God Is in Controlਨਮੂਨਾ

Day 23: Don't Trust in Works

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

The exclusion is absolute: "not by works."

Paul leaves no room for equivocation. Your good deeds, your moral efforts, your religious activities—none of these contribute to your salvation. This doesn't mean that good works are bad, but that salvation is, by definition, a gift.

Think of a special gift. If someone offers you something and you insist on paying for it, you've not only rejected the gift, you've turned it into a transaction. So it is with salvation. The moment we try to add our works to Christ's work, we turn grace into debt and gift into wages.

Paul also explains the reason: "so that no one may boast." If we could contribute even a small amount, we would inevitably claim credit. But salvation by grace leaves no room for human boasting. All glory belongs to God alone.

This truth places us all on the same level before the Cross. The moral and the immoral, the religious and the irreligious, the respected and the despised, we all need grace equally, and we all receive it equally. Pride is destroyed, and so is despair.

But make no mistake: works have their place. Paul continues: "We are created in Christ Jesus for good works." They are not the root of salvation, but the fruit. We do not work to be saved; we work because we have already been saved. Order is vital.

When you begin to measure your acceptance before God by your spiritual performance, remember: you are covered not by your own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ. And when the guilt of your failures threatens to suffocate you, remember: your acceptance is based not on what you have done, but on what Christ has done.

God's sovereignty in salvation guarantees that neither your greatest sins nor your greatest achievements can alter what He has done. Your salvation does not rise and fall with your performance, because it never depended on it. It rests, secure and unchanging, on God's sovereign grace and the perfect work of Christ.

My Prayer:

Heavenly Father, forgive me when I try to add my virtues to Your perfect work. Help me see that my good works are the fruit of Your love in me, not attempts to win You. When pride leads me to boast, humble me with the truth of grace. When shame condemns me, strengthen me with that same grace. May my works be gratitude, not payment. In Christ's name, Amen.

Questions to Reflect:

1. In what subtle areas of life might you be trying to add your works to the finished work of Christ?

2. How should the truth that salvation "is not of works" shape your daily spiritual practices and disciplines?