Sunday, September 6
As Christians, we all have a personal story to tell, a story about how Jesus changed our lives and what He has done for us.
Read Ephesians 2:1-10. What were we like before we knew Christ? What is ours since we have accepted Christ?
A. Before we knew Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3).
B. After we knew Christ (Ephesians 2:4-10).
What an amazing change! Before we knew Christ, we “were dead in trespasses and sins”, “walked according to the course of this world”, “fulfilling the desires of the flesh”, and “were by nature the children of wrath”. To put it simply, before we knew Christ, we wandered aimlessly through life in a lost condition.
We may have experienced what appeared to be happiness, but there was an angst of the soul and an unfulfilled purpose in our lives. Coming to Christ and experiencing His love made all the difference. Now in Christ we are truly “alive”. Through the “exceeding riches of His grace” and His “rich … mercy” toward us, we have received the gift of salvation. He has raised us up to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus”. In Christ, life has taken on new meaning and has new purpose. As John declares, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4).
Read Ephesians 2:10. What does this text tell us about how central good works are to the Christian’s faith? How do we understand this idea in the context of salvation by faith “without the deeds of the law” Romans 3:28?
How has your life changed because of Christ, a change that could possibly help someone else come to a knowledge of Jesus?
