This week we are studying:
(1) Proper recruitment into Christianity, which is our having passed from death in sin to life in Christ
Illustration: “Back from the dead: Part I”
Have you ever seen the television show ER? It is a television show that portrays events happening in a county emergency room. Every week for an hour at a time, Americans watch to get a peek at what life must be like for life saving doctors in the ER. And it is always a pleasing sound to hear one of the doctors say, “We got him back!” after performing emergency CPR on a person who had been clinically dead.
This week we are going to discuss a different kind of life saving moment
Not many of us have been on the brink of physical death, with our life in the hand of a doctor giving us CPR
But the Bible says that we have all experienced ‘spiritual death’ which is separation from God
The Bible makes many metaphors for the salvation experience, but none so appropriate as the passing from death to life
In fact, probably the greatest analogy in the New Testament concerning our own salvation is the picture of Jesus Christ rising from the dead (which we will be celebrating soon at Easter)
He defeated death by coming back to life after being murdered on the cross
And He now offers to us, who are dead in sin, a chance to be resurrected to a new life
***But there is a problem in the church today:
The necessity of passing from death to life has been dropped from our creeds
Even though Jesus said that we must be ‘born again’ [symbolizing this new life], many who call themselves Christians do not consider this necessary
Listen to this stirring statistic from George Barna’s Research Group:
Quote..“Nearly 1/3 of all born-again Christians stated that all good people will go to heaven, whether they have embraced Jesus Christ or not.”
That is basically saying that 33% of Christians believe that a person can stay ‘dead’ apart from Christ, yet still be saved
Illustration: “Back from the dead, Part II”
Go back to ER for a second and imagine Jesus is the doctor. He stands over a person dead in their trespasses and sins. He administers the life saving treatment of his blood to their heart and they are then made alive because of His work –
Without the life saving work of Christ, much like without CPR, the dead would remain dead
Properly coming into God’s family or as the sermon title suggests the ‘proper recruitment into His army’ requires that we pass from death unto life by the blood of Jesus Christ
Ephesians chapter 2 gives us some great truths concerning our passing from death unto life:
I. Our New Life is Granted Because of God’s Grace
A. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith…”
i. Now, what is God’s grace?
ii. The simplest explanation of grace I have ever heard is, “the receiving of something we do not deserve”
iii. And when God allows us to come to Him in faith and receive salvation, we are receiving that which we eternally do not deserve
B. For most Christians though, they find that grace is not that important
i. They think that, while the Bible says we are sinners, they aren’t really that bad
ii. Just ask anyone, “Are you a good person?”
iii. I can tell you from experience most will say yes (i.e. never killed anyone, robbed a bank, etc.)
C. In fact the idea of considering yourself to be a sinner is looked down on by most psychologists
i. Their reasoning being that it produces a ‘negative self image’
ii. Quote: They say, you should always think the best of yourself, even when your actions and thoughts are not in line with proper behavior
D. But only when we experience a broken heart over our sins will God’s grace become important to us
i. Think about Jesus’ parable of the ‘Pharisee and the Tax Collector in the Temple’ from Luke 18:10 (one of my favorites)
ii. The Pharisee said, “Thank you God that I am not a sinner like other men who are robbers, thieves and adulterers, that I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of my income, and that I am not like that tax collector…”
iii. But the tax collector wouldn’t even raise his face to God, but beat his chest asking for God’s mercy on he who was a sinner
E. Notice the difference between the two men
i. The Pharisee had a ‘positive self image’ that produced an arrogance inside him that resulted in an I problem (Look God, I DID THIS)
ii. But the tax collector, knowing his faults, threw himself upon God’s mercy
iii. Jesus said it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee who was in the right with God
F. So what kind of Christians are we?
i. Do we stand in God’s house proud of our accomplishments?
ii. Or do we cling to God’s grace knowing, apart from it, we would remain dead in sin?
II. Our New Life is Not Earned by Good Deeds
A. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
i. This is probably the hardest part of Christianity to grasp
ii. God’s favor is based on absolutely no works
B. All of the major religions of the world require good works to receive God’s favor
i. Some require daily prayers facing a certain direction, certain dietary habits and even a pilgrimage to the Holy land to receive the favor of God
ii. Others believe that a strict dietary law be kept so that the body remain pure and certain time be devoted to the giving of literature concerning their religion to remain in good standing with God
iii. In these economies God’s love is earned
C. Christianity is the only worldwide religion that is based on the work of God and not on the works of men
i. At a conference someone was asked, “What separates Christianity from all other religions?”
ii. Some said, “God becoming a man” but many pointed out other religions with similar premises
iii. Others said, “The resurrection”, but again they were told that many religions believe in life after death
iv. The discussion grew pretty heated
v. Finally C.S. Lewis, who had come in late asked, “What is all of this ruckus about?”
vi. When told he said, “That’s easy, God’s favor apart from works – or grace – is what separates Christianity from all other religions”
D. Quote: The very heart of the gospel is the supreme truth that God accepts us with no conditions whatsoever when we put our trust in the sacrifice of His Son
i. And I like to use ‘trust’ instead of the word ‘faith’
ii. Because to many ‘faith’ simply means to believe in something
iii. But many who believe who Jesus is are still dead in sin
iv. Because they do not trust in what He has done
v. It is trust in Him that brings us from death to new life
E. We need to remember that all of our good deeds are a result of our trust in the Savior, not to earn His favor – because His favor is given as a gift when we put our trust in Him
i. This is not saying that a Christian can be void of good deeds
ii. QUOTE: Our goods deeds are simply ‘fruits’ from the tree of righteousness planted in our hearts by the seed of the Gospel
III. Our New Life is Given for God’s Purposes
A. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
B. Sometimes it is easy to start believing that God is here for our benefit
i. He gives us salvation to fulfill our desires
ii. His goal is to glorify us
iii. But the Bible says that our salvation is to glorify God
C. God has prepared good works for us to do, His purposes here on earth
i. We need to be out there doing them – being soldiers in His army
ii. Our salvation is not merely for our own benefit, but it is so that we can properly serve in Christ’s army and build up His church
iii. This is not what saves us, but it is what we are saved for
CONCLUSION: I read a great quote this week called ‘cheap grace’ that I would like to share with you as I close…
Quote: “Cheap Grace”
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace...is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”
We who have answered the call of recruitment into God’s army are living under the grace of God that, while it is free, it is not cheap
It was purchased with blood on Calvary’s cross
And those who remain without the grace of God, which only comes through His Son Jesus Christ, are still dead in their trespasses and sins
And my question for anyone who is still in that state is simple, “Don’t you want to made alive today?”
Jesus can make you alive in Him today
If you turn to Him in trust and repentance, He will give you grace and mercy
(Let us pray)
1 out of every 3 is how many Christians believe that Jesus is not essential for salvation
I wonder how many of us believe that
I wonder how many of us are relying on our own goodness to reach heaven, when God offers it as a gift to those who trust
If you have never put your heart in God’s hands trusting Him with your salvation based on the work of His Son Jesus, I have good news for you…it’s not too late
You can do that today, and you should because the Bible says that, “today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 2:6)
Or maybe you’re saved, but you aren’t serving in a church…we offer our church membership to you
Let us Pray..
