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you you you you you you [Music] well good evening everybody welcome back again to free grace baptist church tonight for those that might not have been here this morning there mark reminded us of a couple things just that the bible studies resumed again on wednesday nights at 7 30 and also the theology classes are resuming again every second saturday i think this is the first one this coming saturday right jim so we're looking at that book of sam ranahan's the mystery of christ it's called so that's saturday morning at 6 30. and i think that's that's all the announcements i was given anyway so if you'd like to turn with me to psalm number 61 as our call to worship tonight psalm 61. we'll begin our reading in verse 1 to the chief musician on a string instrument a psalm of david hear my cry o god attend to my prayer from the end of the earth i will cry to you when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than i for you have been a shelter for me a strong tower from the enemy i will abide in your tabernacle forever i will trust in the shelter of your wings for you o god have heard my vows you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name you will prolong the king's life his years as many generations he shall abide before god forever o prepare mercy and truth which may preserve him so i will sing praise to your name forever that i may daily perform my vows and may the lord bless his word our first psalm tonight is 22 b that's 22 b is in bravo if you'd like to join me and rise and sing to the lord [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] wrong [Music] and let's just go to our lord in prayer tonight our father who art in heaven we just thank you lord for another opportunity that we can come together to gather tonight at the close of this day lord we thank you and praise you for the time of worship we've had this morning and we thank you that we can partake again this afternoon to come before your holy presence to praise you to worship you to give you thanks lord we thank you for your grace towards us lord and as we have found and heard not only in our call to worship lord we thank you that you do hear our prayers lord and that you are with us at all times when we are in affliction when we might seem overwhelmed by so many things that come in our life we give you thanks and praise you that we can call unto you that we can cry unto you and that you are there for us lord that we can lift our prayers to you and we thank you for that and we've been reminded of that this morning too lord of the importance of prayer in our lives and we pray that you would give us to be prayer for people our prayerful people to always bring our petitions and our supplications be before you that we be anxious for nothing lord but commit all things unto you into the to the hand of your grace we thank you for that lord and uh we want to pray as well not only for all the churches as we do each day that we uh our sister church with here the ones locally the ones that are a little further off lord we we pray for those in surrey and pastor mike there and for pastor ryan in in vernon and for those that gathered and dryden lord we would lift them before you and pray for strengthening for them that your hand of grace would be upon them that your word would go forth from those places lord and especially that those that gather there would be edified through the preaching of your word we thank you for that and lord as well we have heard this morning in our time uh before our service again as so often as the the terrible atrocities and persecution that has come upon your people in in far-off lands like china in nigeria and pakistan and where brothers in christ are under great trials and afflictions and we do pray for them through this time that you would uphold them lord that you would help them that you would be with them and lord that they would know of your strength and your peace of your help for them each one lord as they strive faithfully to to go on we we give you thanks for that and we pray for those uh lord that we are reminded of often in myanmar in the midst of the war there the civil war that goes on we thank you how you watch over your people there and we pray and continue to pray for your grace towards those in the orange grove and that are ministering there to so many needy people lord and we we pray especially that your gospel would go forth and that they might be saved lord by your grace we thank you for that we thank you uh lord that we can come before you to pray these things and we trust in you we we look to you and we rest in you knowing lord that you are sovereign over all things and uh lord that you will undertake for your people and we just want to give you thanks now lord as we commit this time to you this night as we gather and to hear your word read and preached and we would pray for all that are here that we might each receive a blessing from you from your word and by your spirit and we just want to give you thanks now as we ask all these things in jesus name amen okay if you'd like to turn for a second psalm is number four six zero and in the hymnal 4-6-0 stand and sing [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] okay if you want to turn with me and your bibles tonight to uh the book of numbers we'll continue on in our readings there book of numbers and we are in chapter 8 of the book of numbers we'll just start there and we'll read the whole chapter numbers 8 and verse 1 and the lord spake to moses saying speak to aaron and say to him when you arrange the lamps the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand and aaron did so he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand as the lord commanded moses now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work according to the pattern which the lord had shown moses so he made the lamp stand then the lord spoke to moses saying take the levites from among the children of israel and cleanse them ceremonially thus you shall do to them to cleanse them sprinkle water of purification on them and let them shave all their body and let them wash their clothes and so make themselves clean then let them take a young bull with its grain offering a fine flour mixed with oil and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering and you shall bring the levites before the tabernacle of meeting and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of inns israel so you shall bring the levites before the lord and the children of israel shall lay their hands on the levites and aaron shall offer the levites before the lord like a wave offering from the children of israel that they may perform the work of the lord then the levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the lord to make atonement for the levites and you shall stand the levites before aaron and his sons and then offer them like a wave offering to the lord thus you shall separate the levites from among the children of israel and the levites shall be mine after that the levites shall go in to serve to service the tabernacle of meeting so you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering for they are holy given to me from among the children of israel i have taken them for myself instead of all who open the womb the firstborn of all the children of israel for all the firstborn among the children of israel are mine both man and beast on the day that i struck all the firstborn in the land of egypt i sanctified them to myself i have taken the levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of israel and i have given the levites as a gift to aaron and his sons from among the children of israel to do the work for the children of israel in the tabernacle of meeting and to make atonement for the children of israel that there be no plague among the children of israel when the children of israel come near the sanctuary thus moses and aaron and all the congregation of the children of israel did to the levites according to all that the lord commanded moses concerning the levites so the children of israel did to them and the levites purified themselves and washed their clothes then aaron presented them like a wave offering before the lord and aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them after that the levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before aaron and his sons as the lord commanded moses concerning the levites so they did to them then the lord spake to moses saying this is what pertains to the levites from 25 years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting and at the age of 50 years they must cease performing this work and shall work no more they may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting to attend two needs but they themselves shall do no work thus you shall do to the levites regarding their duties and may the lord bless his word let's just pray to the lord father we thank you for this passage and we thank you especially for the lord jesus christ who is our high priest and who is perfect and pure and undefiled and that we have this privilege to come here before your presence to service in this sanctuary by the precious blood of the lord jesus christ and we just thank you that we have been made fit for your service we have been set apart by yourself unto your service unto the service of the lord jesus christ by the precious blood of christ as he has gifted each person and we give you thanks for that we pray that you would be with us tonight lord to give us ears to hear and eyes to see and to give us understanding as we hear your word preach this night and we just want to give you thanks for this time in jesus name we pray amen okay our last hymn tonight is going to be number 457. four five seven 457. [Music] oh is [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] me [Music] my voice [Music] please [Music] so you can turn with me in your bibles to ephesians chapter 2. working our way through paul's letter to the ephesian church he was in prison at the time that he wrote his first imprisonment when he was in rome the book of acts acts ends there and he took pen to paper under inspiration of the spirit wrote to several churches and the church in ephesus was one of them our focus tonight will be verses 8 to 10 but i want to read beginning in verse 1 of chapter 2. and you he made a life who are 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 we're by nature children of wrath just as the others but god was 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 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 amen let us pray father in heaven thank you again for the written word of the living and true god we pray now that the holy spirit would guide us and direct us as we consider this wonderful passage of holy scripture that underscores the graciousness of our salvation we know it's not the works that we bring to the table it is solely and alone the grace of our god through faith in our lord jesus christ by which we are saved and may this encourage our hearts and may you build us up in our most holy faith and god may you call sinners out of darkness into marvelous light through the proclamation of your word here and elsewhere we ask that you would forgive us now for our sin and transgression and those things that darken our minds and hearts and we ask in the name and for the glory of our lord jesus christ amen well remember that in chapter 1 the apostle starts off with praise to god so in chapter 1 verses 3 to 14 he praises the father son and holy spirit for the glorious act of salvation by grace through faith in jesus christ he then turns to prayer and he tells the ephesians how he prays for them and specifically in 119 he wants the ephesian church to know what is the exceeding power of god most high that power of god is demonstrated and demonstrated in the resurrection of our lord jesus toward the end of chapter one and that power is demonstrated in the resurrection of dead sinners unto new life in our lord jesus christ that's the section we find ourselves in in verses 1 to 10. that power then is demonstrated in the bringing together now of jew and gentile two that were previously at odds with one another are now one new man under christ for the glory of god most high so that's an overview of chapters one and two we've been looking at chapter two verses one to seven under a few considerations we noted the state of man before grace verse one he is dead in his trespasses and sins we see the depravity of man apart from grace in verses two to three it's a very bleak picture it is a very miserable sort of a depiction of what man looks like before god's grace and then in chapter 2 verses 4 to 10 we see that grace of god applied to sinners we noted last time the perfections of god demonstrated according to verse 4 the power of god executed according to verse 5 and then finally the purpose of god fulfilled in verses six and seven now four to seven is a bit of a high level approach it just sure sort of shows the the contours of god's redemptive grace and then he moves from that high level sort of over overview of what god is doing in the gospel to verses 8 to 10 where he shows that application of redemptive grace in the hearts of god's people he gets into the how in verses 8 to 10 to demonstrate that exceeding kindness of our lord that he spoke of in verse seven so tonight we'll look at the application of redemptive grace in verses eight and nine and then secondly the consequence of redemptive grace in verse 10 more on that in a few minutes but notice in the first place in terms of the application of god's grace so in verse 7 he says that in the ages to come and remember we explained that all subsequent ages from the preaching of the apostles onto eternity wherever the gospel is preached wherever sinners are saved by grace in those succeeding ages we see a demonstration of god's mercy notice verse 7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in christ jesus so wherever sinners are saved by that grace of god god is glorified wherever sinners are saved by the grace of god god is magnified wherever sinners are saved by the grace of god we see in particular the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in christ jesus all of us are a display case all of us manifest all of us show forth the power of god unto salvation for everyone who believes in other words we don't walk around patting ourselves on the back we don't walk around patting others on the back it's a good thing that you've made those excellent decisions and now you're on your way to heaven we simply do not do that when we see one another we stand in awe at the grace of god and then we're encouraged because we know that if god is able to save you he's certainly able to save others just a joke if he's able to save me he's able to save others it is a demonstration of his kindness it is a demonstration of the exceeding riches of his grace so now we move into the application of that redemptive grace notice in the first place he says that it is an application of grace 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 so we're going to just work our way through this particular sac chat notice in the first place that the salvation is from the salvation is from that condition explained in verses one to three in chapter two this salvation is from our deadness in sin this salvation is from our worldly course according to verse 2a this salvation is from subjection to satan and this salvation is from liability to god's just wrath so the salvation that's in view in chapter 2 verse 8 it's not physical he saved you now your eyes work he saved you now you're able to walk he saved you now you don't have that sort of problem in your stomach no the salvation that's in view in chapter 2 verse 8 is spiritual in nature so it is a salvation from those things indicated in verses one to three but then in verses four to seven we see it's a salvation unto something else notice according to verse five this is a salvation that results in newness of life he made us alive together with christ this is a salvation to resurrection with christ according to verse 6 he raised us up together this is a salvation to reigning with christ notice in verse six he says and made us sit together in the heavenly places in christ jesus and it is a salvation to demonstrate again the exceeding riches of god's grace and to set forth and show the fact that he is most kind most loving most merciful and most gracious in the way or in the manner that he deals with the rotten sons of adam god doesn't owe us anything and the underscore here is on grace it is undeserved it is unmerited there is nothing in the persons described in verses one to three that deserve that grace that deserve that mercy that deserve god's kindness in his dealings with us we all justly deserve god's wrath and curse both in this life and that which is to come every single one of us as a son of adam is dead in our trespasses and sins we bring nothing to the table and say okay god we bring this and then god rewards us with so great a salvation this passage is adamantly opposed to that kind of an interpretation the uh the emphasis is always on the grace of god in the salvation of sinners so we see the application of his grace specifically in verse 8a for by grace you have been saved now notice secondly the instrumentality of faith he says through faith now there are some things that we have to consider in this particular section it's not because of faith if it was because of faith then the armenians would be right and i'm not suggesting that it's only this way so that the armenians aren't right it is the case that the armenians are wrong because they get this preposition wrong they have the idea that it's our faith that we bring to the table and then god blesses us whether it be arminians or richard baxter or any type of a of a neo-nomianism we bring something to the table namely faith and as a result of that god saves us well that would work if the grammar taught that but the grammar does not teach that it does not teach we are saved because of faith i hope that everybody gets that it's a very subtle distinction but it's a very powerful distinction that ultimately impinges upon the glory of god if it is because of faith then that means we've made a contribution but if it's through faith the way that we understand it is that faith is they is a passive instrument by which we receive the redemptive benefits that christ has run so it is the empty hand that receives the free gift of god it's not the somewhat filled hand that brings something to god and then god meets him at that particular level remember we're dealing with people that are dead in their trespasses and sins there's no way we could bring faith to the table because dead men in adam cannot exercise saving faith so the grammar does not permit because of faith the grammar emphasizes the instrumentality of faith this is the right translation for by grace you have been saved through faith and the grammar is consistent with the rest of the bible genesis 15 verse 6 is probably the first place we see justification by grace alone through faith alone in christ alone speaking of abraham he believed in the lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness habakkuk 2 4 behold the proud his soul is not upright in him but the just shall live by his faith in terms of faith being the means by which we come into saving contact with god look at the prophet isaiah look to me all you ends of the earth and be saved for i am god and there is no other isaiah 45 22. what does it mean to look to him does it just mean to throw our eyes up into the heavens no it means to believe on him we've seen isaiah 55 oh everyone who thirsts let him come to the waters and drink we see it in the uh uh the feast of tabernacles when the lord jesus says if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink we see it matthew 11 28 to 30. all you that are weary and heavy laden come to me and i will give you rest well what does he mean by that he means to come to him in faith faith is the empty hand that by god's grace receives the gifts that christ has purchased for the elect as our confession says those whom god effectually calls he also justifies not by infusing righteousness into them but by pardoning their sins and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous not for anything wrought in them or done by them but for christ's sake alone not by imputing faith itself the act of believing or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness but by imputing christ's active obedience under the whole law and passive obedience in his death for their whole and soul righteousness they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith which faith they have not of themselves it is the gift of god that second london confession chapter 11 paragraph two it takes pains to exclude from the mind of the believer that there was anything in the believer that commended him to god there's nothing in our hand we bring simply to thy cross i cling foul i to the fountain fly wash me savior or i die we don't bring the faith god gives the faith and brings us to him we don't bring good works which we'll see in just a moment because we've been created for good works ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 to 10 is about obliterating the notion that there is anything that the sinner contributes by which he is rewarded from god and second london chapter 11 paragraph 2 underscores that so we see that we are saved by grace through faith and then he goes on to qualify or clarify something concerning faith he makes three statements first of all he says saving faith is not of ourselves remember we're dead in our trespasses and sins dead sinners can't respond in faith any more than walking through the cemetery in chilliwack you can call us a dead person out of the ground and they'll walk over to you it's just an impossibility you being dead in your trespasses and sins remember you weren't just a little crippled you were a little lame you had a bit of a disease you just needed a bit of a shot in the arm and then you made that forward motion to god and he met you halfway and he gave you all the benefits and the blessings that you wanted that's not it at all god made us alive according to verse 5. god grants us the grace of faith according to verse 8. god grants us the grace of repentance according to acts 5 31 and 2 timothy chapter 2 at verse 25 everything that is necessary for a sinner in order to come to christ does not originate in the sinner but it comes from god this fits along beautifully with chapter one verse three blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ he doesn't say bless god for 95 isn't it wonderful that we've ponied up the other five that's not it at all every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ has been conveyed to us by this sovereign god and paul doesn't see this as an offense he doesn't see this as an affront he doesn't see this as a stumbling block he sees this as a matter for praise unto our great god and so the apostle takes pains now again to demonstrate that it's by grace alone through faith alone in christ alone so saving faith is not of ourselves look back at verse 8. there's a bit of a grammatical question here if i for by grace you've been saved through faith notice it goes on and that not of yourselves that has been an area or an arena of contention the word that is what's called a demonstrative pronoun parents you can ask your kids about what that means when you get home later on tonight but a demonstrative pronoun points back to something in the sentence well the demonstrative pronoun is neuter and then the two former nouns are both feminine and so some say well he can't be talking about faith being a gift because you've got a neuter and effeminate most commentators get this right they understand that that the demonstrative pronoun points to everything preceding and so the idea is that the salvation by grace through faith that's the clause that the demonstrative pronoun that points to so it is faith it is grace it is salvation that not of yourselves again what is the apostle demonstrating he's demonstrating how the dead sinner described in verses 1 to 3 has been made alive according to verse 5 this is now the application of redemptive grace to show us how this comes to pass for by grace you have been saved through faith and in the first place that's not of ourselves we didn't originate it we didn't come up with it we didn't just decide you probably heard that old hokey song i have decided to follow jesus now brethren in one sense there is a decision to follow jesus but it comes after god makes us alive it comes after he gives us the grace of faith but with reference to that particular song i don't think that's what they mean i don't think they mean i have decided because god's grace made me alive together in christ and granted me faith it is an armenian song emphasizing the idea that our free will is such that we can still step in the right direction to god most high but if our free will is such that we can step in the right direction to god most high then what's paul talking about in verses one to three you were dead in your trespasses and sins that indicates or underscores that there is nothing in our free will that has the wherewithal to step into god's grace or to step toward god's favor notice secondly saving faith is a gift of god if it's not of ourselves it had to come from somewhere it had to originate in someone it's not from your dad it's not from your mom it's not from your pastor it's not from your husband it's not from your wife it's not from your praying friend where does this saving faith come from well it comes from god see remember we're dead in our trespasses and sins he makes us alive together with christ he grants us then the grace of faith so that we may look unto the lord jesus christ that we may receive him that we may rest in him that we may drink from him that we may indeed find rest in him for by grace you've been saved through faith that not of yourselves it is the gift of god turn over to philippians 1 where we see this emphasis on the gift nature of faith philippians chapter one and while you're turning there i will remind you as i think i remind you a lot that we need to pray for the ministry of the holy spirit on the lord's day we can't pray that the the dead sinner is going to make himself alive we can't pray that the dead sinner is going to originate faith in his dead heart we pray for the holy spirit to make man willing in the day of his power we pray for the holy spirit to come through the preaching of the word so that he takes those things and makes sinners alive and enables them with the grace necessary to close with christ notice in philippians 1 27 only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of christ so that whether i come and see you or am absent i may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and not in any way terrified by your adversaries which is to them a proof of perdition but to you of salvation and that from god now notice for to you it has been granted on behalf of christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me brethren the emphasis in the verse according to verse 29 for to you it has been granted to suffer for his sake that's the main point that the apostle wants to convey here in philippians 1 29 the fact that faith is a gift is incidental it's parallel in terms of construction not only has it been granted to you to suffer for his sake it's also been it's been granted to you the same way that it's been granted to you to believe on the name of the lord as uh the lord jesus christ but underscoring this is the is the gift nature of faith for to you it has been granted we could say graciously granted on behalf of christ not only to believe in him you see it was granted to you to believe in christ it was granted to you to come to christ it was granted to you to be made alive together with him and then to come and close with him in saving faith and then back to chapter 2 verse 9 is the third statement concerning saving faith so we see that it is not of ourselves we see that it is a gift and then we see that saving faith is contrasted with salvation by works you see paul's emphasis brethren in verses 8 and 9 he wants to exclude any thought whatsoever that you were an active and willing participant in your salvation again you were active and you were willing after he made you alive together with christ after he granted you the grace of faith but it's not the case that you were just in earnest about your soul and you only thought boy if i can bring a little faith to the table then god will meet me halfway and grant me the rest that's not it at all we were like sheep going astray we were running far from him he sought us he found us he conquered us he made us a life he granted the graces of faith and repentance so the apostle wants us to understand this why because of verse 7 look at verse 7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in christ jesus that's eliminated if we're contributors we can't really say it's all about the exceeding grace of god and the kindness of god because after all i had a part to play in it i brought faith i brought works i was a pretty good guy i was a pretty good girl but that's not the point the point is is god's demonstration of god's glory and majesty not our good performance rather we were dead in our trespasses and sins and he made us alive so saving faith is contrasted with salvation by works so you see what he's saying we don't bring faith to the table and then are rewarded with salvation we don't bring works to the table and are rewarded with salvation see this is contrary to just about every other religion out there every other religion has the imperative and then the indicative do this and then you will live they live and operate in a covenant of works be a good guy be a good girl pay your debts go to school be be a well performer and then god will save you that's not the gospel the gospel is about the indicative christ crucified and resurrected the gospel isn't good advice it's good news and the indicative comes first and then on the heels of that come the imperatives that you've been saved by grace now go live in a manner that is consistent with that so paul is demolishing the thought that uh that a sinner can bring faith to the table and god rewards him with salvation but he's also demolishing the thought that a sinner can bring good works to the table and god will reward him no verse 9 is very clear in that regard notice what he says not of works lest anyone should boast now turn back to romans chapter 3. romans chapter 3 just to illustrate this a bit not of works lest anyone should boast you see that's again what people think you know i'm a good guy i'm a good girl i've never done anything really bad i mean i've got some you know issues to be sure but nothing that would borrow me or exclude me from the kingdom of heaven that's just a complete ignorance of man's state before a holy god notice in romans chapter 3 at verse 20 therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin look at verse 27 where is boasting then it is excluded by what law of works no but by the law of faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law in ephesians 2 verse 9 paul says not of works lest anyone should boast drop down to romans 4 verse 1 what then shall we say that abraham our father has found according to the flesh for if abraham was justified by works he has something to boast about but not before god why because he wasn't justified by works he was justified by faith for what does the scripture say abraham believed god and it was accounted to him for righteousness now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace but his debt so you see the connection paul wants according to verse 7 the reality that god shows his exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in christ jesus well that's mitigated if we brought faith or we brought works we get to pat ourselves on the back we get to congratulate ourselves we get to say what great guys what great girls that we've obeyed and done everything well turn over to romans chapter 11 specifically at verse 6. well verse 5 even so then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace and if by grace then it is no longer of works otherwise grace is no longer grace but if it is of works it is no longer grace otherwise work is no longer work and then look at galatians chapter 2. one of the emphases throughout paul's epistles is to hammer this nail of justification by faith alone apart from works galatians 2 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in jesus christ even we have believed in christ jesus that we might be justified by faith in christ and not by the works of the law for by for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified turn to second timothy chapter one check second timothy chapter one verse 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in christ jesus before time began and of course titus 3 5 titus 3 5 verse 4 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 uh poured out on us abundantly through jesus christ our savior that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs to the hope of eternal life see the emphasis in the pauline epistles along with peter's epistles along with the gospel records along with the prophets along with moses along with the wisdom literature is that salvation is of the lord it is not of us it does not depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs but upon god who shows mercy according to romans 9 16. listen to john murray this is from his commentary on the book of romans chapter three he says justify a justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does this is important i know it may seem like a tedious bit of theology at you know almost 6 p.m on a smoky hot sunday afternoon but ephesians 2 8 to 10 is a gold mine of god glorifying theology he says justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does it is always oriented to that consideration of virtue attaching to the person justified man likes it this way we like to be congratulated we like to be affirmed we like to be liked we like to be loved i might have been saying all of that's necessarily wicked it is when we try to strip glory from god and assume it for ourselves in the matter of our salvation i mean it's not wrong that you want to be liked by your wife that's a good thing it's not wrong that you want to be liked by your friend that's a great thing it is wrong for you to attempt to take from god what belongs to god namely his power and his glory in the salvation of your hell-deserving soul he goes on to say the specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another it is essentially extraspective now that word is not a common word but you know it's opposite introspective you know what introspection is some of you come from churches where introspection is everything all you do is look inward all you do is gaze all you do is look at what's happening in yourself in other words just do what man by default does we're all introspective we love ourselves we're everything in our little lives aren't we we're the unholy trinity me myself and i we just adore ourselves so if introspective is looking inwardly extraspective means looking outwardly so listen to murray again the specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another it is essentially extractive and in that respect is the diametric opposite of works faith is self-renouncing works are self-congratulatory faith looks to what god does works have respect to what we are it is this antithesis of principle that enables the apostle to base the complete exclusion of works upon the principle of faith he's absolutely positively right and that's paul's point in ephesians 2 8-10 for by grace you have been saved through faith that not of yourselves it is the gift of god and not of works lest anyone should boast turn back to the book of romans romans chapter 11. paul does not want the individual sinner boasting in the individual center for his or her salvation paul wants rather for you to understand your position you are a trophy of god's grace you are a manifestation of the exceeding riches of his grace you are the expression of his kindness toward guilty sinners in christ jesus after discussing salvation in great detail romans chapters 1 to 11 is doctrinal romans chapter 1 to 11 is the explication of the gospel of our lord jesus christ chapter 12 verse 1 begins the practical section there is a transition there is a therefore my beloved brethren by the mercies of god present yourselves as living sacrifices and then he goes on to a whole host of practical admonitions for the people of god so you've got doctrine chapters 1 to 11 you've got practical chapters 12 to 16. but notice how chapter 11 ends notice what the emphasis is after explaining the great redemptive work of god most high and the revelation of his grace and the gospel of his son notice for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever amen it's not unto us o lord not unto us but glory be to your name psalm 115 1. turn just over to first corinthians chapter 1. i alluded to verse 26 this morning remember the sanhedrin it's the reality that they were able to say look have any of the pharisees of any of the leaders believed on him well nicodemus had so not many but psalm notice in verse 26 for you see your calling brethren that not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but god has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise that's encouraging right whenever you feel pretty up you know up and up about how great you are just read first corinthians 1. you're a fool god chose you for salvation to demonstrate his glory he didn't choose you for salvation so that you could pray it around like some proud peacock strutting its feathers saying look at me i'm saved now aren't i wonderful no that's not the design god has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the things uh uh to put to shame the wise and god has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty and the base things of the world and the things which are despised god has chosen and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are notice that no flesh should glory in his presence but of him you are in christ jesus again sovereign grace how did we get in christ by our decision by our you know signing the card by our raised hand by our free will but of him you are in christ jesus who became for us wisdom from god that is righteousness and sanctification and redemption notice that as it is written he who glories let him glory in the lord so the apostle paul in verses 8 and 9 shows us the application of redemptive grace quickly let's look at the consequence of redemptive grace in verse 10. notice what he says for we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them there are two doctrines in the christian faith that you probably hear a lot about in our church you hear about justification and you hear about sanctification sanctification is the consequence or the result of god's having justified us freely by his grace we believe the gospel of the lord jesus christ we come out of darkness in the marvelous light we believe on him we're believers we're christians now we live the christian life and so that is a a legitimate way to treat christian doctrine justification our initial coming to the lord jesus christ our sins are forgiven we receive the righteousness of christ it's imputed to us received by faith alone and then we embark on the life of sanctification living in a manner that is consistent with that salvation living in a manner that is consistent with god's work of grace in our hearts now paul treats sanctification in detail later on in the book of ephesians i don't think he's doing that in verse 10. i don't think he wants to show us now here's justification verses 8 and 9 and here's sanctification in verse 10. he does that it is there but that's not his point notice how verse 10 starts it starts with four that connects it to the previous verses i think paul is taking another nail and nailing it into his particular theme he is telling us that the good works we actually do are a consequence of god's grace in other words they're not the cause of our salvation they're not the condition for our salvation they are the effect they are the result they are the consequence and again that is necessary to understand justification inevitably leads to sanctification in fact gordon clark makes that observation what passes so apparently as good works are not good unless preceded by justification and if a claim justification does not inevitably produce good works it simply was not justification that's all good and true but verse 10 is making the same point he is confirming the reality not of works lest anyone should boast for we are his workmanship we didn't bring these works to the table the works that we do are because of god's grace in us it is to exclude from the equation any good works as the condition or cause of our salvation it's the consequence for we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works you see we didn't bring them to the table they weren't pre-existent god didn't reward us god didn't say good job sonny here's your salvation that's not the emphasis verse 10 makes the same point that verses 8 and 9 do again he'll deal with sanctification later 4 17 he'll tell us not to walk like the gentiles chapter 5 he'll tell us to walk in love to walk in light to walk in wisdom sanctification is a necessary element in christian preaching but in the context of ephesians 2 8 to 10 he wants you to understand there's no possible way that this sort of pre-exis or or this faith that originated in you is what god rewarded with salvation or these works that you have done god rewarded with salvation no were his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works now notice what he goes on to say which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in that so he takes out from under anyone's feet this idea that it's my good works that secured for me this redemptive grace not of works lest anyone should boast verse 9 for we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works that is directly parallel to chapter 1 verse 4. look at chapter 1 verse 4. he says well verse 3 blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ verse 4 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world notice that we should be holy and without blame before him notice what he does not say he doesn't say he chose us before or chose us in him before the foundation of the world because we were holy and without blame he doesn't look down the tunnel of time and say wow that guy he's going to be holy and without blame i'm going to choose him for salvation no we're all unholy and we're all full of blame because we're all bearing those characteristics described in chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. so god does what he does from before the foundation of the world in order that his people will be holy and without blame that's the connection between verses 8 and 9 and verse 10. again sanctification is a necessary doctrine a necessary element in the christian life but that's not his point here the point is to confirm what he said in verses eight and nine it's not your faith it's not your uh works and we know it's not your faith because faith itself is a gift from god and we know it's not your works because your works are a gift from god as well we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works that we uh which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them look at philippians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13 in terms of good works philippians 2 12 therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation notice he doesn't say work for your own salvation work to obtain your own salvation work out what was put in there by god graciously remember chapter 1 verse 29 for to you it has been granted on behalf of christ not only to believe in him verse six in chapter one he says uh uh uh being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of jesus christ so it is a working out that which is present it is placed there by god most high so he says work out your own salvation with fear and trembling and then notice in verse 13 for it is god who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure so whatever you do that is right and good and holy it's of god that is very clearly expressed in scripture so going back to ephesians chapter 2. this isn't a faith that originated with you it is in fact the gift of god and it's not good works that originated with you but those works are a gift of god consequence with reference to salvation by grace through faith in our lord jesus christ pedo says it is true there is a necessity of evangelical works to testify our faith obedience and thankfulness to god but they are required not as conditions but as effects and declarations of our justification that's the point verse 10 is simply underscoring what he said in verses 8 and 9. and for those of us who want to learn and grow in our christian life continue to come on sunday nights by the time we get to chapter four paul has a pattern just like i said in romans 1-11 doctrine 12-16 practical application he does the same thing in ephesians he deals with doctrine in chapters one and two chapter three is a bit of a transition about his own ministry about the mystery which is the inclusion of gentiles in the covenant promises of god and then chapters four to six are very practical how do new men and women in christ jesus or how are new men and women in christ jesus supposed to live well that's the emphasis in chapters four to six as i said walk in love walk in light walk in wisdom and this is contrary to the walk that characterized us according to chapter two at verse two 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 so in conclusion chapter 2 verses 8 to 10 are not about us and our wonderful achievement when it comes to god's favor it's about god's amazing grace it's about the exceeding riches of his grace it is the application of his grace in order to demonstrate the exceeding riches of that grace and to show forth his kindness toward us in christ jesus so this is the blessedness that you and i by grace experience we're saved not as a result of some some sort of faith we brought to the table or some sort of supposed good works we brought and god rewarded us with so great a salvation no he gave us freely of his riches and for those who are not in christ there is everything in this passage to entice you to incite you to invite you to come and taste and see that the lord is good look back at chapter 1 verse 7 chapter 1 verse 7 in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace chapter 2 verse 4 but god who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us that is that that is the the true and living god he doesn't have just a bit of grace just a bit of mercy just a bit of love but he has infinite resources and this god is good this god is gracious this god is merciful this god is benevolent and if this god saved paul who was the chief of sinners and he saved a bunch of us in here who are just under that in terms of being chiefs of sinners then there is grace to be had for any and all in this room look unto the lord jesus christ in faith and you will have everlasting life it is most glorious most wondrous and it ultimately redounds to the praise and honor of our great god let us end by reading revelation chapter 7 to see how the saints in heaven in that glorified state reflect on their relationship before god most high or to god most high revelation 7 at verse 9 after these things i looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number that should give everybody great encouragement as well i think we have this view that there's gonna be like 10 people in heaven there's just you know a handful of people just just this few the the the you know the the extra special ones no doesn't he say that no one could number when we get to heaven brethren it's not like we can do a head count oh hey there's you know the sector a over there they've got 150 sector b over here is about 300 that's not it there's no numbering a great multitude why do we stumble on that why do we not have great confidence in the gospel of god why do we not say with the apostle in romans 1 16 i'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god unto salvation for everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek why because in it the righteousness of god is revealed the just sh or as it is written the just shall live by faith but back to revelation 7 9. after these things i looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all nations tribes peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice saying notice salvation belongs to our god who sits on the throne into the lamb that's in ephesians 2 8-10 confession that's not armenian that's not pelagian that's not humanism that's not the world religions that teach you obey and then god will reward salvation belongs to our god and to the lamb who sits upon the throne it's not us we didn't contribute doesn't depend upon him who wills or him who runs but on god he shows mercy notice salvation belongs to our our god who sits on the on the throne into the lamb all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped god saying amen blessing and glory and wisdom thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and ever amen that my brothers and sisters is the point not our glory not our applause not our praise but god's god gets the glory god gets the honor god gets the praise for saving the people described in ephesians 2 1-3 well let us pray our father we thank you for your word we thank you for the clarity of the apostles argument in ephesians 2 and god i pray that it would encourage our hearts and build us up in our faith and cause us to reflect upon this not just on the lord's day but each and every day as the hymn writer says let us live in the shadow of the cross let us always keep that truth before us and for those outside of christ i pray that by your grace and for your glory as a demonstration of your kindness that they would believe on jesus christ for their salvation thank you for this lord's day thank you for the blessedness of gathering in the house of god i pray that you would go with us now and watch over us in this coming week and we pray through christ our lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation you