Enduring By Grace Alone

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive (1937)

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· Sometimes Christians need to be reminded of our past…the darkness of our lives before Jesus Christ.

· Some churches have sadly avoided talking about sin in an attempt to highlight positivity.

o To build self-esteem and a positive outlook.

· But it has often been said that we cannot know how good the good news is apart from knowing how bad the bad news is.

o We need to reckon with sin in ourselves.

§ Not to wallow in our wickedness.

§ Not to be crushed to despair.

§ Not to be nostalgic over it.

We need to remember our sin sot that we are reminded from where we have been rescued and how richly we have been blessed.

· The risk of forgetting from where we have come is that our love for Christ and for others. would grow cold

· In this passage, Paul presents a practical example of how God’s power, as demonstrated in the resurrection, ascension, and session (seating) of Christ, is brought to bear in the life of the believer.

o To further root our hope in the power of God in our union with Christ and not in anything that is in the world.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

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.

· And you—Paul turns to remind the Ephesians of who they used to be. (Former spiritual state)

· Were dead

o Dead means dead. Without life.

§ This is descriptive of the spiritual state of every person apart from Jesus Christ.

§ We are spiritually dead—separated from the life of God and life in God.

§ We may have life in our lungs today, but doomed to a physical death alongside our spiritual deadness.

· “Dead man walking,” a sealed fate; condemnation.

o Trespasses: Because of our offenses/wrongdoing.

§ This is our transgression of the law of God. (Commission)

o Sins: Missing the mark, falling short of the glory of God.

§ This is our failure to do what is right. (Omission)

· In which you once walked—The evidence of our deadness is in the way we conducted our lives prior to knowing Christ.

o We once walked in this way, but no longer.

o Three influences on the spiritually dead person.

o Following the course of this world, (Passive/Nurture evil)

§ The standards that shaped our lives were not God’s, but our surrounding cultural pressures.

§ The world is a place that is hostile to God: Culturally, socially, politically, economically.

The world is an endless parade of God-hate that assaults the image of God in whose image we were created. It batters us into submission and conformity.

o Following the prince of the power of the air

§ Satan and his demonic servants.

§ He desires to lead us astray from God’s will. Peter famously describes him.

· 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

§ His weapons are to deceive, influence, dominate, and energize us toward active disobedience.

§ Apart from Christ, we are his unwilling dupes or his willing disciples.

His hate-filled power works upon us to corrupt us morally and intellectually.

To believe the lie that “You will not surely die” or “You will be like God.”

o In the passions of our flesh

§ Lest we think that our problems are really all outside of us, we are left no way of escape, because we are sinners by very nature.

Many often like to think that people are basically good…we were created to be, but we are not now.

§ We have inherited an inclination toward sin from our first father, Adam.

· Iniquity—we are bent toward doing what is evil in God’s sight.

§ Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

· Our evil is so deeply embedded that it is at the level of our will and desires.

o It’s not, “the devil made me do it,” because we exalt ourselves against God because we liked Satan’s message.

o We are not governed by a higher rationality, but a base glandular, animal motivations.

o We then put our God-given minds toward rationalizing away obeying our desires against God’s will and law.

· And were by nature children of wrath—at the root of the problem, we come to see that before Jesus Christ, we all were so completely in rebellion against God that we were deserving of nothing except the righteous judgment of God, which is His wrath.

o God’s wrath isn’t arbitrary or easily provoked as many who would judge God for being angry with our sin.

§ His wrath is holy, just, and righteous.

o Further, He remains slow to anger even in the face of our sinfulness and continually warns us of our danger.

· Romans 10:21 (ESV)

Romans 10:21 ESV

21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

o He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.

· The true problem of our fallenness is that we have sin against this perfect, holy God who created us to worship Him and be in fellowship with him.

· Psalm 51:4 (ESV)

Psalm 51:4 ESV

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

o Not that it leads to bad things in our lives (moral decay).

· The earliest Christians called sin Deicide (God killing).

o It is the condition that led Adam and Eve to seek to overthrow God in the garden.

o It is the condition that led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for the crime of being God.

· And so, we are born with a sinful nature that seeks ever to overthrow God and become the god of our lives.

o This is a hard doctrine for us to grapple with, because we never want to think so lowly of ourselves.

The god of this age is self-actualization, which preaches a gospel of self-esteem that sets us apart for destruction in the day of judgment.

· Such was our destiny before Christ—to experience the just wrath of God, whose holiness we all have offended with our sins.

We need to see the badness of the news and we need to see it clearly.

Ephesians 2:4–6 (ESV)

Ephesians 2:4–6 ESV

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,

· As dark as the dark is, much more is the light of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

o Paul gives us as sharp a contrast as you could ever expect.

· But God—such was our fate, but God intervened…He needed to if anything was to happen.

o We have two reasons for this reversal of fortunes: the riches of God’s mercy and His great love.

· Being rich in mercy,

o God is repeatedly identified with this wondrous quality in the Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments.

· Exodus 34:6 (ESV)

Exodus 34:6 ESV

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

6 The Lordpassed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

o This statement is repeated exactly 10 separate times in the old testament, along with many other similar statements.

o God doesn’t just have mercy; He is the very definition of mercy (He is mercy).

§ He never needs to be persuaded to be merciful, He is merciful.

o He manifests His mercy upon rebel sinners by not pouring out His just and righteous wrath.

§ He does not treat us as our sins deserve.

· Because of the great love with which he loved us,

o The scripture struggles to express the love of God as to its scope and greatness.

§ It is best expressed in that He gave us a Savior, His one and only Son.

· Romans 8:32 (ESV)

Romans 8:32 ESV

32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

· These two qualities of God motivated His divine initiative to redeem His people.

o Nothing was deserving in any of us…we had no claim on His mercy or grace.

The wonder of salvation is not that God has chosen/elected some to salvation and not others, but rather that He was pleased to save any of us.

Yet such is the love of God, that He has extended mercy to those who receive His Son and has blessed us in Him.

o And, in facy what He has done in saving us is directly linked and parallels what He did in Christ, as we read in the last passage (1:20-23)

What God did first in Christ, He also does for the Christian who is united to Christ.

· Even when we were dead in our trespasses,

o God took action in Jesus Christ that made us what we are today.

§ Three actions that were completed by Jesus Christ historically that have impacted us today.

o Made us alive together Christ

· Ezekiel 37:3–6 (ESV)

Ezekiel 37:3–6 ESV

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord Godto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

o God has resurrected our cold, dead hearts to new life by the power that raised Christ from the dead.

§ Because of this new life, we have gained triumph over sin and death.

§ We are dead to sin and guilt.

§ We have been raised to walk in the newness of life—fellowship with God.

· By grace you have been saved—He has made what was dead to be alive.

o Raised us up with him

· Colossians 3:1–4 (ESV)

Colossians 3:1–4 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

o We often neglect the effect of Christ’s ascension on our lives in favor of the wonderful works of the cross and empty tomb.

o But Christ’s resurrection anticipates His return to glory.

o We now share in his glory because He is our Head and we are His body.

§ Where we are, Christ is made manifest.

o Seated us with him

· 2 Timothy 2:11–12 (ESV)

2 Timothy 2:11–12 ESV

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

o We have been redeemed out of Satan’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13)

Colossians 1:13 ESV

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

o We presently reign with Him.

· Romans 8:37 (ESV)

Romans 8:37 ESV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

· This is the greatness of the salvation that God has given us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Other faiths, worldviews, and philosophies are reliant on performance: some combination of works, rituals, knowledge, giving money, obedience of a written law.

But the Christian can lay claim to salvation based on none of these things, for those are all the works of a dead man.

· Everything that salvation means for us is a gift of grace from God given to those who have been united to Christ.

o Not only in the future (the age to come) but also in the present.

o We have been made alive with Him

· John 1:4 (ESV)

John 1:4 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

o As He was raised physically, we are raised spiritually in union with Him.

o As he is ruling and reigning in exaltation in heaven, seated upon the throne, so are we presently exalted and enjoy many privileges in this present life:

God has saved us, raised us and blessed us in the Son, but this isn’t just an event that happened when we prayed to receive Christ…God saved us for a reason, and it should come as no surprised that the reason is not chiefly about us, but about God and his purposes in creation.

Ephesians 2:7–10 (ESV)

Ephesians 2:7–10 ESV

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.

· So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace

o Paul then moves to examine the divine purpose in salvation…when we ask the question, Why did God save me?

§ The answer we find is that it had nothing to do with us and everything to do with God.

o God saves sinners to display favor where only wrath was deserved.

§ We see that God’s immeasurable (hyperbolic) power is matched by His immeasurable (hyperbolic) grace.

§ It is more than enough to cover us for salvation.

o And so, we become the eternal exhibits in all creation of the transforming grace and love of God.

· In kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

o Grace is closely linked with the kindness of God—his good intention which moved Him to save us.

· Titus 3:4–5 (ESV)

Titus 3:4–5 ESV

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

o God’s salvation is not a past or present reality, but has an eternal scope…God saved us so that he could demonstrate His goodness to us forever.

· For by grace you have been saved

o As an explanation of this wonderful reality, Paul reminds us again that salvation is all of grace.

o Through faith

§ It is through faith that we have been saved.

§ Not faith that is aimless (like some kind of fuzzy feeling/hope/optimism).

· But faith in Christ Jesus.

§ Not because of faith…as if I was saved because I had faith.

· I am not separated from other sinners because I have faith in Jesus.

§ Faith is the instrument Jesus used to bring His salvation to me.

Like a syringe that carries medicine into the body.

§ Faith is necessary for salvation because it is the means by which God has appointed for Christ’s finished work to be received.

· Christ alone saves.

True and saving faith looks to Christ, not self.

· What is so important about faith? Why not love? (1 Cor 13)

o Because faith is a resting and receiving grace.

§ Faith doesn’t act, it relies

§ So faith is the grace of God to rely on Christ alone for salvation.

§ And this is not your own doing—Confirmation of Paul that salvation does not originate in us.

· Faith empties and abandons self rather than congratulating self…so faith is, by its nature, not boastful.

· It is the gift of God,

§ Not a result of works—A gift that is earned is no longer a gift.

o So we must understand that faith along side grace are the gift given on God’s initiative.

§ By the Holy Spirit.

· 1 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

· Romans 12:3 (ESV)

Romans 12:3 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

· Philippians 1:29 (ESV)

Philippians 1:29 ESV

29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

Because salvation, grace, and faith are gifts of God, we are inexorably led to one conclusion.

o So that no one may boast

· Philippians 3:3 (ESV)

Philippians 3:3 ESV

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

§ When we reflect upon the greatness of God’s salvation, there is no room for pride, only gratitude and praise.

· For we are his workmanship

o We have been redeemed out of the world.

§ We are the first fruits of the new creation in Jesus Christ.

o Created in Christ Jesus

· 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

o Our old self was crucified with Christ.

o Our new identity is “in Christ”

§ And why were we created anew?

§ For good works,

· Only in the new creation, can we be freed to do what is pleasing in the Lord’s sight.

o Because we are not under the Law any longer, but under grace, we can obey for the sake of pleasing God rather than justifying ourselves.

§ Obedience is now an act of pure worship.

§ Prepared beforehand

· As we were set apart for salvation before the foundations of the world in Christ, so are we set apart for God’s continuing purposes in the world.

o Through Jesus Christ, we become able to pursue them.

§ That we should walk in them

· Paul puts to bed the idea that just because we are elected/predestined, saved by grace through faith, all by the power and act of God, that this means we are now able to be complacent or passive.

· Before, we were disconnected from the source of life, but now we have it to the full.

o Now we are able to do what God has called us to do.

· Once we walked in accordance with the pattern of this world (the wide road that leads to destruction), but now we are able to walk the narrow road that leads to salvation.

· This passage is one of the clearest descriptions of the gospel in all Scripture.

· It tells us that all humanity is in bondage to sin, not sick or ailing…dead/bankrupt/unable to respond to God in a saving way.

· We could do nothing to improve our standing before God.

o No ability and no desire existed in us to do so.

· We were influenced a shaped by every force that is opposed to God (internally, externally, and beyond).

· The result of living in our sins is that we deserve the wrath of a holy and righteous God.

o To pass over them would be unjust.

· Yet, God is also loving.

o In his love He sent his Son into the world; Jesus Christ offered up himself as a substitute, enduring the wrath of God that we deserve.

· God’s love, mercy and grace are demonstrated in the free gift of salvation to us if we put our trust in Jesus Christ.

o In Christ, we are forgiven, made new, and granted the eternal life.

· Further, Satan is a defeated foe.

o Though he prowls around, there is an expiration date set upon His schemes.

§ A countdown set when the stone was rolled away.

· Colossians 2:15 (ESV)

Colossians 2:15 ESV

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

· So, we now have the fight before us, not only against the evil forces at work in the world, but against the old self.

The power we need to deliver us from the world, the enemy, and the sin within ourselves cannot be found in ourselves.

Only through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ can we overcome temptation, whether it is the deceptions of the enemy or the sinful desires inside of us.

Only through the grace of God will be able to endure the assault of these great enemies and persevere to the end.

· We are not just saved from our sins but we are also saved for good works.

o And he has given us His Holy Spirit so that we now have both the desire and the ability to live a virtuous life.

o But, what are these good works?

Good works are those which proclaim God’s goodness.

· Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Such works are demonstrated in our humility and service of others and in rejection of the pattern of this world.

· James 1:27 (ESV)

James 1:27 ESV

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Perhaps most famously, we see the good works that we are to do in the world is found in the Great Commission.

· Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God gives us everything we need to accomplish this work if we will trust in Him and go.

· 2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV)

2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

· 1 Timothy 6:18–19 (ESV)

1 Timothy 6:18–19 ESV

18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Enduring By Grace Alone

Introduction

Context

An Insurmountable Problem (Eph. 2:1-3)

An Incomparable Providence (Eph. 2:4-6)

An Incredible Purpose (Eph. 2:7-10)

Conclusion

Prayer

Worship Through Giving