We begin the second chapter of our study in Ephesians with a description of our lives, for those who are believers in Jesus Christ, prior to our acknowledging Him in our lives.
I have two main points and several sub-points for us. We begin…
1. Without Christ.
Because of the ill fated decision of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we begin out lives without a relationship with God. Paul makes it clear how are lives were B.C. If you are taking notes write this down, without Christ…
a. Man is Dead.
Paul wrote in the first verse, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. The word Paul uses for sin is hamartia which means a miss. A person shoots an arrow at the target and misses, that is hamartia. Sin is the failure to hit the target in life.
The girl knelt in the confessional and said, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."
"What is it, child?"
"Father, I have committed the sin of vanity. Twice a day I gaze at myself in the mirror and tell myself how beautiful I am."
The priest turned, took a good look at the girl, and said, "My dear, I have good news. That isn’t a sin - it’s only a mistake."
We could only wish our sins were mistakes for Romans 6:23 states clearly, The wages of sin is death. Because we sin, we are dead without Christ. Everyone born into this world is born with a sin nature which prevents them from access to God. You and I and all of mankind have a problem, it is sin and it doesn’t matter how well we live our lives, without Jesus Christ at the center, sin has made us dead. In prison, when a condemned person is walking down the corridors, they refer to him as a dead man walking. Why? Because it is only a matter of time until he meets the executioner. Well, if you don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior, you too are a dead man or woman walking because it is only a matter of time until you meet the Maker and sin prevents you from entering into the promise.
It seems unfair on the surface. Born into the world, alive but dead. Fortunately Paul does not leave us hanging. He points out why in the next two verses. Write this down…
b. Man is disobedient.
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.
Paul speaking to Believers in Christ, reminds us where we once were, disobedient to the things of God. When we were born into the world, born without God because of sin, the Bible calls us children of wrath. When we reach an age where we understand our situation and still reject the One, Christ, who can lead us from our sins, we become children of disobedience.
There has been quite a number of movies out recently focusing on the devil and the supernatural realm. Here we find people who do not follow in the way of Christ are followers of the ways of the devil, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Make no mistake, the devil is real.
Oh, right now the devil is working to influence your decision to follow him. Consider this story as an example, an illustration if you will…
One day while walking down the street a highly successful executive woman was tragically hit by a bus and she died. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself. "Welcome to Heaven," said St.Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we’ve never once had an executive make it this far and we’re not really sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in." said the woman.
"Well, I’d like to, but I have higher orders. What we’re going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."
"Actually, I think I’ve made up my mind...I prefer to stay in Heaven", said the woman.
"Sorry, we have rules..." And with that St. Peter put the executive in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell. The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were all dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kinda cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved good- bye as she got on the elevator.
The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found St. Peter waiting for her. "Now it’s time to spend a day in heaven," he said.
So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her.
"So, you’ve spent a day in hell and you’ve spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity," he said.
The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I’d say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."
So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again she went down-down-down back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and Filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks. The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her. "I don’t understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable."
The Devil looked at her and smiled. "Yesterday we were recruiting you; today you’re staff."
I think we get the point. I’m running out of time so lets move quickly, without Christ, sub point three…
c. Man is depraved.
Verse 3, All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful naturea and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
One of the tragedies of the nineteenth century was the career of Oscar Wilde. He had a brilliant mind, won the highest academic honors; won the highest rewards in literature; had all the charm in the world and was a man whose instinct it was to be kind; yet he fell to temptation and came to prison and disgrace. When he was suffering for his fall, he wrote his book De Profundis, in it he said: “The gods had given me almost everything. But I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless and sensual ease. … Tired of being on the heights I deliberately went to the depths in search for new sensation. What the paradox was to me in the sphere of thought, perversity became to me in the sphere of passion. I grew careless of the lives of others. I took pleasure where it pleased me, and passed on. I forgot that every little action of the common day makes or unmakes character, and that therefore what one has done in the secret chamber, one has some day to cry aloud from the house-top. I ceased to be lord over myself. I was no longer the captain of my soul, and did not know it. I allowed pleasure to dominate me. I ended in horrible disgrace.”
Without Christ, man is depraved and in the final line for without Christ, just to remind yourself, write again, man is dead.
This would be a hopeless message if I just left us there and so many people go through life left just there, dead, disobedient and depraved. Not because there is not hope, but because they have chosen to live a lifeless existence for one reason or another. Lets look at the second point of Paul’s writing in the first 10 verses of Ephesians 2…
2. With Christ.
We see right of, write this down…
a. Man is loved. Verse 4, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy.
When Isaiah saw his condition, he proclaimed, “Woe is me, for I am lost.” Fortunately God did not want to live us in our lost state, he has great love for us, and has mercy for us to boot. What does love do? There is an hymn which rightfully states, “It breaks the power of canceled sin, it sets the prisoner free.”
I read something recently that stuck out to me, the writer said sin is not a crime against law, it is a crime against love. In your margins of your notes write that down and meditate on it this week. Sin is not a crime against law, it is a crime against love. The writer went on to say, uppose a motorist by careless driving kills a child. He is arrested, tried, found guilty, sentenced to a term of imprisonment and/or to a fine. After he has paid the fine and served the imprisonment, as far as the law is concerned, the whole matter is over. But it is very different in relation to the mother whose child he killed. He can never put things right with her by serving a term of imprisonment and paying a fine. The only thing which can restore his relationship to her is an act of free forgiveness on her part. That is the way we are to God. It is not God’s laws against which we have sinned; it is against his heart. And therefore only an act of free forgiveness of the grace of God can put us back into the right relationship with him.
For God so loved the world, He sent His only Son to show us love and through grace provide a way. With Christ, man is loved and verse 5 tells us…
b. Man is brought to life. 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
By God’s grace, we have been brought back to life and placed in union with God. Thirdly…
c. Man is lifted. Paul said in verse 6, And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
We were not brought from a spiritual death to life so we could continue in our present state. We have been lifted with Christ and find ourselves seated in the heavenly realm of God. This is truly part of love, love lifts and so Christ, who is love has lifted us. Not only are we lifted…
d. Man is linked. Verses 7-9 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Salvation is the link we have with Christ so that we forever can sing the praise to His glory for the work He has done to set us free. There is no work effort we can do to purchase our salvation, it is a free gift, freely offered to us from God so that God receives the glory.
Should we do works for God, of course, but not as the means of our salvation but because we have been eternally linked with Him through Christ and our lives can do nothing more than to be an expression back of the love He has shown to us. That is why my last point is vital for Christians…
e. Man Is Launched. Verse 10, 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Far too many in the church have received the free gift of salvation than have taken up occupation until they graduate to heaven. Salvation is not the means to an end, Salvation is the beginning of an exciting new adventure.
God has a plan for your life and He has launched you forward to accomplish it. When Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead, he said “loose him and let him go” Well, there needs to be some loosing in Christianity. For far too long the church has walked around in grave clothes, is that you? For far too long the church has been all bound up in the past and not moving forward embracing all Christ has for them and has prepared for the church to accomplish. Is that you?
If it is, I want to invite you to an exciting new experience in your life, a continuation of the work Christ began, for He who began a good work in your is faithful to complete it. I want to invite you to slip out and come here to the front, I want to pray that God will loose you for the good works He has for you to accomplish.
Also, if you are hear today and do not know Jesus as Lord and Redeemer of your life, I want to invite you to come as well, for today is the day of salvation and we would love to share with you the love of Christ so you can move from being dead, disobedient and depraved without Christ to being love, brought to life, lifted, linked and launched with Christ.
ALTAR TIME
