Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

A Sunday School teacher had just finished telling her third graders ... how Jesus was crucified and placed in a tomb and then rose again on the third day.

Then, wanting to share the excitement of the resurrection, she asked: "What do you think were Jesus' first words when He came out of that tomb?"

A little girl in the back of the room shot her arm into the air and shouted excitedly "I know, I know!" Extending both of her arms high into the air she said: "TA-DA!" (Sermon Central: Jeffery Smead)

The resurrection of Jesus is indeed a power, powerful word.

To a child, it could be, simply put, “Ta-da!”

But the word we would use to describe the work of Jesus on the Cross, his death, and resurrection is “Gospel.”

The Greek for this is euangelion, which we commonly say means “good news.”

While that is a partial definition, it is not complete.

It is not just “good news” but the pronouncement of good news.”

What I want you to understand this morning is the gospel is not a thing it is what we do; it is the message of the church to the world that Jesus is Lord.

In recent history, there have been tragic attempts to redefine the gospel as some kind of social movement.

So some have have tried to attach certain causes to the gospel.

If somebody wants a certain ethical issue, has a social or moral idea, or some other kind of ideology, they will label it as a gospel issue.

The Bible warns against such things because it confuses the gospel and adds to the gospel.

I’ve said before, we live in an age of biblical illiteracy in the church and it shows.

In a recent survey, 50 percent of the Christians surveyed believe that salvation is earned by good works.

Less than half of believers say is their responsibility to share their faith with others.

At the same time, according to Barna, only 6% of Americans share a biblical world view.

The gospel is not about any behavior.

It is not about any activity, any social cause, ethical cause, moral cause.

The Gospel is a message - a life saving invitation - from the King of Glory.

We are commanded to preach it and proclaim it.

But sadly, many even within the church do not know it, understand it, or believe it (much less proclaim it).

Now with that in mind, let’s continue to read Ephesians starting in Chapter 2 verses 1-10.

The Gospel is Good News Because it First Identifies Our Sin (vv.

1-3)

The moment we fail to recognize the massive weight of the smallest of sin in our lives and our powerlessness to overcome it, is the moment we succumb to its strength.

Detreich Bonhoeffer wrote, "If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all."

Paul wanted to remind us in the first verse of the serious nature of our sin.

Not to condemn us but to keep us closely connected to the context of the Gospel.

Sin is a matter of life and death - literally.

If all we talk about is grace and never share grace against the backdrop of sin, God’s grace is diluted.

If the church does not speak on the issue of sin and its curse, the gospel has no power.

What we first fail to understand is that sin isn’t an issue of what we do, it is a condition of the heart.

How does a worm get inside an apple?

Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside.

No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside.

But how does he get in there?

Simple!

An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom.

Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out.

Sin, like the worm, begins in the heart and works out through a person’s thoughts, words, and actions.

Paul is reminding the church that before the radical intervention of Christ, the effects of sin was more than just bad decisions, wrong behaviors, or immoral lifestyles.

The condition of the sinner is they are dead; spiritually dead.

You have a condition of absolute deadness, and that deadness engulfs every human soul in a life of trespasses and sins—two different words for violating the law of God, unrighteousness.

That is not the condition of the believer in Christ Jesus and Paul wants to remind us of that.

The reason we lived in this condition was because we followed the prince of this world, meaning Satan.

This world that we are living in is ruled by the enemy of God and those who follow the enemy of God.

That is marked by a life of disobedience of God, rebellion, selfish ambition, and carrying out the desires of your body and mind.

Listen, the biblical understanding and teaching of sin, guilt, and repentance are incompatible with the world’s attempts to resolve that issue.

We live in a culture that elevates pride, self-esteem, positive feelings, and that nothing is more important than our happiness.

At the same time, we make victimize evil and make villains out of victims.

But that’s who you were before the radical transformation in Christ.

Paul makes it clear; past tense.

That is the first reality we must understand of the Gospel.

We’re not rescuing people from abuse.

We’re not rescuing people from something done to them in this life or some other generation of life.

We’re not rescuing people from bad marriages.

We’re not rescuing people from inequities.

We’re not rescuing people from poverty.

Those are noble causes, but not the gospel message.

The gospel rescues people from eternal death.

The Gospel is Good News Because it is Jesus Alone that Rescues (vv.4-6)

There are plenty of ways man can solve problems.

“The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem” (Milton Friedman).

“When the solution is simple, God is answering.”

(Albert Einstein).

A truck driver thought that he’d take a short-cut and ignored the signs of a low bridge clearance.

His truck became wedged under the bridge by a few inches.

With traffic stopped, engineers were called to figure out how to remove the truck.

A little boy riding his bike to see the scene walked up to a police officer and suggested, "Try letting the air out of the tires."

That is usually the case when we try on our own to solve the problems of our sin.

We think if we can just try hard enough that we can bring our sins into submission.

Paul tells us the Gospel has a better way with 2 simple but power words: “But God...”

Throughout the Bible when it seems hopeless to man, God will make a way.

If you are a Christian, you have both a “but God” moment, and you have an “in order that” life.

We were redeemed not just from something but to something—not just from our murderous pasts, but so that we might love, glorify, and proclaim Christ to others.

God doesn’t just redeem us for himself.

He redeems our stories for himself.

Now the next question is, “But God, what?” Look on in verse 4, Paul draws our attention to two attributes in God’s saving power: His mercy and his love.

God’s mercy is Him showing us favor when we deserve wrath.

The reason is show us mercy is because of his love.

The gospel is not only our deliverance from sin it is by God’s love.

The greek word used here for love is agape, and it is most elevated word for love.

There is no other religion that has a god sacrificing for people.

Look at verse 5: Eph 2:5 “5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” At the very foundation of the world, He chose to redeem sinners; that was an act of love.

You see it again and again throughout redemptive history God’s mercy extended to man through his love.

Until His love reaches a peak at the cross, where He places His Son to die in the place of those whom He loves.

Here we also see God’s grace at work.

The Greek word for grace is caris.

Its basic idea is simply “non-meritorious or unearned favor, an unearned gift, a favor or blessings bestowed as a gift, freely and never as merit for work performed.”

There was no merit or reward for God’s salvation in you.

Paul tells us plainly: “by Grace you have been saved” (v.5).

When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage.

When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.

When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.

But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award—yet receives such a gift anyway—that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor.

This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.

– G. W. Knight

Eph 2:6 tells us that as a result of God’s mercy, love and grace that has redeemed us and saved He “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” This is our present position.