Today I have been given a day off from my normal duties as Shop Manager at SOS to use as I see fit. SOS stands for Service Over Self. Service Over Self is an urban home repair ministry in the neighborhood of Binghampton, in Memphis. It has been my privilege to work for this ministry this summer.
I’m excited for my day off because I will get to see the homes where our teams have been working for the last 7 weeks. Since I will not be able to do this until 9 pm, I figured I would write something about what God has been teaching me through my experience at SOS.
One of the key ways I have been learning and been challenged is by some of the devotionals I have taught. Teaching is one of the most effective ways for me to learn about something, because in communicating ideas to others I have to seek and strive to not only understand them but to be able to relate them to my listeners.
Here are my notes from a morning devotional.
Ephesians 2:8-10
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ”
What is grace? Grace means getting good things you don’t deserve. We don’t deserve to be saved, we deserve punishment from God for our sins. But instead God blesses us.The reason why God can extend grace to mankind is because of Christ’s death for the sake of our sins. Ephesians 1:7 says In Him (Christ) we have redemption, through His blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. This is why one of the popular acronyms for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Grace is what makes Christianity unique from all other religions. All other religions are about how you can earn or achieve salvation. They are about how you can save yourself by pleasing God. Christianity says that there is nothing you can do to make yourself right before God. Instead Christianity is about God saving us. God saves us by having Christ endure the penalty for sin, which is death, for us. Not only does Christ endure death, he overcomes it. he overcomes it by rising from the dead.
Faith- our faith is not something that saves us. God’s grace saves us. Grace is the means by which we are saved. The analogy I have for this is the tubes when you get a drive by withdrawal at the bank. The tubes are not the money you are receiving from the bank, but without the tubes you won’t get your money. Your withdrawal is the money which you receive through the tubes. In the same way faith is the means through which God’s grace is received. In talking about faith the scriptures use several words such as faith, belief and trust. But these things do not exist in isolation. They are not abstract virtues or attributes, rather they are dependent or contingent on God’s character. The Christian faith is based on the faithfulness of God. The believer’s belief is founded upon the promises of God. The Christian’s trust is in the trustworthiness of God. There is no oe more trustworthy than God. There is no one more faithful than God. His promises are true. People, friends, family, will let you down, betray you, hurt you, forsake you, lie to you… but He will not. Faith is based in God’s character. It is trusting in His promises, not only with your mind, but also with your heart and will. Hebrews 11:6 states “Without faith it is impossible to please God for He who comes to God must believe that He is and that he rewards those who seek Him.”God is good and He rewards those who seek Him.
Not of yourself- you don’t earn your salvation. God doesn’t save you because you do good things or are nice or popular or good looking or have had a rough life.
it is the gift of God- a lot of people describe salvation as free. Salvation is not free. There was a price that was paid for us so that we can receive it as a gift. We receive salvation freely as a gift, but it is not free. The price of salvation was Christ’s death… this gift was very costly.
we don’t boast in ourselves-There is no reason to be proud of being saved. Our response should be thankfullness and humility.
we are God’s workmanship- God made us. He created all things. Jeremiah says that God knit him together or formed him in the womb. God knew you before you were born. Not only were we creaded by God, but those who are believers are recreated in Christ. In Christ they are new creations, who are dead to sin and live for Christ.
The purpose for us being recreated in Christ was so that we might do good works. Good works do not save us but we are saved so that we might do good works. God has a purpose for those that he saves and it is that they might do good works to the glory of God.
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