But God

This morning just for a short time I would like to draw your attention to the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1-10 Focusing on verse 4 Paul says Eph 2:4 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (repeat slowly 2x)

That is what I would like to just for a few minutes talk about BUT GOD.

In the second chapter of Ephesians Paul goes to great effort to tell or show us the damaging and dangerous effects of Sin and the effects on our lives and the redeeming and lifting power of God grace.

Paul puts us between Despair and Hope and Death and Life

I.Paul uses this text to show us what we were before we accepted Jesus Christ

II.And what we have become by the grace of God

Paul uses the first three verses to tell the Ephesian Church what they were before Jesus came into their Lives as their saviour

Then he turns the conversation in verse 4 and Paul tells them what God had done in their lives because they had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

So this morning I would like to examine Paul’s words to see what it is that Paul s trying to get us to understand through this text

First of all I believe this morning that Paul is trying to tell us what our condition is without God

Because he tells us that our condition without God is bleek.

Paul is so very serious and so very concerned that speaks as though he were a coroner and he speaks as though he is observing someone who is dead and telling why they have died.

He reminds us of our past condition Look at how he begins verse one and his careful choice of words.

Notice what Paul sys he says you he. He says you because he was speaking to the gentile church, He was speaking to people who were not Jews were to brought up according to Jewish customs People who did not grow up living and repeating the Jewish Torah or Pentateuch,

He was speaking to those who had been outside of the Jewish family who did not originally belong to the Jewish faith but because the had

received Jesus Christ they were now adopted into the family of God…You me us (somebody ought to be Glad about adoption)

Listen to what he says He says you were dead in trespasses and sin. He says the condition of man of human kind without Jesus in their lives is they are dead.

And this morning brothers and sisters just incase someone case in here this morning thinking that everything was alright between you and God. Listen if you don’t know Christ you are dead (do I have a witness)

Without life, without hope, and without peace dead we were enemies of God shut out from a relationship with God strangers to the

covenant and promises of God without hope without help and on a one way ticket fast track to hell.

Listen without Jesus Christ in your life you are dead spiritually dead

I don’t care what Kind of car you drive you can have the finest car you are simply a dead man driving a car

I don’t care how much bling bling you have around your neck and on your fingers it can be 4 karats you are still dead

I don’t care what kind of clothes you wear the can be the nicest clothes you can be suited and booted and popping your collar you are simply a dressed up dead person.

Because if you don’t have Christ in your life he text says you are dead You may be in the best physical shape you may be have a six pack but you are just a walking dead man.

You may be have the right curves and the right shape and be built like a model or actress you may be a movie star but you are dead

You may have everything going for you may have the finest house the best job but if you don’t have Jesus you are ……..dead

Paul not only tells the us the condition of man without God but he also tells us the cause of death.

See it is not just the job of the coroner to determine of a person is dead but it is also the job of the coroner to determine the cause of death.

So what was the cause of our death watch this now he says you were dead in trespasses. The word trespass means to cross the line trespass

means to wander away from the path it means to break the law

Paul is saying that there was a time in all our lives when were in trespasses