First, the principle of salvation (2:8)
1, we are saved by grace.
2. We are saved by faith.
Second, the characteristics of salvation (2:8 /9)
1, not from yourself, but from God.
2, no behavior, lest someone boast.
Third, the purpose of redemption (2: 10)
1 is to update our lives.
2. It is to change our lives.
? The second chapter of Ephesians is the core chapter of the Bible, and section 8- 10 is the core of the core, which involves the most important core information of salvation in our faith.
First, the principle of salvation
1, we are saved by grace.
By grace means by grace, which means that the source of salvation depends on the grace of God. "Grace" refers to God's generosity to sinners because of his rich compassion and great love for people, that is, God gives people freely, because "the wages of workers are not grace, but deserved" (Romans. 4: 4), "Since they are out of grace, they don't care about deeds; Otherwise, grace is not grace "(Luo. 1 1: 6). God's salvation is a white grace to us and a great sacrifice to ourselves. He is willing to give up his only son to save us.
2. We are saved by faith.
"Faith" is our way of accepting God's grace. It can be seen that when we are saved by grace, we just need to simply believe and accept. But the Bible also tells us that "faith" is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 12: 9; The latter 1: 1). Moreover, this kind of "letter" is the real letter (2. 1:5), and it is faith that gives birth to love (Gal. 5:6).
Second, the characteristics of salvation
1, not from yourself, but from God.
"Not by ourselves" means that we are saved not by what we can do or what we have done. It's all from God. Without it, people are hopeless.
2, no behavior, lest someone boast.
Salvation is not bought with money, nor obtained by deeds, but by the grace of the Lord. People who rely on deeds will bear three kinds of bad consequences, boasting to God, being righteous to themselves and judging others, and those who rely on grace will bear three kinds of good consequences, gratitude to God, respect for others and humility to themselves (Lu 18: 9- 14). If someone often boasts about his salvation, I'm afraid he hasn't been saved yet.
Third, the purpose of salvation.
1 is to update our lives.
"We", the children of God, are all works of art carefully made by God and the crystallization of God's wisdom and ability. God, like a master of art, gave us his life in Christ Jesus, which made us have the temperament of God. God's salvation is not mending, but creating. We are like useless waste products, which will become brilliant works of art after forging by God. As 2 Corinthians 5: 17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed, and they have all become new. " Every move has a new style.
2. It is to change our lives.
God only asks the unsaved to "believe" and accept his grace; Those who are saved should also "do good" and live out his grace. Doing good is not the basis of our salvation, but the result of our salvation. And it's not that we are good and feasible, but that the true God is going to ask me to do it. This is because God was ready before he saved us, and after he saved us, he gave us his goodness.
For example, once I took my son to the train station, and there was a beggar begging beside the train station. In order to practice his compassion, I gave him ten yuan to give to a beggar. When he got home, his son excitedly said to his grandmother, "Grandma! I did a good deed today and gave a beggar ten dollars. " Grandma said to him, "Where can you afford to give alms to beggars?" ! The son said, "It's from my mother." Who the hell is doing good? Of course, the son gave the money to the beggar himself! But where did his money come from? Of course it's from me. In fact, there is no kindness in us. Today we can do good, because God has given us the ability to do good.
To sum up, our salvation is God's active grace, and we rely on God's grace to do good deeds, so we should be grateful in addition to gratitude.