It’s hard to believe, that 2000 years after the death of Christ, so many people in the world still haven’t found salvation and still don’t believe. The line of believers and unbelievers is sharply divided. Paul makes clear in Ephesians, that Jesus unified us. What he did, was to give his blood for all man. He made a promise of salvation available to all of us.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” 9: “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Salvation is a gift. It is something, if not by the grace of God, we wouldn’t have it. It is our faith in God that begs for salvation. We don’t give salvation to ourselves, and we don’t offer it to others. We pray for our salvation, and we pray for the salvation of others. All we have to do to keep it, is to live by God, profess what we know to be true to others, and to pray for their salvation and that they too will be given it by grace.
Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Isn’t that something? We are walking works of art, and not just some accidents, that washed up on to the shore of some ocean billions of years ago. We were created and crafted with purpose! God chose the perfect landscape, the perfect ingredients, and the perfect design. How do we know? Because he made man in his own image! It is our job to do what we are called to do. In Corinthians, Paul writes that we are all given gifts, and that we are to follow those gifts, and trust that they are gifts granted by God.
Ephesians 2:12
“remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”
There is a lot packed into this little verse to the Romans, and it still applies to us, today.
- They start out separated from Christ, and they didn’t start out knowing God We learn to know and love God.
- They weren’t Jewish but were gentiles.
- Which means, they weren’t part of the original covenant.
- They didn’t have hope
- And they didn’t have the word of God.
Ephesians 2:13
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
And along came Jesus! God sent his son, and that changed everything. He died, so that all of us could be saved. So that all of us could receive salvation.
Ephesians 2:14
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,”
This verse doesn’t even need interpretation.
Ephesians 2:15
“by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,”
He cast aside flesh, because flesh is only temporary. By dying on the cross, Jesus gave up his flesh for spirit. He cast aside earthly laws and joined us all, through his promise of salvation and Peace.
Ephesians 2:16
“and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
Ephesians 2:27
“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”
Recall Mathew 28:19-20
Jesus Said
19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” 20 “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Ephesians 2:18
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
Through Jesus, we gain salvation. Through Jesus, we are given the spirit. And, through the spirit, we talk to God, and we serve God.
Ephesians 2:19
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”
This is where Paul tells the Romans, that they are all Gods people. Fellow citizens of Gods people, and under one household.
Something to remember here, Paul is writing all of this to the Romans, from a Roman prison! He’s preaching the gospel, to the very people who have imprisoned him. Everything Paul is preaching here, applies to us. He’s telling us all, be it Jew or gentile, that Christ gave his flesh and blood, as a promise of salvation for us all.
1 Corinthians 6:20
For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
We are slaves of God, and it’s our duty to serve him. Eternal life in heaven awaits us. But we have to work for it.
Hebrews 13:15-16
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
1 thought on “Our Promise of Salvation”