This post is part of a 40-Day Prayer Journey through the season of Lent. Click here to learn more and read other posts in the series.
“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
We live in a world so prone to boasting.
Athletes make big plays on the sports field and celebrate with displays of self-congratulation. People post their accomplishments on social media, harping on how proud they are of themselves. Parents fall into the trap of bragging about how good their kids are at sports, academics, and more.
From a certain point of view, the boasting in those examples can be backed up by the hard work and dedication of the individuals. Athletes put in long hours of training to perform at an elite level. Likewise, people pour their hearts into the projects they’re passionate about, and even those parents bragging about their kids’ accomplishments likely helped them practice sports, study for tests, and more.
Sometimes Christians can fall into a similar mindset about our salvation.
But God didn’t save us because of how hard we worked to earn salvation. No amount of hard work on our part could even bring us close to earning God’s favor. It can’t be done. He didn’t even save us because he helped us out, giving just a little nudge, and we did the rest ourselves, like a spiritual jump start to get a car battery going again.
There’s no place for boasting in ourselves when it comes to why we’ve been saved—why we believe in Jesus.
Faith is all God’s work. It comes through hearing the message, and the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts. Faith is all God’s gift. He gives it freely, lovingly. We were spiritually dead in sin when God saved us and made us alive in him. There was nothing worthy about us. The worth was all in our Savior Jesus—his perfection, his righteousness, and his holiness given to us.
We live in a world so prone to boasting. That much is true. At times, we may even fall into that trap as well. But, dear Christian, if we must boast, may our boasting be of the grace of our God and what he has done to rescue us from sin, death, and the devil. Not because of anything we’ve done to deserve it, but all because of our Savior Jesus and his great love and mercy for us.
May our boasting highlight the Lord and his accomplishments for us . . . and for all who believe in his saving name.
Today as you pray, ask that God would turn hearts to trust and receive his grace, resting confidently in Jesus and what he has done for them. Ask that God would open ears to hear his gospel message and work through that message as only he can to create saving faith in the hearts of many people.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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