Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified Bible) – “For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment {and} made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;”

Did you hear the story of the people who put some antiques out on their front lawn with a sign that read “free” on them? People could have taken whatever they wanted, but nobody took a thing. People were skeptical about someone giving something away for free. The first thought is, “what’s the catch?, there must be something wrong with it, this sounds too good to be true”. So the owners put a price tag of $1 on each item, and they were all taken, and dollar bills were left for each one.

Most people feel as if they should always pay for something. In Ephesians 2:8, the Apostle Paul calls God’s salvation “free grace”, favor at no cost, no strings, no payment on our part. He’s saying, just take it, it’s free. There’s no price tag on His “free grace”. Why? Our amazing Savior paid the highest price so that you and I could freely receive salvation, or healing, or anything that’s in our covenant. Don’t wait as if you have to earn some portion of your covenant, it’s all free.

Like the antiques on the front lawn, there’s no catch, no hidden clause, no strings attached to this “so great a salvation”. That’s why it’s called the “almost too good to be true news”. As I said, we have a hard time receiving free stuff, it’s been built into us by religion, the church, and our parents in the guise of good manners. Well, we need to get rid of that old way of thinking and learn to receive what is waiting for us because of the finished work on the cross. We need to expect God’s unmerited, unearned, grace and favor wherever we go. Take it, it’s free, it’s yours, go ahead, really!