Dead Men Walking

Dead Men Walking

Ephesians 2:1-3

A failed diagnosis will always lead to the wrong treatment plan. I read this week about a Florida man who went to the doctor with a fever and headaches. A month later, he was dead. His physicians failed to diagnose a form of tuberculosis and were treating him for something far less severe. The results were fatal.

When assessing our spiritual condition, a failed diagnosis also leads to grave consequences. That is why what we believe about man’s condition is so important. There is an undeniable connection between our doctrine of sin and our doctrine of salvation. It is the same connection between diagnosis and treatment.

We live in times when preachers and churches have altered the biblical diagnosis of man’s condition. Let me give you two prominent examples.

Back in the 1980’s, Robert Schuller, then pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, published a book called Self Esteem: The New Reformation.

In this book he stated that man’s problem is a lack of self-esteem.

"... the core of sin is a lack of self-esteem. ... Sin is psychological self-abuse. ... the most serious sin is one that causes me to say, 'I am unworthy. I may have no claim to divine sonship if you examine me at my worst.' For once a person believes he is an 'unworthy sinner,' it is doubtful if he can really honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Jesus Christ" (pp. 98-99 from Self-Esteem:The New Reformation)

Schuller is also consistent in his treatment plan for this problem.

"To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image -- from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust" (p. 68).

This is a radical redefinition of sin and salvation from a highly visible and influential pastor.

Another prominent example is Joel Osteen. Osteen has become a celebrity in the evangelical world (I use that term evangelical in its broadest sense). With his best-selling book, Your Best Life Now, and his mega-church in Houston, he is probably one of the best known and most widely heard pastors in America.

Osteen appeared on Larry King Live back in June of 2005. Here is part of the transcript from that interview.

KING: You don't call them sinners?
OSTEEN: I don't.
KING: Is that a word you don't use?
OSTEEN: I don't use it. I never thought about it. But I probably don't. But most people already know what they're doing wrong. When I get them to church I want to tell them that you can change. There can be a difference in your life. So I don't go down the road of condemning. (Exchange from Larry King Live, June 20, 2005)

I give these examples only to indicate what a radical shift we have seen among popular evangelicalism toward redefining the diagnosis of the human condition. Is it really true that people who see themselves as sinners probably won’t accept the grace of God? Is it an admirable practice for preachers to edit the term “sinner” out of their vocabulary?

Someone recently told me about a church advertising a current sermon series. The sign listed the seven deadly sins from Proverbs 6:16-19. But in big letters the sign referred to the sermon series as the “7 Deadly Distractions.” What used to be called sin is now called a distraction. I think these examples represent a huge departure from the biblical picture of the human condition.

As we come to Ephesians 2:1-3, we are going to get a clear diagnosis from God about man apart from Christ. In this text, Paul is describing himself, the Ephesians, and all of us as we are without Jesus Christ. This is man in his natural state.

I. Without Christ, people exist in a condition of spiritual death.

            A. People are dead in trespasses and sins.

                        1. The word dead in Greek means…dead! It is

                            used of those who have no life, corpses.

                        2. Obviously, this term is being used to speak of

                            the spiritual condition. Unbelievers may have a

                            vigorous physical life, but they have no spiritual

                            life. They are dead.

                        3. They are dead in trespasses and sins. Their spiritual

                            death is a result of the fact that they are sinners.

                                    a. Trespasses refers to a false step of crossing

                                        a boundary or deviating from a path.

                                    b. Sins is the word which means to miss a mark

                                        or fall short of a standard.

                                    c. So, man has deviated from God’s path and

                                        failed to reach his established standard. Thus,

                                        he is spiritually dead.

            B. The implications of spiritual death.

                        1. Dead people have no ability. They cannot perform or

                            accomplish anything. In spiritual terms, w/o Christ,

                            we are incapable of doing anything spiritually good.

                        2. Dead people have no sensitivity. There are no vital

                            signs of life. They are unresponsive. Thus it is with

                            the spiritually dead. They are blind to God, deaf to

                            His voice, and unresponsive.

ILLUSTRATION: Dr. Erwin Lutzer teaches preaching courses at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Every year, he takes his students on a field trip to the local cemetery—so they can preach. He says:

I take them to a little cemetery in Deerfield, Illinois, and I have them all gather around a certain gravesite. I point out the name, and then I tell one of the students, "Preach the gospel to Mr. Smith here."

They look at me like I'm nuts. So I preach to Mr. Smith with enthusiasm: "Sir, Jesus died for your sins, and you must put your faith in him."

Then I look at the students and tell them, "This is no different than preaching the gospel to unsaved people. The Bible says that they are dead in their sins. You can preach your heart out, but nothing will happen unless God does a miracle to give them the life to listen."

John Stott writes, “So we should not hesitate to affirm that a life without God (however physically fit and mentally alert the person may be) is a living death, and that those who live it are dead even while they are living.” (Stott, The Message of Ephesians, p. 72).

Friends, this is why your unsaved coworker is so unresponsive to the gospel. This is why your unsaved family member doesn’t understand why you get so worked up about your relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why the person outside of Christ cannot find the power to reform their own lives and desires. Men and women without Christ are spiritually dead, incapable of spiritual good and insensitive to the gospel.

TS – Not only do those without Christ exist in a condition of spiritual death, we go on to see…

II. Without Christ, people are enslaved in a captivity of sinful      

      influences.

            A. Even believers once lived in trespasses and sins.

                        1. Remember, he is addressing people who are now

                            saved and reminding them of their former lives.

                        2. They once “walked” in trespasses and sins. The

                            idea of walking refers to a lifestyle.

            B. Unbelievers are captive to three sinful influences.

                        1. The course of this world. This refers to the influence                         of a culture which rejects God and His ways. It refers

                            to a pervasive system of values which is dominated

                            by this present evil age.

                        2. The prince of the power of the air. This refers to the

                            Devil. The further description, the spirit who is now

                            working in the sons of disobedience, makes it even

                            clearer. Unbelievers are influenced by satanic power.

                            This is not to say that unbelievers are possessed by

                            the devil or a demonic spirit (though they could be).

                            It is simply stating that unbelievers are influenced by

                            Satanic power to follow a course of disobedience.

                        3. The lusts of our flesh. This refers to the desires which

                            are characterized and driven by our fallen nature. It is

                            not just sexual sins or physical appetites in view here.

                            The desires of our fallen, sinful nature also include

                            the mind. It refers to the self-centered desires that

                            drive us to please ourselves instead of God.

                        4. Note also the fact that in these desires we lived and

                            indulged. It is not the passing problem or periodic

                            indulgence. It is the way of life for the unconverted.

ILLUSTRATION: Benjamin Franklin is highly respected for his wisdom and moderation. He was not known as a man of extremes. Interestingly, he once decided to conduct an experiment of pursuing moral virtue. Here is what he wrote about his experiment.

“I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclinations, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right or wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent our slipping.” (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin)

APPLICATION: Franklin admits that in spite of his best efforts to do what is right and avoid what is wrong, the outward force of temptation and the inward pull of sin (what he calls inclination) was too strong to defeat.

The world, the devil, and the flesh are controlling influences in the lives of the unsaved. Whether it is the drug addict in the dirty one room flat who cannot break free of the need for another high or the pride addict in the well-appointed board room who cannot break free of the need for recognition, all unbelievers are captive to sinful influences.

Someone will no doubt bring up the case of the person who professes no faith in Christ but seems to be moral and upstanding and caring. I readily admit that there is a relative “goodness” when we compare some people with others. However, the Bible says that whatever does not come from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). The good deeds of the unsaved are not done out of faith in Christ for the glory of God. Thus, they are not good in the sense that Scripture uses that term. Even their goodness is sinful since it is done with no concern for Christ.

TS – So far we have seen that without Christ people exist in a condition of spiritual death and they are enslaved in a captivity of sinful influences. Finally, we see…

III. Without Christ, people evoke the condemnation of divine wrath.

            A. Children of wrath.

                        1. Wrath is the anger of God against sin and its

                            resulting judgment. It is God’s unalterable

                            hostility toward sin and rebellion. The Bible speaks

                            plainly about it (Rom. 1:18, 2:5; John 3:36; 1 Thess

                            1:10). The ultimate expression of this wrath is the

                             Separation and suffering of those who reject Christ

                             in hell for all eternity.

                        2. We are exposed to the wrath of God by nature. In

                            other words, Paul is saying that because of our fallen

                            and sinful nature we come into this world under the

                            sentence of God’s wrath.

SUMMARY

The diagnosis of the human condition apart from Christ is bleak. We have learned that sin is a condition of spiritual death, a captivity of sinful influences and it evokes the condemnation of God’s wrath. The teaching of Scripture in relation to human sin is sometimes referred to as total depravity.

• This does not mean every person is as bad as they can possibly be.
• This does not mean that man is not created in God’s image or that he is without human dignity from his Creator.
• The idea of total depravity means this:
• Man’s total being is fallen. No part of his being is not corrupted by sin.
• Man is totally incapable of doing anything spiritually good apart from Christ.
• Man is totally deserving of God’s judgment because of his sin.

CONCLUSION

The first step in the treatment for man’s condition is to agree with what God says about it. No one can be saved until he or she comes to grips with the fact that they are sinners.

Augustine said, “My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner.”

Accept God’s diagnosis. Don’t settle for a failed diagnosis driven by human pride and unwilling to look at yourself as God sees you.

Your appreciation of grace will be in direct correlation with how realistically you view your sinful condition without Jesus.