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Lenten Observations, March 21, Ephesians 2

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

This is one of the first verses Christians kids "back in the day" (a phrase I despise because the day could have been 50 or 5 or 500 years ago!) were taught to memorize. 

The themes of Romans are here: no boasting; faith to believe as part of the grace gift; "the just by faith will live." 

Why is boasting such a big deal here? I mean, why does God want to avoid mankind's boasting so much? It's hard to see how someone could work well and hard enough to earn the salvation anyway. 

I think it's a misapprehension of what boasting is. In the Bible, boasting is not a childish, harmless bragging. It is prideful resistance to God. For example, Psalm 5:5: The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. Therefore, boasting equals iniquity. 

Instead:

  1. Psalm 34:2
    My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
  2. Psalm 44:8
    In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah

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