Sermon: God’s Gospel

If I were to ask you to complete this sentence, how would you finish it?  The most well-known verse in the Bible is…

My guess is the first thing you’d say is, “John 3:16.”  Then you might suggest, Genesis 1:1.  Or Psalm 23.  Or Romans 3:23 (“all have sinned”) or 6:23 (“wages of sin”).  I suspect you wouldn’t be too far down the list before you’d mention Ephesians 2:8-10.

These three verses are among the most well-known (at least among believers) for good reason:  they contain one of the most concise statements in all Scripture about the work of God in salvation — how and why God saves sinners.  It is a fitting passage for us to remember as we share the gospel with unbelievers, because it is the gospel in miniature.  And it is fitting for us to remember when we worship, for it reminds us of the greatness of God in saving us.  And it is appropriate for us to meditate on as we come to communion because it communicates the significance of Christ’s work for us.

As we examine this passage, we will find three aspects of this great salvation —

God (alone) has saved us by His grace and for our transformation.

1. How God Saves Sinners (v. 8a)

• God saves sinners entirely by grace
• God saves sinners through the mechanism of faith

2. How God Does Not Save Sinners (vv. 8b-9)

• God does not save sinners through any merit in them
• God does not save sinners through any work by them
• God does not save sinners for any boasting by them

3. Why God Saves Sinners (v. 10)

• He saves us as an expression of His re-creative power
• He saves us for us to do good works
• He saves us for us to be holy

Download the rest of this sermon on Ephesians 2:8-10.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.