Amazing Grace

Introduction

You were

The problem for us isn’t that you are just out of harmony with the environment around you, but that you are ‘alienated from the life of God’. Which is why Paul says that we are in our true spiritual nature before Christ dead through trespasses and sins. We were made in God’s image to live as children in his family, aware of his presence constantly, and rejoicing in the direction he is leading us. Freedom was given, but with a warning that involved possible disobedience, and that disobedience would lead to death. Not just a physical death, but the loss of the spiritual life given, a life in fellowship with God and the ability for spiritual activity and development. So this description in Ephesians 2 is not to describe the future state of sinners, but their present condition, and the Bible often speaks of humanity in a state of spiritual death because of our sin and the only solution is needing new life given by God.

Spiritually lifeless

We were spiritually dead to anything Godly because of our sins. ASK THE STUDENTS TO TELL YOU A WORD STARTING WITH “W” THAT IS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PASSAGE AND THE END. Scripture often refers to our spiritual journey as a walk and I love referring to it as that also, because if you’re in Christ you are actively taking steps in holiness and righteousness giving God the glory and growing as a result. However, outside of Christ and without Him we walk taking step after step in evil. (Mark 7:5, Acts 21:21, Hebrews 13:9, Ephesians 2:10, 4:1, 5:2, 8, 15) God is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin, so in effect our sin has separated us from a holy union with God that he intended for us in Genesis like we talked about just a few minutes ago. The actions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden not only brought about a later physical death but a spiritual death that can only be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ sacrifice.

Spiritually enslaved

spiritual power

Paul says that without Christ we are following the Devil and the course of this world. Which makes us dead in our trespasses and sins that you walk in without Christ. Without Christ we are all sons of disobedience following the ways of the world and the way Satan wants us to do, think, and act. It’s universal. It doesn’t play favorites, it doesn’t pick a skin color, it doesn’t pick just athletes, it doesn’t pick based on anything in particular…ALL are apart from God without Christ and ALL follow the world’s motives without seeing the things of God and His way of doing things.

spiritual nature

The nature of humanity before Christ is BY NATURE children of wrath like all of mankind. In our natural condition we, like the rest, lay under the dreadful judgement of God. All of us are brought under the judgement of God without Christ. All of us by nature have sinned against God and fallen short of His glory.

spiritual activity

The lusts of the flesh were the longings and impulses of the self-centered life. without the spirit of God coming in and regenerating our hearts and sanctifying or renewing our mind we will always be dominated by the self centered passions. When fully operating in the sinful flesh the effects of the human life are not only evil and selfish and are not limited to our emotions. But they also embrace intellect and reasoning of the world as well.

You are

BUT GOD broke in! Paul emphasizes that we had nothing to do with this salvation outside of the sin that sent Jesus to the cross…but if you haven’t you can make the choice today! That even though you were dead in your trespasses God loved you and made you alive together with Christ!

God loved us even though

God is rich in mercy! That means he has more than enough for you and for me and HE DOESN’T RUN OUT! So because of God’s CHARACTER he has shown himself full of mercy and has ACTED in grace towards you and me. God loved us even when we were enemies of him. Romans 5:8 says “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God made us alive even though

We know that new life was what we needed. If we were dead in our sins then we needed to be resurrected! We needed new life. Nothing else was going to work to change us for good outside of the supernatural work of God through the death of His innocent Son dying for our sins, and the Holy Spirit working in that power to give us a new heart, give us new life! New life is beautiful because what sin destroyed God restored. With death brought hopelessness and hurt and God brought hope and healing. God has FULLY restored the relationship between himself and each person through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Paul says that BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. If you know right now that you don’t have a real relationship with Jesus He is waiting for you to come to Him. He is patient. He won’t force himself on you but he’s waiting with open arms because you are broken, hurting, lost, and bearing the weight of your sin. He is waiting to take that from you and give you righteousness and a relationship with himself. And that relationship starts BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH.

God gave us a gift even though

It is a gift. You have been lifted up from the deepest hell to heaven itself. Your citizenship is now in heaven. God gives us the free gift of salvation through the work of His son. Also, this tells you that YOU CANNOT EARN IT!!!!!! It’s not of your own doing, not a result of works, so that nobody can boast in what they did but what God did!

God gave us good works even though

Paul presses us with the urgency to share the gospel. Jesus could come at any time and if you’ve experienced grace you should want everyone to experience it. When you have been brought up out of the pit of hell and placed on solid ground, seated with Jesus in the heavenly places, created and bound for good works that God has laid out for you…YOU SHOULD WALK IN THEM. There is no other response from a growing, maturing, non disgruntled, joyful, Christ centered disciple. When you experience the gift of grace and you live in that everlasting understanding that Christ died for you when you didn’t deserve it. When he came for you when you were at your lowest. When he forgave you of all your evil and vile actions that you have trouble forgiving yourself for. That’s where he meets you with salvation. He doesn’t wait for you to clean up your act a little bit because his power just can’t work on someone THAT messed up. NO his salvation and his power has the ability and the might to save anyone out of anything no matter how deep, how wide, how evil, how detestable, how hardened your heart is, how beligerent towards God you are. So that brings us to our urgency to go and tell. Good works are involved in the new life you have in Christ as an inseparable condition. His new creation must be spoken of as being in true righteousness and holiness.

Conclusion

you were or you are dead in your trespasses and sins condemned by your evil works in front of a holy God. Salvation comes through repentance of those things, gaining forgiveness for your sin through accepting the work of Jesus Christ as good and true and sufficient for your life. If you haven’t made that decision to repent and put your faith and trust in Jesus I urge you to do that tonight.

You are now a new creation, loved by God, shown mercy by God, given faith by God, raised up with Christ, seated with him in the heavenly places, by grace alone you have been saved through your faith in Jesus Christ, and you were created with new life in Christ Jesus to bear the fruit of good works for the praise and glory of God forever!