Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Today, we will be in Ephesians chapter 2:1-10.

Most of you know me, and some of you do not.

I am a ministry student from Piedmont International University located in Winston Salem, N.C.

I am currently majoring in Bible with a minor in Pastoral studies.

When I graduate from Piedmont, I plan to attend Southeastern Theological Seminary located in Wake Forest, NC Where I expect to get my master of divinity in Ministry leadership.

When I was 17, I received a calling to serve God and to serve others in the ministry.

From serving in the ministry, I have realized what a great gift it is to have this calling on my life.

Speaking of gifts.

This now leads me into my sermon which is entitled, “The Gift From Heaven.”

There are several gifts that we receive from heaven; however, I’m referring to “THE GIFT.”

There’s a difference between gifts and “THE GIFT.”

In this passage, I will be speaking on today; we will see this Great gift from heaven.

Background information:

Background information:

When looking at any passage of scripture, I like to do two things to ensure I get a complete understanding of the text.

The two things that are important when understanding a passage is the background of the book and the context of What comes before the passage that I am studying.

In this case, we must take a brief look at .

The book of Ephesians is written by the apostle Paul to believers in Ephesus as seen in verse 1. Paul’s addressing these believers about unity within one body as seen in 20-23.

“He worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

In these verses, we see the resurrection of Christ, and it is God who instituted it.

Then we see the role of Christ within the church.

He is the head, and the church is the body of Christ.

Now that we know the background and the context we are now ready to go through .

Time to Dive: (READ THE TEXT)

The Depravity of Man:

In the first three verses, we see the sinfulness of man.

Our condition before God “You were dead.”

What was one of the consequences for eating of the tree of knowledge of good and Evil?

In , God gives the consequence by saying,

“of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This verse isn’t just speaking of physical death for this act of disobedience, but spiritual death as well.

Disobedience is exactly what sin is.

Sin is a rebellion against God.

According to the theologian Charles Ryrie, “sin is defined as anything against the character of God.”

The entrance of sin is in ,

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

However, they did not come to the realization of sin and its consequences until verse 7,

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.

And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

Due to this disobedience, The breaking of God's command sin entered the world and from there own all of humanity is sinful as seen in ,

“And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good?

There is only one who is good.

If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

The Sources of Sin:

“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”

In verse 2, we see the first source of sin, “The prince of the power of the air,” this is Satan.

Satan is a source of sin and is also is an influence on the other sources, and in , we see his mission,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

The next source of sin that is impacted by Satan is the world,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

()”

The last source of sin, is the heart itself.

Most of the time the outside of a person reflects the inside.

The Consequences of Sin ()

As previously mentioned, one of the consequences of sin is death both spiritually and physically.

In , we see death is the ultimate consequence of sin,

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Another consequence of sin is it affects our eternal destiny; sin brings forth judgement and causes people to perish.

The next consequences is sin affects human will.

Sin also has the consequence which affects our health.

When we sin we also affect others.

According to Charles Ryrie, “No one can sin in total isolation.”

Lastly, sin comes with an eternal death, when going before judgement you’ll hear one of two things: Either, “Sorry, for I never knew you.” or “Well done, Good and faithful servant.”

Our condition after Christ (2:4-5)

In verses 1-3, we are all sinners that are worthy of death and the grave,

“But God,being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved”

Out of God’s love for us He saved us from when we were completely dead in our sins through His son.

When we accept Christ into our life there is this great transition from death to life.Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way we receive eternal life.

Jesus said in 14:6,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Results of grace for the believer:

In this passage of scripture, you see the results of grace when you put your faith and trust in him.

In verses 6-7, one of the rewards for the believer is you are given a place in heaven with Christ; which means you are saved from Hell.

Hell is eternal punishment for the unbeliever forever.

However, there’s a little more to the punishment than that.

Hell is complete confinement from God.

The unbeliever will be separated from God forever.

I couldn’t imagine the torment of being separated from God forever.

The other day in one of my classes, my professor Doctor Decker said something that will stick with for the rest of my life, he said: “For the unbeliever, this earth is the closest to heaven they will get.

So for the believer, this earth is the closest to hell they will ever get.”

God’s Gift:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”

Throughout time, Salvation has always been through faith alone.

For Example: in , we see that Abraham is justified by faith.

Most people think that the sacrificial system in the Old Testament was the way of Salvation for the Old Testament saint.

When in reality, the old testament saints are justified by faith.

The sacrificial system was to atone for the sins of the Old Testament saints because the saints were looking forward to the coming of Christ.

Another misunderstood belief is that people often assumed works save us.

Verses 9 and 10 prove that is not the case.

God’s gift of grace saves us by having faith in His son and believing in the death of Christ on the cross.

Conclusion and Application:

Now how do we experience God's love?

By accepting his gift of salvation.

First, to receive this gift, we must understand that this is the work of God.