Saved by Grace and Not by Works

Once no sin was found in this world. All was utter perfection.
When Adam ate the forbidden fruit he severed the heavenly connection.
Oh what a day of gloom and despair, man's nature distorted within!
Ruled by the kingdom of the air, he succumbed to the power of sin.

All of us lived here in Satan's kingdom until the Lord set us free.
We were the object of God's just wrath deserving sin's penalty.
But God's loving mercy, as strong as His wrath, wanted us to survive,
So Jesus came to pay the price that we might be made alive.

By grace we are saved and not by our deeds. What an incredible thought!
We place our trust in Christ you see. Our salvation cannot be bought.
If we could earn it, we would boast. We would live and die arrogantly.
So God grants to us by faith in Christ salvation completely free.

Some people say, "What about works? Isn't there something I must do?"
You cannot do works in an attempt to earn salvation true.
But when you experience God's new birth, He makes you a new creation.
Then the good works that flow from your life validate your transformation.

We live our lives until Jesus comes with devoted and happy faces.
Our God, who defeated sin's dark power, has raised us to heavenly places.
The devil and all his angry demons see you with Christ on His throne.
How they desire to cause you to stumble as you live in your earthly home.

Indwelt by His Spirit and led by Him, we are filled with His glorious power.
As we walk humbly before our God, He will guide us through the dark hours.
Some day soon in the coming ages as trophies of God's great love,
We will tell of how we left this world to live with Christ above.

This poem was a finalist in the December 2009 poetry contest