" The Walking Dead" Sunday, March 11, 2018 - 9 AM

 The Walking Dead - Ephesians 2_1-10 Bascomb UMC / March 11, 2018 / 9AM Focus: The Second ½ of the Gospel – Sanctification. Function: To open up the possibilities of sanctification for basic believers. 5 Purpose Outcomes of the Church: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Service Ephesians 2:1–10 (CEB) Saved from sin to life 1 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. 2 You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. 3 At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else. 4–5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! 6 And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. 7 God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus. 8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. Page 1 of 6 My son and I have followed “The Walking Dead” since the series began on AMC. Then I found out it was a comic book series (excuse me – A Graphic Novel) I began to spend some of my summer beach time reading the comic as well. This is not kid stuff – it is “end of the world” brutality mixed with the horror of zombies! I guess I like to be scared at times. There are life lessons as well, morality issues, violence, revenge, society and community questions. We benefit from the order of civilization, but life in their world throws all that out and the results they imagine are fascinating. But this is not Comic-con (that’s next Sunday and we can’t go – there’s a special worship service right here at 10AM). I only thought of “The Walking Dead” when I read these verses: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the age of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air” Ephesians 2:1-2 (MEV) Dead and walking – “The Walking Dead!” Paul says we were dead in our sins and I want to unpack that idea. When Paul makes this assertion, he seems to operating on two levels: dead as “unconscious or unaware of what is going on” is one way of understanding Paul, and “really and truly dead” is another (pretty clear) meaning. Let’s start there. We end our Lenten covenant series today when we reach the final phase of God’s rescue plan for humanity. Way back in the Garden, God gave us ONE RULE: The Lord God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; 17 but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!” Genesis 2:16-17 (CEB) God gave us a choice: “choose life or choose death” and we chose…..well FREEDOM - they were tempted, right? I mean, the fruit looked pleasing to the eye and I bet it tasted Page 2 of 6 wonderful. What’s the big deal God? Some would say that before they ate the fruit, Adam and Eve were just these clueless children – then they took control over their own lives and became strong, responsible adults instead of innocent children (pause and think). So how’s that working out for us? Whether you think literal (an actual Adam & Eve) or theological (this is an important narrative explaining human and God relations) - the real issue is SIN – a curse that fell upon creation because it was vital to the relationship that we humans have a choice! We must be able to say NO to God even if the consequences are death. So God forbids us access to the Tree of Life and we become “The Walking Dead,” – ashes to ashes and dust to dust – that’s how we started this LENTEN journey – with Ash Wednesday. Unless God does something, everything ends in death. The Good News - Jesus was resurrected – yay………this is not the end. But let me express MY experience with the “justification only” side of the gospel because that is part two of Paul is talking about in our text today. Here’s the twist! The characters in the TV show were under attack by zombies, so we thought zombies were “The Walking Dead.” But later, they discovered that everyone had the infection (spoiler alert). Anyone that died came back as a zombie. So then we started thinking of all the living characters in the series as “The Walking Dead,” they were all infected. And that is Paul’s point! We are all infected with sin. Each of us living in this fallen age are literally “The Walking Dead.” In Paul’s theology, sin and death are closely linked. The serpent lied: The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! 5 God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God” Genesis 3: 4-5 (CEB). Page 3 of 6 A deadly infection entered everything. Paul says we became “The Walking Dead.” So, besides God’s wonderful promise to raise those in Christ at the end of everything, what now? How do we show true gratitude for God’s redemption in Jesus? Do we just accept this gift and go on our way? That’s what I did! Christians, saved by grace cannot live carelessly. There were actually believers claiming that if they indulge their passions, desires, and appetites, they were giving the grace of God more room for display. Other movements (called Gnostics) taught that once the pure spirit is saved, the body is an irrelevance to religion and may be safely ignored or indulged. We live in a world where human beings, left to themselves, not only choose the wrong direction, but remain cheerfully confident that it is in fact the right one. After all, it seems (for a while), a fine road, much travelled and in good repair. This Sunday gives us the greatest two New Testament verses in the Protestant Bible: John 3:16 (go ahead, close your eyes and quote it from your KJV Bible memory) and Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that - not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Two of my earliest Bible memory verses. Where is verse 10? As we look today at the final and last covenant between God and humans, I want you to know that I abused it, took advantage of it. I considered these verses my “get into heaven free” card. Somehow, I did not get the relationship part – the love God, love neighbor as myself part. So, this graph shows that the 1st half of the gospel – where we get ours – salvation – is called Justification by Faith – YES! Halleluiah! But that’s only the FIRST ½ of the gospel – John 3:16. (play the video: The Second ½ of the Gospel) Page 4 of 6 The SECOND ½ of the gospel is 1 John 3:16 (CEB): This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Look! 89% get halfway and only 11% go the rest of the way – Holy Discontent – Broken by God – Surrender and Submission – AND then we get to the two commandments of Jesus (if you weren’t here last week, ask somebody) – the last two (and smallest) categories are Profound love of God and Profound love of People – .05% is Fail, Fail, Fail!!! I do not want to go into the resurrection and offer such a DEAD existence to the One who redeemed me for good works. Paul said: …we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. Ephesians 2:10 (CEB) That’s the second ½ of the Gospel. We are only capable of good works in the second ½. Hear Jesus speak that 1st commandment: …and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 (CEB) Now work backwards – strength: be healthy – take care of yourselves (that one idea can encompass a world of sin) – do no harm. Mind – use that wonderful organ God gave you and THINK! We do not shut off our brains at the door. Your brain allows the image of God to come out in you when you are creative. Being – that’s what Jesus redeemed, you are made alive in the Holy Spirit. Heart – that is the seat of LOVE – profound love for God and for ourselves and others. Verse 10 is one of Paul’s central statements of how Christians are at the center of God’s new creation. Paul says: …we are God’s accomplishment, Ephesians 2:10 (CEB) Page 5 of 6 God’s accomplishment is the Greek word “poiēma” - related to the English word “poem”). This word has an artistic ring to it, hinting that what God has done to us through Jesus is a work of art, like a poem, or a musical score; and the music which we now play is the genuine way of being human – living as close as possible in the Garden of Eden. So I close with a poem, the lyrics of a song by Ben Glover, Ben McDonald, and David Frey (the Sidewalk Prophets) called “Live Like That.” “Was I love?” When no one else would show up. “Was I Jesus to the least of those?” “Was my worship more than just a song?” I want to live like that and give it all I have. So that everything I say and do points to You. If love is who I am then this is where I'll stand. Recklessly abandoned, never holding back. I want to live like that. Am I proof that You are who you say You are? That grace can really change a heart? Do I live like Your love is true? People pass and even if they don't know my name, is there evidence that I've been changed. When they see me, do they see You?” I want to live like that. I want to show the world the love You gave for me. I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King. If love is who I am, then this is where I'll stand. Recklessly abandoned, never holding back. I want to live like that! I want to live like that! I want to live like that! Songwriters: Ben Glover / Ben Mcdonald / David Frey / David Douglas Frey © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Capitol Christian Music Group Page 6 of 6