June 15

"For by grace are we saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."—Ephesians 2:8, 9.

GRACE is Paul's favorite theme in his epistles, and a sweet topic it is; it is the leading feature and characteristic of the Gospel. We must refer to it as the source of all our mercies, and the spring of all our enjoyments. Four things are here mentioned respecting our salvation.

ITS NATURE. The apostle speaks of it as present: he does not say ye shall be, but ye are saved; because it is the privilege of believers, even here on earth, to partake of heavenly enjoyments. Salvation consists in

A deliverance from the greatest evils. We are saved from the guilt of sin, by being clothed in the righteousness of Christ; from the pollution of sin, by being sanctified by the Spirit; from the love and dominion of sin, by the implantation of a master principle in the heart. We are saved from Satan's tyranny, the law's curses, the pangs of a guilty conscience, Jehovah's wrath, and the torments of the lost in hell.

The enjoyment of the greatest good. Believers are not only released from their abject and miserable condition by nature, but put in possession of positive good. All spiritual blessings are imparted to them. The raging tempest is hushed, and there is a great calm; the spirit is no longer trembling and agitated under a sense of conscious guilt; the olive branch of peace is placed in the bosom, and a still small voice whispers, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." "Ye are saved." Christians, already you enjoy a sweet foretaste of the joy you shall feel, when in glory you have obtained the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul.

ITS ORIGIN. "For by grace are ye saved." Three things will prove salvation to be of grace with regard to man.

He has no claim in the merit of it. Have we not forfeited all claims to the favor of God, and cut ourselves off from communion with him? He might in justice have sent the destroying angel to punish us with eternal destruction; but in mercy he sent his beloved Son to redeem us.

He has no power for the accomplishment of it. Man is spoken of as being "without strength;" as universally depraved in all his powers and passions, and by sin incapacitated for holding communion with God, and totally unable to work out his own salvation.

He has no inclination for the reception of it. There is not only an alienation of the mind from God, but a rebellion of the heart against God. Christian, did you not find it so till the Almighty wrought in your soul, and made you willing in the day of his power?