In the last decade, we have witnessed the rise of the "new atheists." Led by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and folks like them, atheism has received considerable attention in...
Every recent survey of American religious belief and practice testifies to the fact that Americans are becoming less "religious." We are less...
If you've ever experienced being left out, you know how unpleasant this can be. Perhaps, when you were growing up, you didn't fit with the "cool kids" at school. Or, perhaps you feel...
In our study of the first part of Ephesians 2, we saw that God's salvation by grace through faith includes far more than a ticket to Heaven after death. In fact, God saves...
When we began our devotional study of Ephesians 2:1-10, I mentioned that I felt a sense of excitement similar to what I'd...
Ephesians 2:10 reveals that we have been "created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us...
In yesterday's reflection, we considered the first phrase of Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's handiwork." Today, we will reflect upon some...
The first phrase of Ephesians 2:10 reads, "For we are God's handiwork" (NIV). Other translations say that we are God's "accomplishment" (CEB), "workmanship" (ESV, KJV), or "masterpiece" (NLT). The...
Today, we come to the final verse in the passage we have been studying so carefully. Verse 10 reads: "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which...
I love hearing people boast about God.
In Ephesians 2:9, after saying that salvation by grace through faith is "not by works," Paul adds, "so that no one can...
As we have seen in the past several reflections on Ephesians 2, Paul is exceedingly clear that salvation comes to us from...
In yesterday's reflection, I wrote that faith, though our human response to God's grace, is also in some way a gift from God.
In last Friday's reflection, I suggested that the Greek grammar of Ephesians 2:8 shows us that the "gift of God" is not...
As we read Ephesians 2:8 in English, we are not surprised to find the word "gift" in the last part of the verse: "it is the gift of God." After all, Paul often...
Over the last several days, we have been paying close attention to the first part of Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith." We have seen that...
Ephesians 2:8 seems clear enough. According to this verse, we are saved by grace, through faith. God extends salvation to us as...
If salvation comes by grace, it wouldn’t make much sense for God to foist it upon us. Some theological positions argue for...
In yesterday’s reflection, we considered the possibility that some people might be insulted by the good news that salvation comes only by...
In yesterday’s reflection, we considered the fact that we have been saved by God’s grace. In the classic Latin phrase of the...
