For by grace you have been saved

Grace Alone Through Faith in Christ

Ephesians 2 8 and 9 says. For by grace you have been saved through works. Your own goodness. No. You've been saved through faith. Faith and watch. Faith in what God has done. Faith in the work of Christ.

Christ is who saves us not ourselves. And technically it's not even faith that saves us. If you ever noticed this technically you're not even saved by faith. You're saved by what. You're saved by grace through faith.

And even that's not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. It can't come from us because there's nothing good in us because we're spiritually dead. So even our response of faith is the it's that. It's a response based on what God has done in our heart.

The Human Condition: Dead in Sin and Without Hope

Here's our situation. Are you still in Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 12 that at that time you were. This is speaking about the lost condition of man still in that state of total depravity. At that time you were without Christ being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise.

Having what no hope. And without God in this world some people are still in that condition. Those are the people who are getting really hot under the collar right now. How dare you say that. I'm totally depraved.

Hey I'm just the messenger. I'm just telling you what the book says. You know. And that's not even such a bad response getting upset and under the car. I'm more concerned about the person who's indifferent.

It's like yeah I don't whatever. And they just don't care about any of this. So being without Christ according to Scripture is to be without hope. So it should be very clear that we are not reconciled to God because of us.

Reconciled to God by His Work, Not Ours

We are reconciled to God because of him. Romans 10 17 says. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.