I’ve got good news and bad news
Text: Ephesians 2:1 – 5
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Text)
I doubt that there is anyone sitting here today that likes to get bad news. I also would bet that there isn’t anyone here who likes to give bad news. Sometimes when we have to give bad news to someone, we try to balance it out by giving some good news as well. I’m sure we’ve all heard the old adage, “I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?” And believe it or not, even pastors sometimes have to deal with the conflict of good news and bad news.
- Well pastor, the good news is that you baptized seven people today in the river. The bad news is that you lost two of them in the current.
- Well pastor, the good news is that John Doe thinks your sermons are intellectually stimulating. The bad news is that John Doe also thinks that Sponge Bob Square Pants is intellectually stimulating.
- Well pastor, the good news is that church attendance rose by 15% in the last two weeks. The bad news is that you were on vacation during that time.
Now that can be pretty funny, or pretty sad, depending on how true they are, but in all of those scenarios the good news never outweighed the bad. Fortunately, in Scripture when we come across the Good News and the bad news, it is the Good News that always wins out.
The problem is; like I said, no one wants to hear the bad news, so what often times happens when we come to Scripture, we have people who simply sweep the bad news under the carpet in order to avoid the negative feelings we might have when we hear the news. But if we do this we are doing it at our own risk, because if we downplay that bad news then the Good News doesn’t seem to be all that Good anymore.
In our text this morning, we read about bad news, and this news is so bad that for centuries people have denied its truth, or downplayed it to the point where the Good News seems for all intents and purposes, unnecessary. If we deny the tremendous hopelessness of our condition without Christ, we then deny the tremendous work He has done in order to save us. You see; you can’t worship God for who He is, unless you understand what He has done, and in order to understand what He has done, we need to understand what needed to be done, and in order to understand what needed to be done, we need to understand the true depravity and sinfulness of the human race.
So what is the bad news? The bad news is that we were dead.
The trouble with being dead is that there are no degrees of being dead. You can’t be partially dead, you can’t be 50% dead. You are either dead or alive. And people will hear this and say, “Dead? Why I feel fine. How can I be dead?” But in the area that matters the most, in the soul, there was a problem, and still is a problem with much of mankind. And that problem is that they are spiritually dead.
I’ve done my fair share of funerals. I’ve seen people die, and I’ve seen people who were dead, and let me tell you that no amount of shouting, no amount of encouragement, no amount of wishful thinking is going to get that person to sit up and talk to you and respond to you. Well in the same way, with respect to God, we have no ability or power to respond to Him.
And that’s what Paul is saying. He’s telling us that we were dead in trespasses and sins. I like to hunt, deer, pheasant, quail, dove, whatever… I also like to fish. But let me tell you something. If I’m out hunting or I decide to go fishing at a pond I see on the side of the road and I see a sign that says “No Trespassing,” that means that I can’t go there. That is a line that I shouldn’t cross. If I do, then what I’ve done is deliberately broken the law and deviated from the right path. So when Paul talks about trespasses, he’s saying that we’ve gone off in another direction than we should’ve. We’ve crossed the line and strayed from God’s righteous requirements. When Paul talks about sins, he’s talking about how we miss the mark of God’s perfect standard. Even when we try our very best, in our own strength we can never meet the perfect standard of God… we will always fall short. And it’s because of these things that we are spiritually dead. Trespasses and sins have caused us to be alienated from God, and because we are alienated from God, we cannot possibly please Him. Even if we are doing good things, like giving to the poor, helping widows, helping orphans… if you are alienated from God because of your trespasses and sins, all of those things are not going to get you any closer to Him, and none of those things will reconcile you to Him. And Paul says, this is the condition all of us were in before we came to Christ.
Look at verse 2 again (Read). That phrase, “according to the course of this world” is referring to an existence that is solely motivated by materialism and earthly desires. He says that you and I used to live our lives motivated only by our earthly desires, and by the things that this world says are important. And he implies that everything a person outside of Christ thinks, says and does – is motivated by the worldly system. And then look what he says, “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”
In case you didn’t know, Paul’s talking about Satan. The Apostle goes more in-depth with this in chapter six, when he speaks of spiritual warfare. But right here, Paul is saying that not only do we have to deal with the world, we also have an external force trying to influence us towards sin.
Have you ever heard a sports announcer say before a big sporting event something like “You can just feel the excitement in the air!” Or, “There’s a feeling of expectancy in the air!” What he means is that the “excitement” or “expectancy” seems to be gripping everyone. And that’s sort of what Paul is saying here, that the influence of Satan and his minions are so pervasive that it affects everyone the air touches. The whole world is his domain and subject to be influenced by Satan’s power. And within ourselves, escape is impossible. The influence of Satan is everywhere. It’s not just on Cinemax, or in rock music. It’s not just in the way the Emo kids dress. It’s everywhere and in every place that does not acknowledge the rule and reign of Jesus Christ; including, in the hearts of man. That’s what Paul refers to when he says that this spirit now works in the sons of disobedience.
But notice here that Paul doesn’t say that it is this prince and power of the air that is causing the disobedience. Turn with me to James 1:14 (Read). Yes it would be nice to be able to blame all of our sins on something outside of ourselves. We do that a lot as it is anyway. We say, “It’s the media’s fault.” “It’s the secular schools fault.” “It’s the economies fault” “It’s the Presidents fault.” “It’s the atheists fault.” The list goes on and on. But that’s the same thing that Adam tried way back in the Garden of Eden, “It this woman you’ve given to me.” Eve said, “It’s the serpents fault.” But James 1:14 says that we are drawn away by our OWN desires and enticed, the enticement comes from Satan. It comes from something outside of us pulling on us. So the Biblical idea is that Satan and these external forces are able to entice us by putting what we already want in-front of our noses. In verse 3 of our text, Paul says we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of OUR FLESH, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And so yes, Satan tempts mankind, but only with their own evil desires, and only with the evil thoughts of their minds. He’s saying that before a person comes to Christ, every-ones desires are contrary to Gods. We all have impulses and urges which lead us to desire certain things, have certain attitudes, demand certain actions. When we are not controlled by the Holy Spirit, we usually don’t even stop to reason these things out, we just act on them.
So what Paul is saying here is that we sin because we are sinners. He’s not saying we become sinners by sinning, no; we sin, because we are already sinners. We do what we do because it’s our nature to do so. He says, “By nature we were children of wrath.”
And because of that, we are doomed. That’s what the wrath of God is.
God’s wrath is consistent, controlled, and just. That’s what makes it so scary. When the Bible talks of God’s wrath it doesn’t mean that God just gets angry and throws a temper tantrum, and then cools down. No, His wrath is an inevitable, deserved punishment for mans continued disobedience.
That is the bad news. Are you ready for the good? Look at verses 4 and 5 (Read).
Look at how verse 4 begins, “But God…” Our condition was helpless, But God stepped in. We could do nothing to save ourselves because we were dead in trespasses and sin, But God stepped in. You and I could never be righteous on our own, we could never meet God’s perfect standard of righteousness, But God…
God could’ve given us what we deserved. He could’ve let His wrath fall upon us, but He is rich in mercy. God shows us mercy, not because of something we have done or will do, it’s a decision that He makes completely on His own. He stoops down and reaches out to vile, sinful, godless, perverted, unworthy, unholy and depraved human beings who are dead in trespasses and sins, and who are in the service of Satan, and saves them. God chose to show us mercy, not because we were deserving of it, but because He loves us.
This is called grace my friends. Because of God’s love for us, He shows us mercy, even though we do not deserve it in the least bit. And it’s because of God’s grace that we have been made alive with Christ. His resurrection has become ours. You see; we are in Him and He’s in us. We are in Him, dead to sin, and He’s in us, alive to God.
The Good News far outweighs the bad. The Good News is that God loves you, and because God loves you He extended His mercy so that you might be saved and made alive with Christ.
How will you respond to that? Will you apply the truth of your sinfulness and God’s grace by making a public profession of your faith? Will you offer up praise for this wonderful Good News or will you keep it to yourself. Will you share the Good News with others who need to hear it, or do you think that it’s not worth sharing?
How will you respond to the Holy Spirit pulling on your own heart, wanting to make this Good News a reality to you today?
INVITATION AND PRAYER.
