By Marvie C. Paraiso

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Have you ever kissed someone (maybe your partner, your parent, or your child) who was in a deep sleep, and then he/she woke up smiling, delighted, and hugged you tightly? If not yet, just imagine it, okay?

“The Bible says that every human soul is in a death sleep. You are incapable of bringing yourself to consciousness, but the prince comes and kisses you, and suddenly that death sleep is broken, and grace awakens faith which immediately grabs the grace around the neck.” (Keller, 1992, 6:55)

Tim Keller likened our salvation to the story of Sleeping Beauty. We were like Princess Aurora, so deep in slumber we might as well be dead (we do not know our state since we are basically in a coma), and yet Prince Philip (God’s grace) rescued us and woke us up with a kiss. This act of love led us to the consciousness that (1) we need saving—otherwise, we are and will remain dead to sin, and (2) we cannot save ourselves—even our faith comes from God. We did not know we needed Him until He kissed and woke us up that’s why our right response to that awakening is a hug (faith). The best part is we just need to receive His gift of salvation and be thankful for the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is not based on our performance anymore so we cannot boast about our effort or work. Now we can rest in God’s faithfulness because we know that we can never do anything to make God love us more or less than He already has.

WORKMANSHIP CREATED FOR GOOD WORKS

Since we have experienced God’s grace (kiss) and received it by faith (hug), we now have a new nature. Indeed, the old is gone, the new has come! Remember that Jesus gave His life for you and me, so we could be transformed to the splendor He has always envisioned us to be. He is turning us into His unique artwork—His masterpiece. He is bringing out the beauty in us, the beauty that we can never cultivate on our own. This means that everything we went through—all the learnings, wins, troubles, sorrow, even the mess—God can and will use them, so we can do the good works that only we can do, help the people whom only we can help, change lives that only we can change, with God’s help. He continually equips and empowers us to partner with Him every day as we participate in the purpose that He has planned beforehand.

Wouldn’t you agree that it’s such an honor to be entrusted with Kingdom purpose? The good thing is, we are not alone in this journey. God wants us to walk with Him—not before Him or after Him but beside Him! Lastly, this journey is much more exciting if we take it with our church community—our spiritual family. Together, let us finish the race while fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Founder and the Perfecter of our faith.

SOURCES:

Holy Bible, English Standard Version by Crossway

Keller, T.J. (1992) Gospel in Life. [Podcast]. 13 December 1992. Available at: https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/gods-workmanship/ (Accessed 3 June 2024).

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