Alba 1-29-2023
DEAD IN SIN, ALIVE IN CHRIST
Ephesians 2:1-7
Can a man be officially alive after being declared legally dead? That question became international news when a man from Ohio showed up in good health after being reported missing more than 25 years earlier.
At the time of his disappearance he had been unemployed, addicted, and $26,000.00 behind in child support payments. So he decided to go into hiding.
A court in Hancock County Ohio declared Miller legally dead eight years after he disappeared from his rental home. Miller said he wasn’t even aware of his legal “death” until his parents told him about it when he finally returned to Ohio in 2005.
An Associated Press report posted October 10, 2013 had this heading: “Ohio judge tells man he's still legally dead.” The article that followed said:
Donald Miller Jr. went to court this week to ask a county judge to reverse a 1994 ruling that declared him legally dead after he had disappeared from his home eight years earlier. But the judge turned down his request, citing a three-year time limit for changing a death ruling.
Hancock County Probate Court Judge Allan Davis called it a "strange, strange situation." "We've got the obvious here. A man sitting in the courtroom, he appears to be in good health," said Davis, who told Miller the three-year limit was clear.
"I don't know where that leaves you, but you're still deceased as far as the law is concerned," the judge said.
How would you like to be told that you are dead when you are pretty sure that you are alive? Actually the scripture does do that. Many people think that they are doing just fine, but God's Word says they are dead.
Turn to Ephesians 2:1-3 where we read:
“1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
This scripture says that you were dead as you “walked according to the course of this world”. You have heard of the “walking dead”. That is how scripture describes the condition of those who have not yet been made alive in Christ.
This walking death has tragic consequences, both now and eternally. It started back in Genesis 2:17 where God warned Adam that if he ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would die. And death did come into the world when God's word was disobeyed.
Adam still seemed to be alive after he sinned, but from that time on he was separated from the relationship he had with the Lord in the Garden. And sin in our lives separates us from a relationship with God as well. It is not physical death, but spiritual death.
I Corinthians 6:9-10 warns us,“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”
(New Living Translation)
And the next verse says, “Some of you were once like that.” If that could be said about the Christians in Rome, it likely could be said about Christians today. Oh, some may say they don't do most of those things. But the list includes cheating, stealing and even people who are abusive or greedy.
And if you don't find yourself on that list, try this one from Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
You may still say to yourself, “I'm really a good person. I don't belong on any list like that. I can't have been considered dead even when I was alive!”
It's at this point we have to look at I John 1:8. It calls us out and says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
There are many in America who assume they are Christians, simply by association, if nothing else. Unfortunately, many do not even realize the severity of their situation.
There are times that we are guilty of being like the story Jesus told in Luke 18:11. A Pharisee stood by himself and prayed. Basically this was his prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!”
It’s so easy to get into that “I’m so glad I’m not like those people” mode. But you don't have to be guilty of a whole long list of sins to be a sinner.
James 2:10 breaks down any defense we may think we have by telling us that “the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.”
(New Living Translation)
And Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every person falls short of God’s glory, holiness, and perfection. In other words, there is not one of us here who is not included with all the others who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Some are glad to admit it. A major change came into their life when finally they came to know the Lord. They know that in their past life they were spiritually dead.
But there are also many who have been brought up in a Christian home, or at least a good home. Trying to be a decent person is all that they know. That could be you. If so, it may be difficult to grasp what an amazing thing God does for us in Jesus.
We have no power in ourselves to shake off our sins. We must face the truth: No matter who we are, if we got what we deserved, we all would be in trouble, destined to face God’s eternal wrath.
What hope do we have? Without some sort of outside intervention there is no hope. There is as much of a chance of personally bringing our bodies back as there is to bring our dead spirit to life. Only God can do something. What did He do?
Let's read verses four through seven. These verses tell us something wonderful.
“4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
What wonderful, beautiful words, “But God”. This is not the only place in the Bible that says this. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
And Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There are many reasons why God shouldn't love us. God is a holy God. And Psalm 5:4 says, “You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.”
There is a Christian term that is often used: “He saved us.” But we need to be aware of why we needed to be saved... We were dead in sins. He saved us from eternal death.
Here in the letter to the Ephesian Christians we are told that when God in His mercy and love intervenes in our dead ways, three amazing things happen. First it says He “made us alive together with Christ.”
When we come to Him in obedient faith, God breathes life into our spirit as sure as the breath of life was given to Adam and Eve that week of Creation.
II Corinthians 5:17 tells us that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The very resurrection power that left an empty tomb is available to the spiritually dead.
The second amazing thing is that it happens, “by grace”. It clearly says, “by grace you have been saved.” That means that God, by His grace, gave us what we do not deserve.
We were dead in our sins and deserved punishment. That is what God's law says. And God does not go back on what He says. So how could He just let us off the hook and say, “Oh my bad, I didn't mean it.” No, God will not do that.
And God did not do that. Our sins deserve punishment and punishment they receive. God's law does not change. But neither does God's love and mercy. That is why Jesus went to the cross. He took the punishment for our sins. That is the grace of God. That is why we can be forgiven.
And the third amazing thing that happens because of God's mercy and love is that He, “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
God went beyond breathing new life into the spiritually dead. He raised us to a new sphere of life. So not only has God breathed new life into us, He has opened us up to a new spiritual reality. We were raised to a life whose energy resides in the heavenly places.
There is a spiritual dimension of life beyond what can be seen with the physical eye. It is the world of spiritual realities that coexists with material realities. But it is a reality only known though spiritual eyes and senses.
God opened our spirit to this new world around us. He raised us up to operate in this life from a whole new eternal perspective. Just as we walked according to the ways of this age, we were raised to operate another dimension.
Colossians 3:1-4 encourages us saying, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
How does this wonderful change happen? God reaches out to us with His grace. Yet, no one will ever come to a saving obedient faith in Jesus until they first realize their lost condition and need for a Savior. Outside of Christ we are dead in our sins.
That old devil who is called, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”, he is happy to have you think you are doing just fine on your own. And he doesn’t care what else you believe as long as you don’t believe in Jesus.
He doesn’t care how religious you are, whether you do good things or bad things. Whether you kill people or whether you go to Africa to save people’s lives – he doesn’t care! If he keeps you away from Jesus then he’s happy. It’s all he wants.
That is because the devil knows that we only receive “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
So how do we get in Christ Jesus? Colossians 2:12-13 says that we are, “12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”
The good news this morning is that none of us has to stay in the dead spiritual state. The Bible tells us that we can become a new creation. The old one gone, the new one can come today.
Remember that list of sins in I Corinthians chapter six? Well the very next verse after listing all those sins and saying that those who do such things will not be allowed into the kingdom of heaven says that even if you have done those things, you can be forgiven
For those who are in Christ it says, “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
Donald Miller Jr. was unable to reverse the court decision that declared him dead. In the end, Ohio Judge Davis said the law was clear. He said judges may have life-and-death powers, but they cannot restore life.
But in God's court we can have a different outcome. Even though dead in our trespasses and sins, God in His mercy and love is able to make us alive in Christ Jesus.
CLOSE:
There were two boys walking home from Sunday School one day where they had just had a lesson about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
And one boy turns to the other and says, “You know, I don’t really believe in any of this devil stuff’. The other said, “What do you mean you don’t believe in the devil? It talks about him all the way through the Bible!”
The first replied, “Well, I think it’s a bit like Santa Claus, in the end the devil just turns out to be your dad.”
In some cases that is all too true. Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.”
But Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
So in Christ Jesus we have a different father and can pray as Jesus taught us to pray: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
In Christ, our father is the God who is rich in mercy and has great love for us. He will give life to those who are dead in sins and trespasses.
