PODCAST
Rich In Mercy
April 27th, 2014
Ephesians 2:1-10
The religion of achievement inevitably denies God’s mercy. Pagan worship, like that of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus, could often be characterized as a transaction. The worshipper does something for their god, such as presenting an offering, sponsoring the building or repair of a temple, or by participating in some festival or act of worship and, thereby, the god is obligated to respond with the sought for blessing. In each case the action of the worshipper precedes and elicits response from the deity. If the worshipper doesn’t get the sought for response then they must have done something wrong or did not present a sufficient gift or as extravagant an act of worship as the god may have required. Their doctrine could be summed up as, “You pay for what you get.”
How opposite this is from the God the Apostle Paul proclaimed to the Ephesian believers. The true God loved us before we knew Him and extended mercy toward us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Author: Duane C. Brush
