Joel M Bradshaw

1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.–Ephesians 2

1. I used to think that salvation was all about me and my choice.
2. Then I read the Biblical text above.
3. In my sin, I was once “dead.” Dead things don’t make any choices.
4. If it wasn’t for God making me “alive,” I would never have chosen to trust Jesus for salvation.
5. Salvation is therefore first a gift of grace to an undeserving person.
6. That grace now makes it possible for the person to respond in faith.
7. All of this is God’s choice and God’s working.
8. Furthermore, God created opportunities for my future to live out this faith He made possible in me.
9. Salvation is more like the morgue than the ICU. I was not on life support, I was dead in my sins. I required God to breathe life into me.
10. Ephesians 2 grew me up as a theologian. My perspective is forever changed. How about you?–JMB