Greater Grace: Part 1

INTRODUCTION

House Story

Bought a 100 year old house, planned to take down wallpaper and paint.

Started to remove wallpaper, and the wall came with it.

We opened walls up to find the insulation non-existent.

Wiring was outdated and needed to be re-done.

Re-building… trying to mesh original materials with new materials.

POINT: We massively underestimated the extent of the project we were taking on.

There are times where we underestimate things in our life — it’s bigger than we thought it was,

If we’re not careful, we can underestimate God’s grace.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to dive into this concept and see how God’s grace is maybe bigger than we thought.

READ

PRAY

Paul demonstrates in this passage how God’s grace is greater. It’s bigger than we think it is sometimes!

He does this by giving us a comparison.

Juxtaposes our BC Era with our AC Era — Before and After Christ.

He’ll give us a look at what our lives used to be like, there’s the turning point in v. 4 — BUT GOD — then he REPLACES the old with new.

You USED TO BE this…. BUT NOW this….

He starts by reminding us of who we used to be before Christ.

Grace > Our Sin

Look at all the things Paul says we used to do…

Followed the ways of the world

Followed the ruler of the power of the air

SATAN

Followed our fleshly desires

“Carried out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts”

Translation: We did whatever we wanted.

2 Camps of people here….

Some of you this really resonates with.

You remember what it was like before Christ — your life looked a lot like what Paul’s describing.

Some of you are thinking, I wasn’t that bad!

I got saved at 7 at a VBS. Before that I was really hitting the Capri Suns heavy.

Notice something important here…..PAUL DOESN’T MAKE A DISTINCTION.

There’s no qualifier to this — he doesn’t give “levels” of sinfulness.

He just opens with a collective “you…”

“And YOU were dead in your trespasses…”

v. 3: “We to ALL previously lived among them…”

There’s no separation here between the bad and the kinda bad.

Paul’s reminding us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…

Praise God his grace is greater than our sin.

Here’s that contrast:

Ephesians 2:4–5 CSB

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!

“You used to be dead and hopeless in sin, but God’s grace brought life and hope in Jesus.

Grace > Our Past

This might sound similar to sin, but track with me for a minute….

Paul says our sin wasn’t just something we did, it was WHO WE WERE.

v. 3 — We were BY NATURE children under wrath.

Your sin wasn’t just some choices you made.

Your sin wasn’t just a few “mistakes”

He says WE were BY NATURE children of wrath..

From the drug addict to the preacher’s kid, we were enemies of God.

Our sin wasn’t just an action, it was an identity.

It’s WHO WE WERE before Christ.

Hear this this morning: You might have a past, but because of Jesus you have a future.

Past Reality: We were children of wrath. (v. 3)

Current Reality: We’ve been raised with Christ and seated in the heavens. (v. 6)

Future Reality: “7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Your old identity may have been a child of wrath, but through Jesus you new identity is a child of God.

God’s grace is greater than our past.

Grace > Our Works

Paul shows us what our own efforts brought us — death.

“You’ve tried and tried, and this is all you’ve gotten.”

There’s something really interesting I want to dive into for just a minute…Paul says we were dead in our sins.

It’s the very first thing he tells us to describe our status before Christ.

There’s a couple of really interesting things about death. First, death is the most powerful thing on earth.

After birth, it’s the only thing every single one of us are guaranteed to face at some point.

It’s one of the only things we haven’t found a way around as human beings.

It’s the only thing we absolutely cannot escape.

Second, there is nothing they can do to make themselves live again.

If I fall over right now, it would be physically impossible for me to revive myself.

I can’t perform CPR on myself.

I can’t hook a defibrillator up to myself.

SOMEONE ELSE would have to come and take life-saving measures to bring me back.

Are you seeing where we’re going with this?

Paul’s saying YOUR BEST WORKS couldn’t save you.

The Bible says apart from Christ our righteous works — even the “good” things we do are like filthy rags to God.

On your best day, you can’t save yourself.

Praise God for the 2 greatest words in all of scripture coming in verse 4, “BUT GOD.”

Ephesians 2:4–5 CSB

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!

Paul’s saying, you couldn’t save yourself — your works weren’t going to cut it!

Then just in case we didn’t get the point, Eph. 2:8-9

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.

On your best day, your works are never going to get you there.

You’ll never be “good enough” to earn salvation. The only hope you and I have is God’s grace given to us through Jesus Christ.

His grace is so much greater than your works.

CONCLUSION

Deitrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor during the Nazi reign who actively stood against them, coined the term “costly grace.”

In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, he writes:

“Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘ye were bought at a price,’ and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us”

God’s grace cost him dearly — it cost him the life of his only Son. How dare we cheapen it by underestimating its depth.

I said earlier there’s probably 2 camps of people here…I’m going to add a third and address all 3 of you really quickly…

First: There’s those of us with a past that constantly reminds us of the depth of God’s grace.

Here’s your takeaway: God’s grace is greater than your sin, and your past.

Paul says “That’s not who your are anymore!” You’re not a child of wrath, you’re a child of the king!

Don’t cheapen God’s grace by thinking that you’re “too far gone”.

We worship the God who leaves the 99 to chase after the 1 — by any means necessary.

You are his one.

Second: There’s those of us that came to Christ at a young age, and maybe don’t have much of past…

God’s grace is greater than your works. No matter how good you think you are/might have been, your righteous works are like filthy rags apart from Christ.

Don’t cheapen God’s grace by thinking you don’t need it.

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

Third: There’s those of us that don’t yet know Jesus.

Apart from Christ, those first 3 verses are the best that you can hope for.

Good News: God is offering you a clean slate.

Action Movie, gets a whole new identity — start over.

That’s on the table for you this morning.

Repent and believe — turn from sin, believe in Jesus

Romans 10:9 “9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Believe Jesus is who he claimed — way, truth, life — that he died on the cross for your sin, and that he’s risen from the dead.