Ephesians, Chapter 2, a passage that we’re very familiar with.  In verse 8 it says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  So, we’re all very familiar with that.  We’ve been teaching over the last couple of years, in depth, systematically, giving great attention to the doctrine of justification.  Seeing that, in fact, it is “by grace through faith [amen?], being justified freely by his grace,” the Scripture says.  So, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the finished work of redemption in our lives, having been redeemed and baptized into Christ, that brings us pronounced right and just with His righteousness.  It’s relieved us from the propensity of having to, by works, seek the approval of God because we are “accepted in the beloved,” (amen?) as we begin to look at this aspect of justification, our legal position of righteousness.

Along with that, we’ve seen the progressiveness of sanctification that’s occurring in our lives on a continual basis and on a progressive basis.  In our sanctification, we are being continually sanctified.  Thank God it’s on an incline; amen?  We know that in it there are victories and there are times when we’re not as victorious.  But those are the things that God uses, many times, to bring a chastening and a strengthening and revelation to us that we might continue the process of sanctification as it goes on.  We saw very clearly in 1 Corinthians 1:30 that it’s “in Jesus that we are sanctified.”  So, it’s not something we’re trying to achieve.  We are legally sanctified just as we are legally justified.  Beloved, “it is finished,” the work is done.  We don’t have anything to contribute to it.  So, we rest in that.  We’ve been laboring to get that point across.

I don’t think that the teaching is as much for us, though it will benefit all of us.  But I think it will help us as we minister to other Christians when we’re out sharing the gospel.  Because a lot of people, today, still see a conflict between James’ Epistle and the writings of Paul.  Beloved, we know this, of course, there are no conflicts between James and Paul; amen?  Because neither Paul nor James wrote that.  They were the scribes of the Holy Ghost for “all scripture comes by inspiration of God [amen?] Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” so there is no conflict whatsoever.  Apparently, if you have a casual reading, people could look and go, “It just seems like James says you have to do something.”  But we just read in Ephesians, very clearly, that the moment we contribute and do something, we can boast in it; (Amen?) we can take credit for it.  But beloved, the Scripture makes it very clear “there is none...good, no, not one.”