Dead Man Walking

Introduction

Review of the first two weeks of Ephesians

Week 1 - Pastor Ed preached on verses 1-14 of chapter 1. The central focus of the message was on the wonderful spiritual blessings that we have in Christ Jesus.

There are many but that passage focused on…

Redemption

Sonship

The Holy Spirit

The Hope of Heaven

Week 2 - Last week, Pastor Jared wrapped up chapter 1 by preaching on Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Insight.

Week 3 - Now this week, we are going to jump into chapter 2 by spending our time of verses 1-10.

Pray before reading the scripture!

Message Body

The State We’re In (vs. 1-3)

Ephesians 2:1–3 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

This morning, I want to preach to you a message entitled; Dead Man Walking.

That expression, “Dead Man Walking” is a somewhat common expression that has a few different origins:

It's commonly used figuratively to describe someone in a precarious or failing situation, especially one that is likely to result in job loss or other significant negative outcomes.

The phrase can also be used to describe someone who has made a mistake and knows they will face punishment or repercussions.

Like a husband who forget his wife’s birthday or their wedding anniversary, he can be described as, a dead man walking.

But the most literal description can be tied to its origin within the American prison system, where it is specifically referencing death row inmates being escorted to their execution.

When I read that, I couldn’t help but think of how that expression draws a parallel to verses 1-3. For every believer and follower of Christ in this room today, verses 1-3 so accurately describe the state we were in before receiving salvation through Jesus. While we were not marching to a physical death, you and I were “dead men walking” in the sense that we were separated from God, destined for an eternity separated from him, because we were living a life marked by sin.

Sin is a small word that has caused major problems since the beginning of time. Sin has ravaged God’s created world and has the most drastic results for his most precious creation, the human race.

In Romans 6:23 it says…

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death,

No one is exempt from feeling the effects, and eventual results of sin.

In Romans 3:23 it says;

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

1 John 1:8 CSB

8 If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Proverbs 14:12 CSB

12 There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.

Isaiah 59:2 CSB

2 But your iniquities are separating you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not listen.

Simply put, the way of sin is death. Then, the Apostle Paul begins to describes the characteristics of being in trespasses and sin.

Paul says in verse 2 that we walked in these ways and that these ways were“according to the ways of this world . . .” These are not the ways of the heavenly kingdom; they are not the ways of God.

He says these ways are also “according to the ruler of the power of the air . . .” It is generally accepted that Paul is speaking here about Satan, the devil. Satan is not the ruler of all things, but he is given limited dominion and power for a limited amount of time. When we are in sin, we are in the ways of Satan, the ruler of the power of the air. It’s important to realize, church, that when we are living the way we did before Jesus changed us, we are living the way of death and the way of evil.

Finally, Paul says that when we were living the old way we were living in, “the spirit now working in the disobedient.” Rather than living with the seal and inheritance of the Holy Spirit, (as Pastor Ed talked about 2 weeks ago) we were dead and led by the power of the spirit of disobedience, the spirit of evil, the spirit that is against God’s ways.

Now, Paul doesn’t want the Ephesians to think that he’s being too hard on them. He says in verse 3, “We too all previously lived among them . . .”

Even Paul, one of the most influential characters and major writer of the New Testament admits that he too was previously a “dead man walking.” He too was dead in his trespasses and sin, he too had fleshly desires, he too carried out the inclinations or desires of his flesh and his thoughts. JUST LIKE EVERY HUMAN THAT HAS WALKED THE EARTH, IS WALKING THE EARTH, OR WILL WALK THE EARTH.

None of us can say, “I was pretty good before I met Jesus.” No! We were all dead and walking according to the way of evil!

Our very best human efforts don’t come close to what is needed for you and me to deserve eternal life and eternal communion with God.

In Isaiah 64:6 it says;

Isaiah 64:6 CSB

6 All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;

As verse three continues, Paul then characterizes the ways of this world in which we lived. 

He says we lived in these ways, “ . . . in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts.” Paul didn’t say that we accidentally sinned, or even that we regretted our sin. Rather, these were ways that we desired and that we had inclinations to do in our bodies and in our minds. We wanted to sin!

He continues, “ . . . and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.” Our very nature was godlessness, sinfulness, and death. We were children under the wrath of God. We were on a straight path to judgment, wrath, and hell, as all the others who were like us were also. We truly are “dead men walking!”

You may say, “Pastor, this is message isn’t very encouraging so far, in fact it’s downright depressing.” Understand, my goal is not to depress you. My goal is to give you a clear understanding of the state that you and I are in apart from Christ.

When we fully understand the state that we are in apart from Christ we can fully appreciate what he has willingly done for us.

But God…(vs. 4-5)

I’m going to start back at the beginning of the passage and read through verse 5:

Ephesians 2:1–5 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

When we were following the way of sin and death, God brought us the way of salvation. Aren’t you glad?

What we encounter at the beginning of verse 4 is the two of the most powerful words in all of the scriptures: “But God.”

Those two words bring hope into our hopeless situation!

These two words are central to the gospel as it signifies the intervention of God’s grace and power into our helpless state!

We were dead and totally unable to help ourselves. Dead people cannot become undead. But God can raise the dead!

You see, God could have left us in the state we were in, he could have allowed us to continue on through our life toward destruction like we deserved. But he didn’t! Instead he chose to intervene. Why?

BECAUSE HE IS RICH IN MERCY!

What does that mean? To say God is rich in mercy means that God is abounding in compassion and forgiveness.

Lamentations 3:22–23 CSB

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!

God’s mercy is overwhelmingly generous. We do not deserve it, yet he continues to give it. How great is our God!

When we were in sin, we deserved God’s wrath, we deserved death, and we deserved separation from God. However, God is rich in mercy and He has great love towards us! Because of God, even though, “ . . . we were dead in trespasses . . .” we can be made alive to live in Christ!

This is all because of God’s great love and mercy. Paul says at the end of verse 5, “You are saved by grace!” We don’t deserve it and we couldn’t earn it.

He deserves our best praise because in the midst of our helpless state, out of his great love for us, he intervened into our story with undeserved mercy (abundant compassion & forgiveness) that changed the trajectory of our life.

Every follower of Christ that is within the sound of my voice today has had a “but God” moment. A moment where your life story is changed forever. We call this your testimony!

Your testimony is the story you tell someone to share with them about what God has done in your life.

The simplest format for sharing your testimony is usually sharing what your life was like before God intervened and then sharing what your life has been life since following Christ.

Your story has power! It can be used to plant seeds in peoples hearts and begin to help them think more about God.

Not only that, it’s also a powerful tool in overcoming spiritual adversity.

Revelation 12:11 CSB

11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

Your testimony matters! Because it can be an encouragement to you in times of adversity but it can also be impactful for someone else in their faith journey.

But for the longest time I struggled with my testimony, I didn’t feel like I had a story worth sharing! But It wasn’t until I was in college when I really understood that every testimony matters, every story of God’s intervention is powerful. Allow me to explain…

Every Testimony Matters

The testimonies I heard as a child in testimony services

Dramatic life transformation

God setting people free from...

Drugs

Alcohol

Sexual addictions

You name it

As a young boy and eventually a teenager I’d listen to these testimonies and be in awe of how God could change someone’s life in that way

But with my own testimony I always felt it was too “boring”

Christian kid

In church all the time

Saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit as a 1st grader

Didn’t curse, didn’t chew, or hang out with those who do

I remember thinking this exact thought; “My story lacks the dramatics of these other testimonies, my story isn’t worth sharing.”

But a pastor helped me realize something…

He helped me realize that every testimony matters, even the ones that “lack the dramatics.”

You see my testimony is about God capturing the heart of a young 1st grader, and learning that He kept me from so much that the world had to offer because He had a call for my life that nothing was going to get in the way of. 

Every testimony matters! So whether yours is one of how God dramatically transformed your life, or one about how God kept you from the things of the world. He deserves all praise, honor, and glory because each of us, no matter our story, were “dead men walking” without the intervention of a God who is rich in mercy. We were dead in our trespasses and sin but because of Jesus we’ve been made alive in Christ!

Come on church lift up a shout a praise in this place for the goodness of God.

Saved, Raised, and Seated (vs. 6-9)

Picking up in verse 6 and reading through verse 9:

Ephesians 2:6–9 CSB

6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

You see not only are we saved by grace and made alive in Christ, but we were also, “ . . . raised . . .  up with him and seated . . .  with him in the heavens.”

This is next level grace for those who’ve put their faith in Jesus We not only do not deserve new life, but we certainly don’t deserve to be raised up to the heavens with Jesus. However, God is not doing this because we deserve it. He is doing this because of His great mercy, love, and grace! He is doing this for His glory! He is doing this by the work of Jesus!

As we are raised up by the work of Jesus, we see a long-term reason why God does this. Look at verse 7. We are raised up, “ . . . so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” Immeasurable riches of His grace! How wonderful and beautiful is the grace of God! God wants to continue to show us the riches of His grace and His wonderful kindness!

Then, in verses 8-9, Paul returns to the theme of grace.

In verse 8 & 9 it says;

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

This is a very famous passage, and rightly so. This is the essence of the method by which we are saved from our sins. We are saved by grace, through faith, and we didn’t make it happen. God made it happen. There is nothing we can do to earn it so we have no reason to take any credit for it.

Grace is unmerited, or unearned, favor. Again, we didn’t work or earn God’s favor in any way. It is God’s gift. God was the One who initiated. God was the One who chose us. God was the One who adopted us. God was the One who sent His Son, Jesus. God was the One who called us by His Spirit. God was the One who forgave us. God is the One who makes us new. God is the One who raises us up. God is the One who sanctifies us, or makes us holy. God is the One who keeps us. God is the One who will one day glorify us. It is all God!

We have no reason to take any credit! God deserves all the glory. You and I were dead in our sin! But God made us alive because of His grace!

The average person in America who believes in heaven thinks that if you do more good than bad then God will create some space for you in heaven. Most other religions teach that you can work or earn your way to heaven. 

Paul wants to clear up this wrong idea. He’s very straightforward. He says our salvation is, “ . . . not from works, so that no one can boast.”

It’s only by God’s grace, through the work of Jesus!

Now, what of faith? Church, faith is also a gift from God!

Grace is the work of God, faith is God giving us the ability to see the work, believe it, and receive it. 

So, both grace and faith are gifts from God. We have no reason to boast!

You Have An Assignment (v.10)

As we get the the end of our passage today, Paul shares with his readers what happens after we are saved from our sin.

Verse 10 says;

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

First of all, notice that we are God’s workmanship. By God’s grace and God’s work (not our own), we are like a skillfully-built craft or an exquisite work of art.

My oldest daughter, Madison, she’s 5, and has a wild imagination but also an incredibly creative mind and the way that she shows her love or affection for someone is by creating a craft or making a piece of art work for them.

Now there is one person that she loves making crafts or artwork for more than anyone else in the whole world. No it’s not me, or her mother, or even her sister. She loves making crafts for her best friend Eveah! And the latest piece of art she gave to Eveah was something else…

Briefly explain the Capri Sun Box artwork

I share that story with you because the level of attention, time, and detail that my daughter puts into her crafts and pieces of art that she gives to her friends doesn’t come close to the level of attention and detail that God put into making you.

Those of us in Christ are special, significant, valuable, beautiful, admirable, lovely, and priceless because of the work of God. We are created in Christ!

Paul then goes on to say what God has made us to be, in Christ, and that is someone who does good works.

Now, you might say, “Wait a minute! I just heard you and Paul both say that we were not saved by works! Why is Paul talking about good works now?” Well, understand this, church: we are not saved by good works but we are saved for good works.

Someone needs to hear this today; each and every believer & follower of Christ within the sound of my voice today has a unique call of God on their life!

The call of God is not strictly reserved for those who stand up on this platform week after week, and it’s not only for those who are called Reverend or Pastor.

Every believer has had a call of God upon their life from before they were in their mothers womb. Each one of us has an assignment ( a good work) that God has prepared in advance for us to do.

He’s given each of us the abilities, gifting, and talents to accomplish the good work that he’s placed before us. It’s now our responsibility to to take what he’s given us and use it for his glory.

Jesus teaches this principle in the form of a parable in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 25:14–30 CSB

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’ 22 “The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’ 24 “The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned. 28 “ ‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

People of God, I’ve got to be honest with you this morning. There are too many people in our churches that are walking in disobedience because they’ve buried their gifting into the ground and are not using it to serve God and his Church.

They come to church every Sunday, sit in the same chair week after week, and wait to see what they can receive from the service. Then they go home, go about their week until the next Sunday roles around.

They’ve become a passive observer of the church instead of being an active participant within the church. Church, God has called each of us to be active participants within our local church. The abilities and gifting that he’s given us are meant to be used for his service and his glory. They’re meant to be used for the assignment (or good work) that he’s prepared for us ahead of time.

I want to see this church full of people who are actively engaged in the mission of God here at Eastern. I want to see people use every gift and ability that God has given them to serve him and serve others. Everyone has a call of God and we have a mandate, a responsibility to follow his call.

When I stand before God one day I want to be able to have a good answer for when He asks me; “What do you do with what I gave you?”

Why? Because he’s worthy of my obedience! He’s worthy of my full devotion! He’s worthy of me giving my life to serve him! He’s worthy of my very best because he gave me his very best!

When I was dead in my trespasses and sin, because of his great love for me, he intervened with abundant mercy and brought me back to life, saved me by his grace, raised me up, and seated me next to him in the heavenly realms.

He gave me his best gift and I want to spend my life giving my very best back to him.

Response Time

Invite congregation to stand

Ask Band to return to the platform

I heard this song on the car ride home from Virginia on Thursday

So how should we respond?

There are some of you here today that need to respond to God’s call for salvation, you need your “but God” moment where he intervenes into your life and changes your story.

So of you today need to step out in obedience begin operating in the call and the assignment the Lord has on your life.

And others of us just need to offer up praise and thanksgiving unto God because of all that he’s done for us.

Church let’s fill this altar, lets respond in what ever way we need to today. Prayer team would you come and if you raised your hand for salvation would you come right the the middle of the stage, Pastor Jared, and prayer team members will meet you and pray with you.