New Testament Reading Plan: Hebrews 8-10
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
In this passage of scripture, Paul is teaching us that we can never deserve salvation. We are
not saved by works or effort. Salvation is a free gift of God! You’ll never be able to deserve
God’s forgiveness! This is a super, mega-important point for all of us to always remember
because it will set you free from condemnation and release you to truly repent and pursue God.
When you sin, there’s only one thing you need to do – go to God and ask for forgiveness. But
that’s not what we human beings tend to do. There’s something in us that makes us always
feel like we have to earn it first. So whenever we sin we try to punish ourselves first – we put
ourselves through a week or a month of purgatory before we feel like we have a right to go to
God and ask for His forgiveness. We don’t think we can go to God immediately and ask for
forgiveness, because we feel like hypocrites. Here’s why this is such an important truth – as
long as you feel like you first have to deserve God’s forgiveness before you can ask Him for
forgiveness, you’ll never actually go to Him for forgiveness because you’ll never deserve it.
The very fact that you have to ask for forgiveness is because it is impossible to earn! It’s a
GIFT. Here’s the truth about forgiveness: the MOMENT AFTER you sin – the moment a
spirit of repentance comes over you, and you say “I can’t believe I did that! I hate that I did that;
please forgive me Father, I’m so sorry,” that very moment you are forgiven. You don’t have to
put yourself through a month of purgatory first; you don’t have to be good for a week first. No!
Forgiveness is a gift! Now that’s an important part of GRACE!
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Praise God for forgiveness! That you don’t have to deserve it but that it is a free gift
available to all!
2. Ask God what your pattern is when you sin. Do you run to Him and ask for forgiveness or
do you put yourself through purgatory. Maybe your response changes depending on the
sin?
3. Ask the Lord to help you receive His grace and forgiveness when you sin and to learn to
forgive yourself.
