Saved By Grace

Today’s sermon is a continuation of the series we started a few weeks ago entitled “We Are...”

The last three weeks were spent discussing the foundation for what we believe. “We Are…People of the Word” parts 1, 2, and 3 covered in brief what we believe about the Bible, the Word of God, and its place in the church and in our individual lives.

We’re going to get into some important topics over the next several weeks.

These are important topics all on their own, and then because what we believe might be different from what you believe. And it’s certainly different from what other religions and the world believes.

It’s good to know what it is you believe. And its probably good to know what your church believes and teaches.

We want you to know who we are and what we’re about. We are, at our foundation, people of the Word (the Bible). This is what we look to, this is what informs all we do and believe.

This sermon series is going to be pretty brief in the grand scheme of things. It’s by no way exhaustive, but it might answer some questions you have—whether you’re a member, new to our church, or just visiting.

This sermon is the single-most important sermon I’ll preach, because of the content. I’ve preached these truths before—many times—and will preach them until I die because the gospel brings life. These truths comprise the message that set the world on fire. These are the truths on which the church stands or falls.

We’re going to read the first 10 verses of Ephesians 2, familiar to many of us; so familiar, we could probably quote them or relay the gist of them when asked. These verses are significant because they are God’s Word, and because truths referenced throughout the Bible are placed here in a neat and tidy, very logical manner.

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to Ephesians 2. If you’re able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word:

Ephesians 2:1–10 NIV

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

Believe it or not, that section is a single sentence in the original Greek. It’s a beautiful passage. I had to study it in college for theology class, in Greek for Advanced Greek. I’ve referenced it in papers and dialogue, in counseling sessions and Bible studies. It’s a passage every Christian should know and memorize. It’s worthy of our thought and our consideration.

There are several reasons I believe this text is central to our faith. This text will help us understand ourselves, understand what God has done, and what our response is to Him.

I love the pronouns in these verses. If you do a study of these verses, you will notice that in verses 1 and 2, the second person plural “you” is being addressed.

For us here in this part of the country, we should just say “ya’ll.”

Paul wrote this letter, under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the saints in Ephesus, to God’s Holy people in Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ.

Ephesians 1:1 NIV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

This letter was likely read in Ephesus and then sent to the surrounding churches. It’s been preserved for us—a small part of the Church. Those who are in Christ Jesus are God’s Holy people. We are the faithful in Christ Jesus.

So, when we read these first couple of verses—as for ya’ll, ya’ll were dead in ya’lls transgressions and sins, in which ya’ll used to live when ya’ll followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient—when we read these verses, we need to hear ourselves being address.

“YA’LL, and I mean ALL YA’LL: listen!” This is our condition apart from Christ.

OUR CONDITION

Paul’s not just picking on the Ephesians. He’s not painting a picture for us of some really jacked-up people, as if we’re better off than they.

This is the Biblical diagnosis of fallen man and fallen society. Everywhere. In every time and place. There’s never been a moment when people were better than they are now. And there’s never been a moment when people are worse than they are now.

People is people is people. This is describing people. This is describing us. More specifically, this is describing ya’ll—you and me.

There’s the thought in some circles, come belief systems, even some evangelical churches that we’re not that bad off. I’ve heard Christians and churches admit, “I needed God to save me,” and then, in the same breath as they admit that they tend to add something that makes it sound like they weren’t completely helpless.

“I needed God to save me, but...”

“I needed God to save me, but I was a pretty decent person really. My parents raised me in church. I’ve never done anything truly awful like murder.”

“I needed God to save me,” they’ll say, and then make it sound like they had it mostly figured out—a salvation Rubix Cube they had mostly completed and needed Jesus to finish the last few squares.

Like they had most of the money, but they needed Jesus to cosign for them; all they need is a Jesus reference and referral. “Just gonna drop Jesus’ name at the door and the bouncer will let me in.”

Sometimes, we don’t think we’re that bad off, that our condition isn’t that serious. We’re actors in Monty Python and it’s “just a flesh wound.”

Sometimes we miss the major thought in the first sentence: DEAD. In Greek, it translates the word nekros. The word for “dead” here means “dead”.

There’s no nuance. There’s no secondary definition. It’s a very common word. The noun and adjective were used all over, all the time to describe something that was dead/not living.

This is the word for that.

As for ya’ll, ya’ll were DEAD.

This isn’t a figure of speech; it’s a factual statement of every single person’s spiritual condition outside Christ. DEAD...not lost, not sick, not weak, not down on your luck, not struggling, not searching—D-E-A-D, DEAD!

Our being dead is all thanks to our transgressions and sins in which [we] used to live/walk.

Transgression and sin were chosen to give a comprehensive account of human evil. A transgression/trespass is a false step, a deviation from the right path. A sin is a missing of the mark, a falling short of a standard.

Together transgressions and sins cover the active and the passive parts of wrongdoing. We are rebels and failures both. And this, before God. We don’t do what He has said. And we fail to live up to His standard.

True for you? True for me. I don’t want to do what He’s said, and I don’t have it in me to do what He’s said. And if I had it in me to do what He’s said, I wouldn’t.

What can a dead man do? Nothing. Just ask the guys from Weekend at Bernie’s. Dude couldn’t do a thing...

As if being dead wasn’t enough, we’re also enslaved: ya’ll followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, and the spirit who is now at work…gratifying the cravings of the sinful nature/flesh, following its desires and thoughts.

Apart from Christ, there is no freedom, only slavery to the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Before Jesus sets a person free, they are subject to oppressive influence from both within and without; from secular culture, from our fallen nature, from the ruler of the kingdom of darkness who held us in captivity.

Dead. Enslaved. Condemned.

Like the rest [of mankind], we were by nature deserving of wrath.

God’s wrath is not like man’s. God doesn’t have a bad temper. He doesn’t fly off the handle. He doesn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed (He doesn’t have a bed).

His wrath isn’t spite or malice or revenge. It’s never misapplied or out of bounds.

God’s wrath is a Holy response to only one thing: evil.

“The wrath of God is His personal, righteous, constant hostility to evil, His settled refusal to compromise with it, and His resolve instead to condemn it.” - John Stott

We lay under the dreadful judgment of God, by nature. This is what we have on our own. By nature, we are under God’s wrath.

Dead. Enslaved. Condemned. This is our condition outside of Christ. It’s as clear and unflattering as it can be. All ya’ll are, apart from Jesus, dead and enslaved and condemned.

It looks pretty bleak at this point. But then Paul utters the greatest short phrase in the history of speech: “But God...”

GOD’S INTERVENTION

BUT GOD. These two words are together in some translations. In others, like the NIV, they’re separated by a beautiful clause so the sentence reads: “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us a live with Christ...”

No fate looks any more grim than that which awaits mankind. God’s wrath awaits.

But God intervenes. He stepped into history, taking the action to reverse our condition.

Jesus became our substitute, the sacrifice of atonement, paying our ransom, reconciling us to God. He conquered sin and death, rose from the grave, ascended to the right hand of God and is coming again.

In a word, God saved us. Verses 5 and 8 make this astonishing claim: By grace you have been saved.

Saved here is a perfect participle, emphasizing the abiding, ongoing consequences of God’s saving action. Grammatically, Paul is saying: “You all are people who have been saved and remain forever saved.”

God has made us alive, raised us up, and seated us with Christ.

What God did in bringing Jesus to life, in Jesus’ ascension/return to heaven, and having him sit at His right hand—God has done for us in Christ.

We are in Christ and we have, by God’s grace and mercy and love, shared in His resurrection, ascension, and enthronement.

We were dead, BUT GOD has made us alive. We were enslaved, BUT GOD has freed us and seated us in the heavenly realms.

It wasn’t, as some suppose and believe, something in us that motivated God to act on our behalf, no no.

It was God’s mercy, God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s kindness.

Paul uses verses 1-3 to share our condition. And I took some time to describe our condition apart from Christ because we’re so used to living in a meritocracy (a society in which you earn based on who you are or what you have).

You may have received a scholarship because of your athletic ability. Maybe you got that job because you had the right education. You worked hard, so you got a raise. Your last name got you all sorts of special favors.

We need to hear that apart from Christ we deserve nothing from God beyond wrath and death and judgment. There’s nothing good awaiting us.

If we insist on our accomplishments, our abilities, our deserving, or our entitlement we will get exactly what we deserve: eternal, conscious torment and separation from God.

We were dead, helpless to save ourselves. Only mercy could reach the helpless.

We were under God’s wrath; only God’s love can triumph.

We deserved nothing at God’s hand but judgment—grace is our only rescue. Grace is undeserved favor.

Why did God intervene? Because He is rich in mercy, great in love, full of grace, abounding in kindness.

What motivated the father to welcome his son back home after his son had taken his inheritance, insulted him, left him for a far off country, squandering all his money on wild living?

The son, staring with envy at the pig trough thinking, “Yeah, that looks pretty good”—comes to his senses and thinks, “My father will probably have mercy on me; I’m down and out. He’ll give me a job as a hired hand.”

So the son returns. And I’m sure his father would have given him a job. But the father doesn’t just show the lost son mercy. The Father is full of love. He’s waiting and watching, waiting and watching, waiting and watch…and he sees his son. And while his son was still a long ways off, the father takes off in a dead sprint. It’s love that motivates the father.

The father exhibits more than mercy, more than love. He showers his son with grace—undeserved favor. He calls for his robe and rings and sandals. He orders a fatted calf, killed and cooked medium rare, and throws on the dancing music. It’s a party! “Rejoice!” he says, “My son who was dead is alive; he who was lost is found.”

Mercy, love, grace.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

No one deserves grace. It’s not grace for even one second if it’s deserved.

God’s grace brings salvation and secures it. Saved from God’s wrath and the final judgment, from condemnation. It’s the totality of our new life in Christ.

Saved by grace through faith.

Faith is trust and reliance upon Jesus. Faith is the only means by which one can obtain salvation.

Notice, verse 8 says, “and THIS is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

The Greek pronoun “this” is neuter, meaning it’s not masculine or feminine.

Okay, let’s back up. Words in most languages have genders (it’s the hardest part of learning a new language).

In Spanish, “table” is feminine: la mesa; “phone” is masculine: el telefono. The article and the noun have to agree.

Here, in verse 8, “this” is neuter. Both “grace” and “faith” are feminine. “This” doesn’t go with either “grace” or “faith”. Instead, it’s referring to the whole process of “salvation by grace through faith.”

The complete process of salvation is a gift of God and not something we can accomplish any part of. We contribute nothing. Salvation isn’t a transaction. “Here’s my faith, God. Add some grace to it and we’ve got salvation.”

Remember, we were dead. We had to be brought to life before we could believe.

It’s neither your doing nor your achievement. It’s not a reward for your good deeds.

It’s a work of God entirely for the glory of God entirely. We will be His “show-and-tell”, not because we are great and impressive, but because He is!

We can’t boast ourselves, but we can and should boast in Him.

He has done this (verse 7) in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace.

OUR NEW LIFE

God intervened and saved us from our wretched condition. He saved us by His grace. Salvation from beginning to end is all of grace.

We are not now, because of Jesus, dead, enslaved, condemned. We have been made alive.

Once dead. Now, in Jesus, alive. The contrast couldn’t be greater. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead raised us up to new life.

We aren’t just alive. What are we now? We are God’s handiwork, His workmanship.

We are His work of art, His masterpiece,

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The One who created us has, in Christ, created us anew and has given us our meaning.

If we were to believe that we contributed to our salvation, or if we were to boast about our salvation, we would make it seem like we were our own creator and master and maker.

We have not made ourselves. We certainly haven’t brought ourselves from death to life.

God, the Good Creator, has done this, and has given us our marching orders. Literally, the word “do” is the word “walk.”

Formerly, we “walked” in transgressions and sins. Now we “walk” in good works.

We are to do “good works”, not to earn anything—that’s just silly. You can’t earn a gift.

We do “good works”—the “good works” that God prepared for us to walk in—in order to show that we are new creatures.

A life of good works is the testimony and witness of a life radically changed, of a dead man being brought to life by a dead man who was once dead Himself.

We are not saved because of good works, but we are created in Christ Jesus for good works.

This is our new life, to the praise and glory of God.

>All of this matters immensely. What we believe about salvation and grace and faith affects everything we do as Christians and as a church body.

If we think we can do or contribute to our salvation, we’ll be stuck doing and trying and contributing for the rest of our days. And we’ll never be okay. We’ll never feel secure. Because there is no way, no way, to ever feel like we’ve done enough to earn something we know, deep down, in un-earn-able.

But when we realize it’s all of grace—all of it, every part of it, 100% of it GRACE—we will spend the rest of our lives doing good, not because we must, but because we want. Because it’s our joy. Because it’s our reasonable response and worship.

When we truly come to appreciate who we were, what God has done in Christ Jesus, and who we are because of Him, we will tell the wondrous story of the Christ who died for us—He who brings dead men to life, by His great grace.