative.
If we're in debt to God,
how much are we in debt to God?
How much does sin against an infinitely holy God
put us into debt?
What is the negative number on that?
We have infinite debt to God.
So what can we do?
Just think about this.
What can we do to pay that back?
What work can be done?
Nothing.
There is no good deed,
no change of behavior,
no impressive lifestyle,
no nice good life
that you can just live
that is valuable enough
to pay back your debt.
It's simply impossible.
No, the only way to be free from that debt
is for God to pay it for you.
And that is precisely
what has happened on the cross.
That is the gift of God.
Paying your debt for you.
The cross,
that is grace.
It's not a result of works
because Christ has done
all the work for you.
It is finished.
It's all from God.
And so if it's not about doing,
then it's about receiving.
Salvation, it's about faith.
Now, faith is something
that we can be confused about.
Some people think
faith is just,
faith in God,
it's basically just
kind of thinking that he exists.
But that isn't faith.
No, faith is receiving.
Okay?
Faith is receiving.
Faith is God
coming to God empty-handed
and saying,
I have nothing.
But I trust you
to give me everything I need, Lord.
And that is how God
gives you everything.
It's not by deserving.
It's not by working for it.
But actually,
the opposite.
It's by recognizing
God owes us nothing
and so we simply
come to him empty-handed.
Trusting that Jesus has everything.
It's not by works.
It's by empty hands.
And that is how we're saved.
And we can't think,
oh well,
our faith,
well God looks at our faith,
realizes,
oh,
they're the believers
and then he saves us.
No,
firstly,
even then,
God still doesn't owe us.
But secondly,
look at verse 8 again.
what is the gift of God?
What is it referring to?
Verse 8,
for by grace you have been saved
through faith
and this is not your own doing.
It is the gift of God.
But what is this referring to?
This is referring to
the whole phrase beforehand.
For by grace you have been saved
through faith.
This
whole thing,
the grace,
the saving,
the faith,
this is all
not your own doing.
It is the gift of God.
Grace is the gift of God.
Saving is the gift of God.
Faith is the gift of God.
The fact that you ever came
empty-handed to God,
that is because God
gifted that faith to you.
And this makes sense
in all that we've seen
in Ephesians so far.
How can a world
by nature
running away from God,
how can that kind of world
turn to God
to receive from him?
How could a world
that thinks
it's fine without God
realise it needs God?
How can a world
that thinks it's rich
realise it's actually in debt?
If we were dead
in our sins,
no spiritual pulse,
how can the dead
have faith?
God needs to gift us
that faith.
Look at that MRI
of your soul again.
That pulse
that you now see.
That pulse
is a sign of faith.
That warmth
you see,
that is faith.
And where did
that pulse come from?
Where did that warmth
come from?
That is all from God.
And we can look back
at our lives
and we can even see that.
If God
had not opened my eyes,
I would never
have realised
how needy I was.
If God
had not given me life,
I would have never realised
how dead I was.
I was trapped
in sin.
and I didn't
even realise it.
Well,
you realising that,
that is faith.
That is God
turning you around,
raising you from the dead.
That is the gift
of God in your life.
It's not about doing,
it's about receiving.
And this is a huge
comfort for us.
Because
if
how well
you lived
then
never got you
salvation,
then how well
you live now
can never
lose you
salvation.
We can worry
when we fall
into that
spiritual slump.
or our faith
can be rocky
and we can wonder
how am I going to
last through this?
How is my faith
going to last?
I feel like I'm
hanging on by a thread
right now.
If that's you,
just realise
how did you get
that faith
in the first place?
How were you
brought here?
By grace.
It was all
by grace.
grace.
And it is
still
all by grace.
It is not
on you.
However
weak you feel,
however rocky
your faith feels,
it is not
on you.
It's all
from God.
And so
come to him
empty handed
right now
and you will
receive exactly
what you need.
So if you're
not a Christian
here tonight,
you must know
you don't need
to make up
for your sins.
If you're
unsettled by
your past
and you're
needing to
be right
with God,
the answer
is not
about paying
for your
sins.
The answer
is not
doing something,
it's faith.
It's coming
empty handed
to Jesus
and he will
do all the
work for you.
Think about
the cross,
it is
finished.
The American
preacher,
John MacArthur,
you might have
heard he died
last week,
and a few
years ago
he was on
the Larry
King chat
show in
America,
and he was
being asked
by Larry
King,
isn't going
to heaven
about being
a good
person?
It can't
just be
about faith.
How can
a bad
person with
faith go
to heaven?
Where's the
justice in
that?
And John
MacArthur,
he interrupts
him as Larry
saying that,
and he says,
Larry,
we don't
want justice.
Justice sends
everybody to
hell.
We need
grace.
That man
knew his
painter.
We need
grace.
And it's
here for
everyone.
And I
just want us
to end
with this
thought.
Why has
God done
all this?
Why is
none of
this on
us?
Why is
all this
from God?
Why is
the painting
painted like
this?
salvation
is about
boasting
in God.
That's my
final point
today.
Salvation
is about
boasting
in God.
How do
our verses
end?
For by
grace you
have been
saved through
faith.
And this
is not
your own
doing.
It is the
gift of
God,
not a
result of
works,
so that
no one
may boast.
just think,
what if
our salvation
was on
us?
What if
it was
about me
making the
right choices
and working
hard enough
and living
a good
enough life?
Then if
that was
the case,
what do I
get to do
then?
I get to
boast.
Well done
me.
I get to
pat myself
on the
back.
Then I get
to stand
at the
finish line
of the
new
creation
and I
can look
around and
I can
say,
yeah,
this is
because of
me.
And even
if it is
1% me
and 99%
God,
I still
get to
boast.
But why
grace?
Why is
this canvas
painted like
this so
that no
one may
boast?
So that
no one
here can
say it
is because
of me,
but so
we can
say this
is all
because of
God.
Every
single thing,
we can
look at
the
masterpiece,
the work
he has
done in
our lives
and know
this artist
is a
genius.
Our
God is
gracious.
And I
want us
to end
on that
thought
tonight.
I want
us to
go home
tonight.
I want
us to
look back
on how
God has
shaped your
childhood,
the friends
he put
around you,
the churches
he placed
you in,
that friend
at school
he gave
you,
that Christian
at uni
that you
met,
those
conversations,
those Bible
studies,
those sermons,
that dark
period of your
life,
that made
you realise
you needed
something more.
All those
dark paths
that we
could have
gone down
but didn't.
I want
us to
look back
at the
painting of
your life
and realise
I didn't
paint that.
That wasn't
from me.
That was
all from
God.
Christian,
just look
at the
brush strokes
that make
up your
life.
That is
all God's
grace.
Look
back
on it
and just
praise
God.
It is
not from
us.
It is
not because
we are
deserving.
It is
not because
we did
anything.
It is
because
the
artist
is
gracious.
Let's
boast in
him.
Let's
pray.
Let's
Thank you.