DEAD MAN WALKING:
A TRANSFORMED COMMUNITY
Ephesians 2.1-10
S: Community
C: A Transformed Community
Th: Building Up in Love; Doing Our Work
Pr: WE ARE MESSENGERS OF CHANGE.
TS: We will find in our study of Ephesians 2.1-10 how we have been made into a transformed community.
Type: Inductive
I. DEAD (1)
II. FOLLOWING (2)
III. WRATH (3)
IV. BUT GOD (4)
V. ALIVE (5)
VI. RAISED (6-7)
VII. GRACE (8-9)
VIII. POEM (10)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
Version: ESV
RMBC 10 September 06 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Skunk
I like dogs.
I like dogs as long as they don’t go home with me.
What I find interesting is that whenever I do to a home that has a dog, the dog senses that I don’t particularly care about dogs, and they feel that they are the one called to break that cycle.
They will bark, sniff, and ask me to play, daring me to turn away from their undeniable cuteness.
If you come to our house, you will discover that we have a dog – a Brittany spaniel – named Jake.
Jake thinks that I like him.
My kids tell me that I love him.
My wife insists the same thing.
I hate to tell them.
I don’t.
I don’t like Jake.
Especially this past weekend.
You see, I dislike using such strong language, but Jake stinks.
We were at my sister-in-law’s house out in the country of western PA, and Jake loves to run around in their yard.
All that country air makes him go crazy.
He also seems to have a fondness for black cats with a white strip down their back.
Those “cats” don’t share this fondness.
They want him to go away.
But he is not very smart.
He doesn’t get such hints.
You have to convince him that he is not wanted.
Skunks have that kind of mechanism.
It is very persuasive.
It worked on Jake.
And Jake immediately left them and hopped into our van.
May I add at this point that I was not exactly pleased that Jake jumped into our van with this new found smell all about him.
Because whatever he touched, also ended up with the smell.
Oh, by the way, did I mention to you that I really don’t like Jake?
This whole situation last weekend did remind me of this important fact…
1. Sin stinks.
I think there is a similarity here that is worth noting.
Sin looks like fun.
It looks interesting.
It seems as if it might be entertaining.
But, in the end, it really stinks.
Correspondingly…
2. Sin keeps us from having a relationship with God.
Since Jake was sprayed by the skunk, I have had really little interest in maintaining a relationship with Jake.
In our study of Ephesians this morning, this point is reinforced.
Sin in our lives stops us from being connected with God.
They are incompatible.
Listen to our text, where the problem and its solution are presented.
(1) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins (2) in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — (3) among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (4) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — (6) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
There is a similarity to last week’s passage.
Paul, again, has written another emotional, long sentence, that has been broken up by our translators to make easier sense out of it.
But Paul is celebrating.
He is understanding where he has come from.
For once, he was…
OUR STUDY:
I. DEAD (1)
Paul is examining what life was like before we were followers of Jesus.
And here is the truth we all must recognize…
3. We were the walking dead.
Paul would have us understand our desperate need.
There is a universal sinfulness of man that infects each one of us.
We are entirely and absolutely alienated from God because of our sinful nature.
We are dead because of our trespasses.
The word for trespass carries the idea of falling from the way or going the wrong direction.
We are dead because of our sins, which carries the idea of missing the mark or target, or falling short of the intended purpose.
Now this does not mean that everyone is as bad as they could be.
But what it does mean is that even the best fail to measure up to God’s perfect standard.
Thus, we all fail.
And because sin and God are absolute opposites, we have no life.
The giver of life cannot coexist with sin.
Therefore, we are death walking.
We go through the motions of life, but we do not possess it.
You see, sin not only stinks, it kills.
And it is all because of who we are…
II. FOLLOWING (2)
Before we were in Christ…
4. We had no choice.
We were a slave.
We were a slave to sin.
Our sinful condition left us lifeless as far as any Godward activity was concerned.
We were held in this state because of the Spirit of this age.
The world system works to keep us trapped in its grasp.
Today, it does so by glamorizing that which we know is sin – lust, greed, and self-promotion.
We were following the prince of the air, a description of the devil.
You see, when we were following Christ, we are not free and independent.
Rather, we are dominated by hosts of hell who were determined to keep us from God.
And because we will not seek God, we are doomed to suffer God’s…
III. WRATH (3)
Wrath was coming to us because of our unbridled ungodly lust and passion.
We were submitting to the tyrant self.
Living by our own rash impulses and addictions, living an ultimately self-destructive lifestyle, we were stuck.
Thus…
5. We were doomed by a righteous wrath.
People don’t like to talk about God’s wrath, even Christians.
We don’t like wrath.
We just want to focus on God’s love.
But God’s description of His own love doesn’t make sense without the wrath.
For God cannot be the God of love if He does not hate the things that rob us of knowing His abundant life for us.
His wrath makes sense because He cares.
Otherwise, God would be ambivalent, saying, “whatever…”
In this way, God’s wrath makes sense.
But the problem still exists for us.
We are condemned.
We are in an awful plight.
Paul, though, wants us to understand that there is hope.
He begins to offer hope with two words…
IV. BUT GOD (4)
Without God, there is no hope.
But with God, there is.
But God…
God intervenes on our awful plight.
And it is good news, because…
6. God abounds in mercy.
God is intrinsically kind, merciful, and loving.
This means, there is a longing in the heart of God to save humanity from their sin.
In His love, He reaches out to vile, sinful, rebellious, depraved, destitute, and condemned human beings so that they don’t have to remain that way.
It is a mercy that is rich.
It is, as Paul describes, over abounding, without measure.
ILL Mercy: "Seabiscuit": A Banged Up Life Is Worth Saving
One of the main characters in the movie Seabiscuit is a broken-down, unemployed cowboy named Tom Smith. Millionaire Charles Howard, who is about to engage in a horse racing enterprise, has a campfire interview with Smith, and asks why he bothered rescuing an old, lame horse that was sentenced to death because of a broken leg.
Tom replies, "You don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause it’s banged up a bit." Every horse is good for something, Tom claims. This devotion to horses convinces the millionaire that Tom should be his trainer.
Together they find and purchase Seabiscuit, a horse whose physical shortcomings and temperament make it an unlikely prospect for racing success. Tom’s method of training, while unorthodox, is tailored toward curing the horse of its inner demons — a byproduct of the neglect shown by its previous owners.
Tom, the John "Red" Pollard to ride Seabiscuit. At 5’ 7", Red is considered too tall to be anything but a bush-league jockey and a bad match for this undersized horse. But Tom notices a mystical connection between Red and Seabiscuit.
Red has another handicap. He is blind in one eye, and he has concealed the handicap fearing that track officials would no longer allow him to race.
During a crucial race at Santa Anita, Red’s limited vision allows a competing horse, Rosemont, to overtake Seabiscuit on Red’s blind side, costing them the victory.
Tom, trainer, is outraged that the jockey failed to urge Seabiscuit to keep the winning pace. He presses the jockey to explain how he could let this happen. Finally, in a burst of emotion, Red shouts, "Because I’m blind!"
Stung by the loss and betrayal, Tom scornfully urges Mr. Howard to fire Red. To Tom’s surprise, Mr. Howard requests that Red remain as his jockey. Dumbfounded, Tom demands a reason. Mr. Howard states, "You don’t throw away a whole life just because it’s banged up a bit."
What a wonderful picture of God’s attitude toward us.
Even more, He knows that we are more than banged up a bit.
We are banged up a lot, useless for anything until He gets a hold of us.
It is then, He makes us…
V. ALIVE (5)
You see…
7. God transforms death to life.
In Colossians 1.13-14, he writes…
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
You see, we became spiritually alive through union with the death and resurrection of Christ and thereby for the first time, we become sensitive to God.
God gives us new life.
He does so because we are…
VI. RAISED (6-7)
Paul describes this transformation in Romans 6, he writes (3-4)…
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
You see…
8. We follow the example of Christ.
For when Jesus died on the cross, He suffered the punishment our sin deserved.
But God defeated death’s hold by raising Jesus from the dead.
This is why baptism is such a potent picture.
For when we are baptized, we follow the example Jesus set for us.
When we go down into the water, it is in recognition that we have died to sin.
But you know, I never leave anyone down in the water.
Death and burial is not the end of the story, because we are raised up to a new life, a new beginning.
Baptism a picture of our new life in Jesus.
And so…
9. Our future is set.
We are lifted from the deepest hell to heaven itself.
We are now characterized by the heavenlies.
That is now our place.
That is now our home, according the exceeding, abounding, and overflowing riches of our Savior.
Oh, how wonderful it is to experience…
VII. GRACE (8-9)
This is such good news…
10. God enjoys extending favor.
Grace is defined as an unearned act of God.
It is the idea of underserved favor.
ILL Grace
When a person chokes or drowns and stops breathing, there is nothing he can do. He is lifeless. He is going to die. If he ever breathes again it will be because someone else starts him breathing.
This is what grace is like to us.
God’s favor breathes life into us.
11. There is no earning grace.
You cannot be good enough.
You cannot earn God’s favor.
It is given.
It is a gift.
It is a gift of breath and life.
All human effort is ruled out.
And thus, all boasting is out of place.
But, this does not mean we do not do anything.
No, because we are a…
VIII. POEM (10)
The word that is translated workmanship is the word from which we get poem.
We are beautifully crafted.
So, you see…
12. We are God’s craftsmanship.
We are a complete work of art.
We are a finished product.
And it is a masterpiece for life.
What that means to us is that we are created with purpose.
We are a people with purpose.
There is an outcome to this new life.
And the essential quality of this new life is good works.
For when we do what is good, these works attest to the reality of our salvation.
Works do not secure it, but they do prove it.
APPLICATION:
Our discipleship emphasis theme this year is…
13. Theme: “Building Up in Love; Doing Our Work”
There is a work before us, and it is not beyond our abilities.
It is not beyond us, because as God’s workmanship, we are designed to make a kingdom impact.
We don’t have to be afraid of wasting our lives.
We don’t have to be concerned about living lives that are empty and meaningless.
We have reason to exist.
We are a people with purpose.
Don’t you think it is time that we lived that way?
Last week, we noted that we are a called community, that is, we are called out of the world to be separate, different, holy and blameless.
God calls us in the context of His goodness.
He is always good to us.
Always.
What He asks us to do is for own blessing, and in order that we might be a joy to those around us.
Today, we find…
14. We are a transformed community.
We have been changed.
We have been taken from the darkness and death of sin and introduced to light and life that is our possession forever.
And now we live differently, or at least we are supposed to.
It is what transformation is all about.
Once, we had no choice.
We were slaves to sin.
But we have been saved from that.
We are no longer stuck being mastered by that.
Instead, we can be mastered by righteousness, if we choose to.
But the truth is, some of us keep hanging around the skunk.
We are stuck.
He still looks fun to us.
And thus, we are not living the transformation that has been made possible.
On top of that, we miss the joy.
In our small group on Friday night, we were studying Romans 6, and I fear I may have been slightly annoying to them (hard to believe, I know), because my answer to practically every question was “be deliberate.”
But I really believe this.
We fail to see the transforming power of Jesus because we refuse to live deliberately.
We receive Christ as our Savior and then we put in the minimum.
We come to church.
Perhaps we give some.
Perhaps we get involved in some ministry.
But when it comes to really following Jesus, we leave that to the professionals.
If the church is to leave its mark on the world, and if our church is to leave a positive mark on this community, then we must be deliberate about how we live.
This is why, in the journal we are working on together, there are what we are calling action plans.
As Christians, we don’t let life just happen to us.
We live deliberately in all areas of life.
In particular, if you need help in writing out an action plan, come and see Pastor Dick or myself.
We would be glad to help you get started.
Since we have been changed…
15. WE ARE MESSENGERS OF CHANGE.
We are called to be “change-agents.”
We can tell people that they don’t have to stay the way they are.
They can know the joy of having unending purpose and meaning in their lives.
But to get that kind of message across, we must be willing to be a people and community in which we say that God can and will have His way in our lives – today, tomorrow, and every day after that.
For Further Study: Romans 1.18, 3.23, 6.3-4; Galatians 2.20; Philippians 2.12-13; James 2.14-26; Jude 24-25
BENEDICTION:
Rejoice in the change…for once you were in darkness, but because of God’s great love for you, you were brought into the light.
Live the change…we now have a choice; before we were in Christ, we were mastered by the world, but that is no longer true; if we so choose, we can and should be mastered by the One that loves us; live the change, and live it deliberately.
Finally…
Share the change…it is good news that we don’t have to stay in darkness; it is good news that we have a Savior and Lord; it is good news that we can live with purpose; so get out there, and let others know.
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Archer, Brian Under New Management
Black, Jim Dead Man Walking
Grant, Steven Simala Not By But For
Luthy, Jim You Are God’s Workmanship
Strite, Jeff The Greatest Gifts
Books:
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 12 vols, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 11. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978.
Foulkes, Francis. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. 20 vols. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. R. V. G. Tasker, vol. 10. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978.
MacArthur, John, Jr. Ephesians. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.
