For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (verses 8 and 9)
It is not our doing that we are saved. We like to think it is, even just a little. We like to think that somehow we are more loveable than the unsaved, or slightly nicer than the unsaved. This is so completely untrue. We are every bit as depraved as many others around us who are still estranged from Him. It is all His doing; we have no right to boast, not even to ourselves.
That is a great temptation – to think of ourselves as slightly better for having had the gospel revealed to us. Yet how far this is from the truth! We need to remember that we were dead – completely and utterly dead – in our trespasses when Christ saved us. We were as dead as any saved sinner is now. And if our behaviour has changed (as it should have) to reflect our alive-ness, then that is no merit to us, and no demerit to the dead. It is as it should be, and it is all Christ’s work.
LORD, make me grateful to You for my salvation. Help me to never boast, even to myself, as thought Your Work was mine. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
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