An undeserved act on an undeserving people.

At this time many are remembering what is known as ‘The Reformation’ which happened 500 years ago. A German monk raised questions about the practice of selling ‘indulgences’ … a means whereby people could pay money to obtain what were false religious privileges. This was the opposite of the Christian gospel which provides forgiveness through God’s grace alone for everyone who trusts in what Jesus has done for them at the cross.

In the passage we see that we need God’s grace in the gospel because we are born spiritually dead. We enter this world with what is known as ‘original sin’ … Adam’s disobedience and the effect of this in our lives, called sin. We also see, as we read further, that God pulls us out of our dead state through the work of His Son on the cross … ‘made alive together with Christ’. It is an undeserved act on an undeserving people.

Grace is about what God has done … believers are his workmanship. Good works, which are the result of this transformation, are done out of love not obligation. Grace means we should never feel that we have to earn his forgiveness.