What You Can and Cannot Do

A few months ago I thought I was about to get a new job. It was exactly what I wanted: the pay, the hours, the people I would work with, the duties. Everything was lining up. At the same time, I was offered another job with less pay and different duties in a setting I’d never worked in before. I wanted the first job, but God had other plans. The first job fell to pieces before my eyes, leaving me with only door number two.

So it goes sometimes. We often determine the “best†course of action, and God redirects our plans. Israel saw it in the wilderness, notably with the issue of manna (Exodus 16). Israel wanted other foods. They even longed for the foods they had in Egypt during their captivity. God vetoed their plans. He had a plan in mind beyond the taste buds of the Israelites.

This desire to have things our way extends beyond food and jobs, even as far as our salvation from sin and death. God didn’t ask our opinion on how salvation should work. Left to our own devices, we want to earn our salvation. We think that, if we earn it, we can brag about it and receive the glory for our amazing actions. We can judge others who fall short. People might come from afar to seek our wisdom on how to achieve salvation.

But no.

Salvation is achieved only through the work of Christ on the cross. Ephesians 2:8 reminds me “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.†It is His righteousness and good works that save me. Christ has taken my punishment for my sin. My good works? Nothing, nada, no help at all. Paul clarifies my role in verse 9. Salvation is “not by works, so that no one can boast.†As verse 8 says, it’s only by grace through faith in Jesus. • Mike Hurley

• How has God redirected some part of your life?

• Why does it matter that Christ has accomplished salvation instead of us?

• How does the cross accomplish our salvation? Check out our “Know Jesus” page for more information.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Ephesians 2:8-10