Saved by Grace: Understanding God’s Gift and Our Grateful Response
Edited directly from the sermon transcript of Matthew Miller’s message at Highland Hills Church of Christ on November 16, 2025. Adapted for length and readability while preserving his voice and message.
Think about the most generous gift you have ever received. You did not earn it or expect it. When it arrived, you hardly knew what to feel because so much came at once.
A spiritual adviser once told me he tries to see every day that way. Before putting on his glasses in the morning, he pauses in bed and gives thanks that God has given him another day. What a way to begin—with gratitude.
But where does gratitude come from? Scripture calls us toward it everywhere. Paul teaches us to recognize gifts in the midst of life. I admit that I am not always there.
Recently I had one of those days when, from the outside, everything seemed normal, but inwardly nothing felt right. Whatever happened, I felt frustrated. We all know those days. Does gratitude still have a place in them?
Ephesians 2 shows us that God’s economy is built on the depth of his mercy. He gives grace before we become worthy, and that grace changes us. Paul says in Romans 5 that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
Here is the core of this message: freely given grace inspires deeply rooted gratitude.
In Ephesians, Paul reminds the church of the depth of Jesus’s sacrifice and what salvation has accomplished. Our central text is verses 8–10, but the earlier verses help us understand it.
Paul describes our condition apart from God as death in trespasses and sins. We follow the way of the world and the desires of the flesh and mind. Then come two powerful words: “But God.” Rich in mercy, because of his great love, he makes us alive with Christ.
We are saved by grace through faith. This is God’s gift. We cannot boast that we have produced it ourselves. And we are his workmanship, created in Christ for good works he has prepared for us to walk in.
Grace is a gift, not a wage. It springs from God’s mercy and love. Paul does not say God waited until we finally got our act together, did enough good things, or understood everything perfectly. Before grace, we were pursuing desires centered on ourselves. That belongs to all our stories.
But God is rich in mercy. We need that reminder everywhere. My life would be a train wreck without his love and mercy. The more honestly we understand our brokenness, the more deeply we can recognize the love that meets us there.
Sin is an offense against our Creator. What would move him to love people who repeatedly turn away from him? Pure, powerful love.
Notice how Paul repeats the message. In verse 5, he says we have been saved by grace. In verse 8, he says it again. Repetition in Scripture asks us to pay attention.
It is like a parent repeating something until a child hears it. I am sure all of you obeyed the first time as children. I tell mine that once should be enough, yet somehow I find myself saying things more than once. God repeats this because he wants us to receive it: we are saved by grace.
We cannot produce our own rescue. Picture someone in the sea, struggling while waves break over them. However hard they kick and wave, they cannot pull themselves out. Someone with the power to rescue must come. That is what Jesus does through the cross.
What follows a gift like that? Gratitude. When someone helps us in a difficult place, we often want to offer something in return. We recognize that another person has done something generous and loving for us, and our thanks moves us toward action.
Grace gives rise to gratitude, and gratitude inspires a way of living.
Paul’s own ministry shows that. He once had prestige, accomplishments, and the right background. Christ changed his whole understanding of life. From that encounter, he wanted to carry this message to everyone.
When we receive good news or unexpected kindness, we want to share it. Paul keeps sharing the gospel even when it costs him. In 2 Timothy 1, he invites Timothy to remain unashamed of Jesus’s testimony and to share in suffering for the gospel by God’s power.
Suffering is not usually high on the list of things we want to share. Yet Paul knows the grace and purpose of God in Christ, who has brought life to light. His gratitude sustains his witness.
Ephesians 2:10 then shows us the fruit of grace. We are God’s workmanship, created in Jesus for good works. We belong to his purpose and participate in what he is doing.
Think of workmanship as a work of art. God brings people from darkness into light, from death into life, from bondage toward freedom, and from lives lost in sin toward righteousness and love. We become part of the beautiful work he is doing in history.
That grace-filled life bears fruit. When we truly receive God’s love, goodness begins to move through us into a hurting world.
Knowing that God has forgiven and saved us should change what we think, say, and do. The truth of grace is meant to become a lived reality.
Here are three practices to begin with. First, at the end of each day, remember a moment when you encountered God’s grace. On some days, you may initially feel that nothing good happened. Keep looking. Over time, you may notice a word you read, something you heard, or a loved one’s smile that briefly opened a window of light.
Even on a dark day, a small point of light can change how we see it.
Second, tell someone each day that you are grateful for their presence. Alex Haley described keeping a picture of a turtle on a fence post as a reminder that he had not reached his place in life alone. Neither have we. We have been helped, carried, taught, and loved by others. Let them know you remember.
Third, look for a way to express gratitude through action. Do good for someone. Share the good news of Jesus. Let the grace that has changed your life flow toward another person who needs it.
Think gratitude. Speak gratitude. Act from gratitude. As you practice it, you begin seeing God’s work around you.
That also requires submission. We bring our ego, pride, plans, and time under Jesus’s loving lordship. Grace becomes more than a statement we agree with. It becomes something we believe deeply enough to live.
We can say many things about what we believe. Our actions reveal what has taken root in us.
Will we allow Jesus’s grace and the gratitude it inspires to transform what we do? If you are still exploring who he is, keep seeking truth. The invitation of the cross is an invitation into freedom and life.
God has come toward us in mercy. We can receive that gift with trust, allow it to reshape our hearts, and carry its goodness into the lives of others. Freely given grace can become deeply rooted gratitude, and gratitude can become fruitful living.
