Supporting Texts: Genesis 2:16-17, 3:19; 1 Kings 8:46; Psalm 51:5; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Luke 6:33; Romans 1:16-17, 2:14, 3:23, 5:12-21; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 5:19.
The Bible teaches that one of the pastor’s primary responsibilities is to “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). These things that are fitting for sound doctrine are those teachings and truths found in the Bible and they must be routinely taught to those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Why? The Scriptures identify at least three specific reasons. First, it is because God has personally inspired the Word of God so that it would be of great profit for each Christian for their teaching (which is instructing believers in God’s truths), for calling Christians to forsake their sins and disobedience to God’s Word, to correct their thinking, and to train them in God’s righteous ways. In this way, every believer, from youngest to oldest, will be equipped for every good work the Lord calls them to do.
Second, proper and systematic teaching of God’s Word encourages spiritual maturity, so that “we are no longer children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14). The Bible warns us not to remain as spiritual infants, but to grow up in our faith. Only the consistent and focused attention given to the Bible and its true teaching can cause us to grow and develop spiritual strength. Third, the Apostle Paul cautioned us that in the last times, people will “not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 3:3-4). In other words, the days are here when people will reject the truth that is right in front of them in the Bible, and chase after false myths and fables. While it may be dressed up in the garb of intellectualism and even science, it will still be totally and completely false. Yet, some who claim to be Christians will chase after it.
This is perhaps most clearly seen in the modern church’s handling of the doctrine of sin. We have, for the most part, abandoned the clear teaching of the Bible that all are under sin and its judgment and have redefined sin and given it unbiblical definitions. We have defined it as criminal activity, and while crime is sin, just because we cannot be arrested by civil authorities for our sin does not make it less a reason for God’s judgment on our lives. Some sins are evil and brought into public awareness and come into widespread condemnation by a majority of people, but that does not mean that our seemingly smaller and private sins are less under God’s condemnation.
There is a sinister and devious reason that lies behind this deception. If you and I have no sin, then we have no need for the salvation found in Jesus Christ. If sin is not a universal and absolute condition of all the human race, then there was no need for God to send His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary’s cross to take away the penalty and punishment for sin. Jesus Christ came to save us from the eternal condemnation for our sinful condition, and you and I must understand that without the salvation found in Christ, we will stand in everlasting judgment before God. And let me remind you that that everlasting judgment is described in Revelation 20:15, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Will the Lord find your name written in the book of life? It will be our mission today to find out why a person’s name is not written in the book of life and how it is my name or your name can be written there. We will begin with the sound biblical teaching that all men and women without Christ are spiritually dead, and then discover how we can be spiritually alive in Christ. And then we will find God’s provision for our eternal salvation by His grace.
THE SPIRITUALLY DEAD. Ephesians 2:1-3
All Have Sinned. Sin and its consequences are a universal problem. I share with post-modern thinkers a concern about things that are claimed to be universal, but this is a reality given to us from an infinite and omniscient God. When He says this is a universal problem, then it is. This means that I am a sinner and so are you. Every person who has ever lived, with the exception of Jesus Christ, was or is a sinner. How did that happen? We must begin at the beginning and for that we must go to the second chapter of the book of Genesis. Since God had just created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, many scholars call verses sixteen and seventeen the “Edenic Covenant.” Here God commanded, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” You all know well what happened next. God created the woman, Eve, and brought her to Adam. In the next chapter, they both rebelled against God’s Word, and plunged themselves into sin. Immediately, both of them came under God’s curse, their natures were changed into a sinful nature, and in Genesis 3:19, God condemned them to physical death. The Apostle Paul expands on this in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” When Adam and Eve sinned, their nature was changed so that they now possessed a sinful nature, even down to their DNA, and their sinful nature was then transmitted to all their offspring, all the way down to us. If you need any evidence of this, notice that Adam and Eve’s first child, Cain, murdered their second child, Abel. Why? They had a sin nature inherited from their parents.
This is both an Old Testament doctrine as well as a New Testament doctrine. David caught in his sin as an adult wrote, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Sin is not something caused by environment or lack of education: all of us are born with a sin nature that we inherited from our parents. And, of course, they inherited theirs from their parents, and we shall bequeath it to our own children. David’s son, Solomon, wrote, “There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). When he dedicated the temple, King Solomon prayed, “There is no man who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46). While I could offer you many more Scriptures proving mankind’s sinful nature from the Old Testament, please allow me to give you two more. Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). And Isaiah wrote, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
The New Testament abounds with testimony of mankind’s sinful nature. Romans 1:18-32 describes the sinful ways of the human race. In chapter three of Romans, Paul concluded that “all are under sin” (Romans 3:9). “All” is intended to be universal. He extended his conclusion by saying, “none are righteous, not even one,” “there is none who seeks for God,” and “there is none who does good, not even one.” He then settled the issue by saying, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So here in Ephesians 2, when he writes, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins” it is an absolute and universal truth: all people are spiritually dead, eternally lost, and will ultimately be condemned to unending judgment. This is the present condition of every person without Jesus Christ. To “trespass” means to turn aside from the right path, and to “sin” means to miss the mark of God’s righteousness. While we might seem good to ourselves and others, it is God who says we are dead in our sins and trespasses. And His opinion matters most!
The Evil World System. Verse two says they formerly walked according to the course of this world. They were not walking that way any longer because something had changed. But we will talk more about that in a moment. Those who are unsaved follow the ways of this world. They follow along after the lifestyles of other unbelievers and they experience the world’s peer pressure. This word “world” translates “kosmos” which in the New Testament means the satanically organized system that hates and opposes all that is godly. The unsaved follow the “prince of the power of the air,” that is, Satan. They have no choice. Since they are currently in a state of rejecting Christ as Lord and Savior, they must follow Satan. The Apostle John wrote, “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19), and Satan is also called “the god of this Age.” The unsaved are now under the control of this evil ruler and follow in his opposition to God. Paul next says that those without Christ walk according to “the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” Through his evil world system, Satan influences the lives of all unbelievers, and also seeks to influence believers. He wants to make people “children of disobedience.” He is himself disobedient to God, so he deceives others into disobeying Him too.
Sinful by Nature. Included among the characteristics of sinful behavior of which all people are part, Paul included the lusts of the flesh. Being outside of Jesus Christ, people are deeply affected by evil, determining influences. Among these influences are the fallen, self-centered appeals of our human desires. The “flesh” does not stand for a person’s physical existence, but humanity in its sinfulness and rebellion against God. We want what we want and not what God desires. As such we are unable to please God. The desires of the flesh are passions that include anger, envy, rage, dissensions, and selfish ambitions. Our fleshly desires dominated our lives and we carried out its dictates. Even our thoughts were corrupt and they controlled our actions.
Far more insidious is the next phrase: “we were by nature, children of wrath.” This explains why we are sinners. Sin is woven into the fabric of our beings. It is part of our nature; it is part of us. It is born into us. “Nature” means what is innate, implanted in us. Before a person is saved, they are under divine wrath not merely by circumstance but by their very nature. This explains why all people are under God’s wrath and why all are sinners. It is because of this sinful nature that we sin. Why do people do wicked and evil things? Because they are provoked by their sinful nature. Why are people in a state of God’s condemnation? Because they have a sinful nature. Some years ago, I would take some volunteers from this church to a rescue mission in downtown Kansas City. When we were there, we would conduct the evening chapel service and then help to serve the evening meal. One cold winter night I was preaching to a room full of transient men the message of the gospel, that they could be saved in Jesus Christ. The room was so packed that the men were sitting right next to the platform. One man just to my left, so close I could almost reach out and touch him, spent my entire message heckling me. He did not believe in Jesus, and cried out in unbelief and doubt about every Scripture. After the service I commented to one of the counselors about his behavior and he said, “He’s lost and he was acting as a lost man.” So, it is. People do evil things because they have a corrupt and sinful nature. It should not surprise us that sinners act like sinners.
MADE ALIVE WITH CHRIST. Ephesians 2:4-7
The Sources of Salvation in Christ. That was the bad news. Now for the good news. In His amazing grace, God transforms lives. He changes them completely even to the point of placing a new nature into the person who receives Christ as Savior. We can ask, why does God do that? Or, perhaps, what provokes Him to make such an offer to those trapped in sin? First is His mercy. God is described as being rich in mercy. Mercy means “undeserved kindness” toward sinners. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Even as sinners, God had mercy on us. For that reason He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He saved us from our sins.
We note next that it was because of “His great love with which He loved us.” The word in the original for love means “to seek the highest good in the one loved.” Since sinners are spiritually dead toward God, they have nothing to commend them to God. This is why Paul described this love as being “great.” The third of these sources of God’s salvation is grace, found in verse five. Grace is known as God’s unmerited favor in Christ. This act of God in making the unregenerate alive is an act of grace: it is by grace you have been saved. For each one of us, God has granted His mercy, love, and grace. And because we are sinners, we all are in desperate need of all three.
Alive in Christ. What are the results of God’s mercy, love, and grace, when they are applied to a sinner who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord? First, because they are spiritually dead, He makes them spiritually alive. For the first time in their lives they can respond to God through the Holy Spirit. Their internal spirit has been instantly energized by the Holy Spirit and He comes to guide and encourage them in their Christian life. The Holy Spirit now illuminates their thinking to the truth of God’s Word, helps them to pray, and empowers their spiritual growth as a believer. For the rest of their lives, He is their constant companion to encourage and comfort them.
Grace in the Ages to Come. God’s great salvation in Christ has some amazing eternal results. As Christians we are currently awaiting the Rapture of the Church, when all Christians from the entire Church Age, from the Day of Pentecost to the present will be instantly called up to be with Christ. There will be an amazing resurrection. All those who have died as Christians will rise and all Christians who are alive at the Rapture will be instantly transformed with new resurrection bodies. But this verse says something amazing. As far as our Lord is concerned, we have already been raised up with Him. To us it is still a future event, but to our eternal Lord, it is as if it has already happened! At the moment of salvation, each believer in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, is raised up and seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. Every believer actually already has two homes. He or she resides here on earth and lives beside Jesus in heaven. A believer in Christ is not only going to heaven – he or she is already there! A third result is that in all the future ages, including our Lord’s Millennial Kingdom, the Eternal State, and whatever lies beyond, He will be showing the surpassing riches of His grace through the believers for all to see. Among many other aspects, this shows that the salvation He gives is an everlasting salvation.
SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. Ephesians 2:8-10
God’s Grace Produces Salvation. The basis of God’s great salvation is grace and the means is faith alone. Faith is not a work. It does not merit salvation; nothing we do can merit salvation; it is only the means by which one accepts God’s free salvation. This is the message that God has sent throughout the world – that salvation is granted only by God’s grace. There was a counsel at which some contended that we must work for our salvation, that it required our effort. The Apostle Peter rose and declared, “We believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus!” (Acts 15:11).
Our salvation cannot be of works because the work of salvation has already been completed on the cross. This is the work that God does for us, and it is a finished work. We can add nothing to it. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom, signifying that the way to God was now open. There is no more need for earthly sacrifices. One sacrifice – the Lamb of God – has finished the great work of salvation. God did it all, and He did it by His grace. It is a gift. God offers this gift to all. What a priceless gift it is! Eternal life with our Savior in His love and mercy. But a gift has to be received. The Lord stands with the gift of eternal life in His hands ready to give it to you. Will you receive it? It is a gift so that we cannot boast that we earned it. We can only rejoice that Jesus did it all for us. We can be saved because of Him!
God’s Grace Produces Transformed People. Why is this salvation not from us or by our works? The reason is that salvation is God’s workmanship. The word workmanship denotes a work of art or a masterpiece. At the moment we are saved, we become God’s amazing masterpiece. Believers are God’s workmanship because they have been created (a work only God can do) in Jesus Christ. The purpose of this creation is that believers will do the good things God has called us to do. God’s workmanship is not achieved by good works, but it is to result in good works. In other words, God has prepared a path of good works for believers which He will perform in and through them as they walk by faith. Principle among these good works is trust and obedience. We are called to a life of obeying our Savior.
In the eighteenth century, there was a young man, who in his late teens turned to a life of wickedness and debauchery. He became so evil and destitute that his friends despaired of his sanity. He took up the slave trade, and sailed the ocean between Africa and North America. His behavior was so sinful that he was eventually sold into slavery and was abused and terribly mistreated. He later wrote that he was an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in West Africa. He sunk into the darkness of depression. He was put aboard a ship bound for England, but it was caught in a storm and began to sink. He began praying for God’s mercy, remembering, Jesus, he said, whom he had often derided. In the midst of that storm, on March 10, 1748, a date he regarded as his spiritual birthday, at the age of twenty-three, he received Christ into his life. You may not know the name John Newton, but I’m sure you know a poem he wrote; “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
Like John Newton, people are saved only one way, by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. How about you? Have you come to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior? I invite you to trust in Jesus as your personal Savior right now, as we go to Him in prayer.
