Death to Life. Ephesians 2:1-10

Transcription

1 Blake Jennings Grace Bible Church - Suthwd Death t Life Ephesians 2:1-10 "But Gd..." is perhaps the greatest tw-wrd phrase yu'll find in scripture. We were dead in sin, slaves t Satan, and under wrath, unable t free urselves. "But Gd" intervened thrugh Christ and gave us life as a free gift. There is n better news t hear, believe, and share with a dying wrld. Turn t Ephesians 2 Many f yu may remember: 1 ½ years ag I did smething unusual: PREACHED FROM A CHAIR - Easter Sunday, taking ff shes in clset, glass vase brke, fell, hit tp f my ft - At first, thught it bruised my ft - 5 secnds later pain hits and bld starts flwing cut I g fr bandage & antibitic - But then I lk dwn and saw bld everywhere gushing! I m getting wzy time fr ER! - Big cut 14 stitches! - But it s dne, right? WRONG!! SO MUCH WORSE than I realized! - A week later culdn t mve my big te had cut t bne & severed tendn - Had t have surgery & 6 weeks f PT that s why I was preaching frm a chair Because smetimes things are much wrse than we realize And that s the pint f the first half f ur passage! - Fr peple wh dn t knw Jesus ur neighbrs, friends, classmates, cwrkers - things are s much wrse than they realize Read 2:1-3 - I ve gt gd news and bad news, which d yu want first? - Always the bad get it ver with Bad news: We were Dead in Sin - This is the mst painful, awful passage in the whle bk f Ephesians. If yu knw peple wh are far frm Jesus these 3 verses shuld break yur heart. I can t read these verses withut thinking abut my friends wh are far frm Jesus. Grieve fr them. See them arund twn, Hw are yu ding? Fine Think in the back f my head NO! Yu are nt fine, nt OK! Dn t yu see! - Yu are Dead in trespasses and sins = enslaved t they are pwerless against sin can t resist it - First 2 ½ verses all abut slavery they are mastered by 3 things 1) the curse f this wrld = the ways f this wrld the culture we live in they are enslaved t the way this wrld thinks and perates and they dn t knw it like fish wh can t tell they re wet because they ve never knwn anything but wetness wetness is life it s inescapable t fish S the ways f this wrld are inescapable t the persn far frm Jesus he r she can t tell that the wrld wns them and directs them 2) the prince f this wrld = Satan, the ruler f this wrld even thugh human beings were created by Gd, all humans far frm Jesus fllw a different father Satan wh deceives them and blinds them and leads them dwn a path f self-destructin

2 again they dn t knw it the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was cnvincing the wrld he desn t exist they may nt believe in the devil, but that desn t change the fact that he des exist and des wn them 3) the lusts f the flesh = the desires f the human mind and bdy far frm Christ ur natural self-centered desires can t resist them lusts here desn t necessarily mean immral desires actually, the peple described in these verses can be very mral peple, even very religius peple but they practice their mrals and religin fr the sake f pride t feed their eg and make them feel better abut themselves. That is n different than the immral man wh chases sex and bze. Bth are indulging their selfish desires. - And here s the tragedy the mst awful line in the whle bk f Ephesians - The result f their slavery t sin is that they are children f wrath = under the wrath f Gd they deserve Gd s punishment That includes punishment in this life and in the next life they deserve His eternal punishment in a place the Bible calls hell. - Nw that s a hard thing t even say takes the breath ut f yu - We think f Gd as lving, gracius, frgiving hw culd wrath fit int that picture f Gd? I dn t have an easy answer it s t big f a questin fr me because Gd is t big, t great fr me t cmprehend I knw it has t d with His HOLINESS read Psalm 5:4 Hliness is the ppsite f sin it is nt lgically pssible fr hliness and sin t cexist and s, because Gd is infinitely hly, n evil at all can dwell with Him S when Gd lives with His peple in the New Heavens and New Earth the nly peple wh can be there are thse wh are hly. Evil peple must g smewhere else smewhere away frm His blessing and that place is hell. S Gd s hliness is part f the answer s is His JUSTICE Gd can t just wink at evil. He must hate it and punish it. Here s what Abraham says abut Gd read Gen 18:25 Gd is a righteus Judge He cannt treat the righteus and the unrighteus equally that wuld be injustice. He must punish the wicked. We expect the same f human judges they can t let criminals walk they must uphld the Law If we expect that f human judges, hw much mre the perfect judge! He created a righteus universe and s He must punish sin - it s unavidable Like the law f gravity what ges up must cme dwn s with sin it must be punished - Therefre, fr ur friends and family far frm Jesus life is nt OK it s as hrribly awful as culd pssibly be imagined Humans are nt inncent. We are nt basically gd. We are enslaved t sin and under the wrath f Gd And wh cares abut things like a flded hme r lss f a jb r cancer cmpared t this this is the wrst news ever They are in abslutely desperate need fr salvatin even if they dn t realize it - It reminds me f a stry my dad tld me abut why he resisted Christianity fr many years: Christianity is just a crutch But then life gt difficult particularly when he became a dad and began t see his inadequacies and limitatins he realized he was nt as strng as he thught he was realized he needed a crutch

3 S when smene calls Christianity a crutch, that is NOT a liability we wn that It s fact! Yes, Christianity is a crutch, and that s gd because we all need a crutch. And if yu really want t be accurate with yur medical terminlgy: Christianity is less a crutch, and mre a defibrillatr! Because humans aren t lame we re dead! - Nw why d we have t talk abut smething s awful? Well nt because I want t this is awful I hate preaching n this But we must hear it because it s nly with a big view f sin that yu get a big view f yur Savir If yu have a small view yu re ging t have a small view f Jesus If my unsaved friends really are OK then Jesus and salvatin are really n big deal ptinal make yur life a bit better but wh really cares But if they re nt k, if they really are dead in sin and under the wrath f Gd then Jesus and salvatin are EVERYTHING the ONE thing they must have and the ONE thing I MUST tell them! A big view f sin COMPELS us t share ur faith That s why Paul started with the bad news nw we re paying attentin nw we re ready t hear and appreciate the gd news - S let s get t the gd news! Gd news: We are Alive in Christ read 2: But Gd yu will be hard pressed t find tw better wrds in the entire Bible! Smene shuld make a wall plaque with thse wrds That s the greatest news in histry we were dead in sin and wrath BUT GOD He culd have just left us there certainly His right He gave us life, He gave us this wrld, He gave us His Wrd, He tld us what is true and gd fr us and thers and we said, N thanks. Nt interested. And chse sin and selfishness and brught evil upn urselves and ne anther. It was fully within His right t snuff us ut but He didn t - Instead, He SAVED US by grace yu have been saved that wrd saved = rescue always must ask rescued frm what? lk at the cntext what s ur prblem? slaves t sin and under the wrath f Gd Gd rescued us frm sin and wrath S this is what we typically mean by the wrd Saved r Salvatin in Christianity - S let s talk abut salvatin. Best way I knw hw: use this passage t answer 5 questins. - 5 questins: WHO, HOW, WHY, WHAT, and TO WHAT END WHO saves us? GOD - I dn t save myself nt my self-effrt r self-imprvement that saves me - It s als nt my faith that saves me a lt f Christians are cnfused abut that there s nthing magical abut faith it s Gd wh saves - S if there are days when yur faith feels weak r even nn-existent, that desn t affect yur salvatin because it was never yur faith saving yu it was Gd and He s never weak! I ve been hnest with yu guys abut hw much I struggle with dubt it s just part f wh I am. Dubt is a nearly cnstant cmpanin. S I take great cmfrt in the fact that it s Gd wh saved me, nt my faith. My salvatin has never been based n the strength f my faith. It s Gd wh saved me and He is ALWAYS STRONG. HOW des He save us? IN CHRIST - Gives but Gd a run fr its mney as best 2 wrds in the Bible! Definitely the best prepsitinal phrase!

4 - Pint: salvatin cmes t yu in and thrugh Jesus - He made salvatin pssible fr us Nw in this passage Paul desn t get int the histrical details f hw Jesus made salvatin pssible but mst f yu knw the stry. Jesus, the Sn f Gd, tk ur place. He lived a perfect life fr us and then died as a sacrifice fr us, taking the brunt f Gd s wrath in ur place, and then rse frm the dead fr us s that we culd have life. Lve hw Timthy Keller puts it, Jesus sat in ur seat the seat f wrath s that we culd sit in His seat the seat f hnr at the Father s right hand There was an exchange made. Jesus tk yur punishment s that yu culd have His life. That s the legal basis f salvatin Gd must punish sin He cannt just dismiss yur sin S Jesus tk yur punishment fr yu all f it s that yu culd g free s that yu culd be saved - And yu have that salvatin thrugh yur cnnectin t Him all 3 main verbs in v5-6 are funky wrds in Greek a verb cmbined with the prepsitin with yu were made alive WITH Him that s ne wrd raised with Him seated with Him S yu ve gne frm dead in sin child f wrath t alive and seated in hnr next t Gd that s 180 turn in yur circumstances and destiny and it all happened in Christ it happened because yu are cnnected t Jesus I ve tld this stry befre, but it s the best ne I have fr illustrating Paul s pint gt t g scuba diving in Czumel twice in cllege nt because I culd affrd it but because I had a gd friend named Hmer and his family culd affrd it and graciusly invited me t cme with him I gt t g t Czumel because I was with Hmer Same idea in salvatin we get salvatin because we are with Jesus - Jesus dies and rse fr us s that in Him we can be saved frm sin and death - Nw the reasnable questin t ask: why wuld Jesus d that fr us? WHY des He save us? LOVE & GRACE - Multiple wrds used here: lve, mercy, grace, kindness define each Lve = chice t sacrifice fr the gd f the ne lved Grace = getting smething gd yu dn t deserve Mercy = nt getting smething bad yu d deserve Kindness = active sacrifice n behalf f anther - Pint: salvatin was nt mtivated by yur merit Yu didn t earn it nt even a little f it Paul makes that explicit in v9 nt by wrks s n rm t bast we can take n pride, n satisfactin in ur effrts, righteusness - Salvatin is purely a GIFT let s make sure we understand each ther - Nt a Reward yu d smething gd and get a reward as a result If that were the case, then salvatin wuld be by wrks yu did gd wrks, Gd rewarded yu with eternal life. N! Paul culdn t be clearer it s nt by wrks nt a reward - Nt a Discunt yu get smething at a reduced price These shes Julie gt them fr me fr like $16 bucks s cheap! But $16 isn t free! I still had t wrk t earn these shes. I didn t have t wrk as lng as I wuld have if they wuld have cst $100 but if I have t wrk at all, it s nt grace. Grace means there s n wrk at all required t get saved

5 Cntrast t Mrmnism Bk f Mrmn, 2 Nephi 25:23 We labr diligently t write, t persuade ur children, and als ur brethren, t believe in Christ, and t be recnciled t Gd; fr we knw that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can d. That s nt a gift; that s a discunt One f the key differences between Christianity and Mrmnism - Nt a Lan yu get smething nw but pay fr it later E.g. buying a car with zer mney dwn that s like a gift, right? Wrng!! I hpe nne f yu think a n-mney-dwn car is a gift! It s a trap! Yu will be paying fr that car fr years t cme n the back end because it was a lan. Hw a lt f peple think abut salvatin yu get eternal life the mment yu believe, but then yu must d gd wrks t keep r prve it N that s nt grace that s a lan that s wrk n the back end and Paul is clear, n wrks at all are required. - S what is required f us? WHAT is required f us? FAITH Alne - Faith = cnvictin that smething is true and therefre wrthy f yur trust - Wrd TRUST is imprtant because Faith is nt just HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE lts f peple in America believe a guy named Jesus lived 2000 years ag, died n a crss, and maybe even rse frm the dead. But they re nt actually Christians because they have nt trusted that man t save them. They re still relying n their wrks r mrality t save them. Here s what yu d if smene tells yu they already knw all abut Jesus: ask If yu were t die tday and stand befre Gd and He asked yu why shuld I let yu in heaven, what wuld yu say? If they say, Well, I tried t live a gd life then it tells yu they have knwledge f Jesus, but nt faith in Jesus they haven t trusted Him t save them frm sin and death. They re still trusting in their wn wrks t save them. That s the difference between faith in Jesus and knwledge f Jesus and nly faith in Jesus saves. - T be saved yu must say, YES, I believe Jesus lived, died, and rse FOR ME I TRUST HIM t save me frm sin and death. - That faith alne saves us that s all that Gd requires - Gd mment t cntrast ur answer t the fficial Rman Cathlic answer I say fficial because many Rman Cathlics actually hld a psitin mre similar t urs that salvatin is by faith alne. But the fficial teaching within Rman Cathlicism as defined at the Cuncil f Trent 5 centuries ag is that faith alne is nt enugh t be saved they stated it explicitly. Yu must have gd deeds as well r yu ll g t purgatry when yu die t pay ff yur remaining sin. We disagree that s nt what Paul is saying and he culdn t be clearer Salvatin is by faith alne apart frm any wrks s that n ne can bast And ntice the verb tense in v8 yu HAVE BEEN SAVED it s past tense it s already dne finished n wrks and n purgatry required This cnvictin that salvatin is by faith alne is what launched the Prtestant Refrmatin exactly 500 years ag This Octber will be the 500 th anniversary f the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 cmplaints t the church dr in Wittenberg, Germany. And chief cmplaint n the list was that the church had lst sight f this glrius truth that salvatin is by faith alne that was a truth wrth dying fr

6 - All that Gd requires f us t be saved is faith - But, what if yu struggle t believe? First, let s be sure we understand, faith IS NOT CERTAINTY We wn t get certainty till we re dead! We dn t knw if we re right we can t prve the gspel is true. S Paul is nt saying that yu have t KNOW fr certain that Jesus died and rse t be saved that wuld nt be FAITH, that wuld be SIGHT. Faith isn t certainty Faith is when yu lk at all the evidence and reach the cnclusin that, n balance, this is wrthy f yur trust. ill: Like getting n an airplane Yu dn t knw fr certain that airplane will get yu t yur destinatin. Yu have n guarantee. It culd crash. But yu chse t get n the plane anyways that s FAITH Yu chse t trust that airplane t take yu safely t yur destinatin Why? Because n the balance f evidence that s a reasnable chice Yu re nt making a blind leap when yu get n a plane at Easterwd yu re being reasnable crash data supprts the wisdm f that chice That s what it lks like t trust in Jesus Yu dn t have any guarantee yu re right, but the evidence persuades yu t make the chice t trust yur sul t Him. S lk at the evidence and see fr yurself is it mre reasnable t believe that Christianity is true r that is was all made up? Lk at the beauty and cmplexity f life Yes, there culd be a place fr evlutin and natural prcesses, but is it really mre reasnable t believe that all the beauty and rder we see in this wrld, and all the lve and hpe and sense f justice we see in ur fellw man is just a prduct f randm chance? Really? T me it seems much mre reasnable t believe that even if evlutin and ther natural prcesses are at wrk, there is still a gd, pwerful, wise, righteus Gd behind this universe. Lk at the resurrectin f Jesus If He really rse frm the dead 2000 years ag, if that s nt a myth, if that s actual histry, then there s smething incredibly special and pwerful and authritative abut that man and He s wrthy f yur trust. S lk at the evidence Ask yurself why, in a time when there were LOTS f MESSIAHS shwing up in Israel, gathering fllwers, frustrating the authrities, dying, and then being frgtten by everyne why did this ne Messiah s death launch a wrldwide mvement with billins f fllwers? Ask yurself why, if yu were making up this whle stry we find in the gspels, yu wuld include such embarrassing details as Peter s cwardice n the night Jesus was arrested, r the lack f faith f any f the disciples when Jesus rse, r the fact that the first witnesses f Jesus resurrectin were all wmen that s great news t us, but was embarrassing within the chauvinist wrld f the 1 st Century. But it was Peter and Matthew and Jhn wh wrte the stry. Why wuld they include all f thse embarrassing details unless it was true? Ask yurself why the Pharisees and Rmans never put a stp t this Christian mvement that turned Jerusalem upside dwn by bringing ut the bdy! Easiest thing t silence rumrs f resurrectin here s the crpse! But they never did. Oh, well, but maybe the disciples stle the bdy and made the whle stry up, right?

7 Well then ask yurself, why were all Jesus disciples willing t be trtured and murdered fr this stry abut Jesus? Because they were! Paul was beaten, stned, imprisned, and beheaded. Peter was crucified upside dwn. Why wuld yu d that fr a stry yu made up? That makes n sense? T me it is harder t believe that Jesus did NOT rise frm the dead than that He DID! I believe because f the evidence. S if yu find faith hard then dig int the evidence. It s there. Study it and yu will see. - That s hw Faith wrks. It studies the evidence and says, Despite my dubts and uncertainties, I am persuaded by the evidence that this is true and wrthy f my trust. T What End has Gd Saved us? FOR GOOD DEEDS - read v10 - Gd wrks have NOTHING t d with getting saved r staying saved by faith alne - But that desn t mean Gd desn t care abut gd deeds! He des, very much! - That s actually His verarching purpse in saving yu. Nt just t get yu t heaven when yu die, but t transfrm yu int a man r wman wh glrifies Gd and blesses the wrld thrugh gd deeds. - read Titus 2:14 - Jesus willingly died fr us, nt nly t make us His peple, but t free us frm ur sinfulness and enable us t becme zealus fr gd deeds. - Yu see, Gd cares abut this wrld and the peple f this wrld. Even thugh s many f them are slaves t sin and deserving f wrath Gd still wants them t experience gd and lve and grace And He wants t use yu and me t bring that gd t them He saved us s that we culd fill this wrld with the gd deeds He lves - That s Gd s slutin t the prblems f this wrld Nt plitics, scial change, educatin, ecnmics But creating a peple f His wn ZEALOUS FOR GOOD WORKS - That s why we re called t walk in gd deeds. Applicatin what GOOD DEED shuld we be ding abve all thers? Sharing this gd news - Best gd deed yu can d is help peple find and fllw Jesus by telling them abut Him - I feel s repetitive! Same applicatin every week feel like a brken recrd - But remembered every ther Saturday in the fall 100k Aggies get tgether repeat same sngs & yells because that s what Aggies d! ur traditin ur culture part f what defines us - Yu are defined by what yu repeat s we repeat the Gspel and this cmmand t share it every week because the Gspel is ur Fight Sng it is ur Gig em it s wh we are! s it shuld be n ur lips every day fr the rest f ur lives - This fall we are challenging yu: initiate spiritual cnversatins with at least 2 peple wh are far frm Jesus Write dwn names f 2 peple in yur life wh are far frm Jesus Pray fr them this week Try t initiate spiritually significant cnversatins find ut their hpes, gals, cncerns, frustratins. Lk fr pprtunities t share yur hpe in Jesus.