Throw That List of Works In the Trash

This week I’ll be talking about the topic of grace. Paul the apostle opened most of his letters to the church by extending a greeting of grace to them. Grace was a difficult gift to embrace then and it’s difficult to embrace today. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace, not by works, so that no one can brag about how great they are. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. But we quickly stray into the arena of works after accepting Jesus. We develop a long list of things we must do to keep God happy. That’s not grace! That’s works. I would imagine it frustrates God to see us receive his free gift of grace, then try to live the Christian life by works. If you’ve got a long list of God pleasing works, throw it in the trash can today! You got saved by grace, you can live by grace.