Zombies No More Ephesians 2:1-5

Transcription

1 1 Zombies No More Ephesians 2:1-5 Do you recall this past November when we studied Ephesians 1 during our Sunday messages? We noted how in Christ we are blessed beyond belief. In Ephesians 1, Paul tells us how God the Father and God the Son chose, adopted and redeemed us. God the Holy Spirit gives us a new hope and calling. We are seen by God as His inheritance, just as He promises us an eternal inheritance in heaven, and provides us with power for living. All things considered, we are blessed beyond belief! On this special Annual Meeting Sunday, as we move into the New Year, I d like us to return to Paul s letter to the Ephesians. Let s spend the next few Sundays studying Ephesians, chapter 2. Just as Paul talks about our spiritual blessings and possessions in Christ in chapter 1, here in chapter 2 Paul describes our spiritual position in Christ. But before Paul gets to the good news of what Christ has done for all who believe and receive him as Savior and Lord, Paul points out the bad news of what it means to live apart from the Lord. So let me warn you: We ll begin with the bad news, but we ll end with some amazingly good news. In fact, the theme of our new Sunday morning series of messages based on Ephesians 2 sums it up: Once Dead, Now Alive! Follow along on your back-page bulletin outline, if you wish. Here s a first truth: Until Christ is my Savior and Lord, I am disobedient to God and dead in sin. 1. Until Christ is my Savior / Lord, I am disobedient to God and dead in sin A man had his annual checkup and then heard from his doctor a couple of days later. I m afraid I have some bad news for you, the doctor said. You have only forty-eight hours to live. That is bad news! said the patient. I m afraid I have even worse news, said the doctor. What could be worse than what you ve already told me? asked the patient. Well, said the doctor, I ve been trying to reach you with this news for two days. Groan... Not unlike someone who receives some bad news from their medical doctor about their physical health, at the outset of our text Paul is pointing out bad news about the spiritual health of countless persons. Let s read aloud the first three verses of our Scripture text: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 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. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). What characterizes the spiritual health and condition of people living without the Lord Jesus Christ? In God s sight, persons who live without Christ are spiritually dead! Just as a physically dead person cannot respond to physical stimuli, a spiritually dead person cannot respond to spiritual truth. A physically dead person has no appetite for food or drink, cannot hear

2 2 the voices of those around him, and no longer feels any physical sensations. In the same way, a spiritually dead person cannot understand or appreciate spiritual things. Why are persons spiritually dead? It s because of their transgressions and sins. As Paul writes in Romans 6, For the wages of sin is death... (Romans 6:23). Now let s be clear about one thing: In the Bible, death refers not only to the cessation of physical life, it also refers to a separation occurring in one s spiritual life. For believers, when we die physically, our eternal spirits separate from our bodies but because of our acceptance of what Jesus has done on our behalf dying to pay the penalty for our sin, rising to place us in a new and right relationship with our heavenly Father our eternal spirits or souls immediately go to be with the Lord in heaven. For unbelievers, however, something very different occurs. Upon death, the eternal spirit separates from the body, but without a personal relationship with Christ that spirit remains separated from the Lord. That spirit or soul does not find rest or a home in heaven. As C.S. Lewis points out, if a person seeks to live their earthly life apart from God, then they very well may get their wish to live for all eternity apart from God. The Bible tells us why: Until Christ is Savior and Lord of one s life, he or she is spiritually dead and separated from God. Dr. Warren Wiersbe puts it this way: The only difference between one sinner and another is the state of decay. The lost derelict on skid row may be more decayed outwardly than the unsaved society leader, but both are dead in sin and one corpse cannot be more dead than another! This means that our world is one vast graveyard, filled with people who are dead while they live. The bad news of spiritual death and separation from God is the result of living in opposition and disobedience to God and His plan to save and reconcile persons unto Himself. Referring to those living without Christ, Paul talks about a terminally-ill, spiritually-dire condition in verses 2-3, pointing out three forces which factor in this disobedience and defiance of God. The first force is the world around us. In verse 2, Paul talks about when we followed the ways of this world. Most of us can think back to times and places when we ve conformed to the world s ways. Even after we give our lives to Christ, we face pressures to cave and conform to the world s pattern and priorities. Paul counsels otherwise. He writes, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2). The world system leaves God out of the picture which is what sin always does and the danger of conforming to the world s ways is that we gradually take on views and values which oppose the truth and work of Christ. Isaiah warns, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight (Isaiah 5:20-21).

3 3 The world s agenda and political correctness not only tolerates but celebrates attitudes and actions which deny and dishonor the Lord. The antidote and alternative is found in a growing walk with God and time in His Word. Then the second force working in our disobedience is Satan. In verse 2 Paul refers to the adversary as the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Satan, of course, is a fallen angel. Unlike God, Satan is a created being. Satan is not all knowing, not all powerful and cannot be in all places at all times. Yet, because of Satan s influence over the world s views and values he works to wreak havoc keeping unbelievers distrustful, disobedient and distant toward God. At the same time, Satan is always working to destroy believers, too. It s been this way from the very beginning. Let s read aloud a passage from Genesis: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:15-17). Then the Bible tells how God created Eve and gave Eve to Adam. Let s pick it up again at the beginning of Genesis 3. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). True to his nature, Satan is the deceiver. The Bible calls him the father of lies. Here Satan told Adam and Eve, You will not surely die! And because Adam and Eve believed this lie, they sinned and plunged the whole human race into a condition of spiritual death, physical death and separation from God. Because of Satan s lies, because of what our first parents did, and because of what we do, until we come to trust Christ as personal Savior and Lord, we remain estranged from God. Then there s one final fact Paul points out. The third force at work in our disobedience is what Paul calls our sinful nature. In verse 3 he says that persons gratify the cravings and follow the desires of their sinful nature. Of course, some aspects of our sinful nature may be fairly obvious: Gluttony, laziness, lust and greed to name a few. But we also have inner, intellectual sins: pride, sinful ambition, hostility to the revealed truth of God, malice, and envy. The fact is until Christ is Savior and Lord, we will remain disobedient to God and spiritually dead in our sins. We re trapped! Left to our own, we cannot turn from our sin. We cannot stop sinning. We re goners! Spiritually speaking, we re like those zombies who parade in Harrisburg at Halloween or in cult horror films like Night of the Living Dead. Spiritually speaking, anyone and everyone living apart from Christ, is, in God s sight, disobedient and dead!

4 4 That s the bad news. Until a person comes to know Christ as personal Savior and Lord, they re actually living in a zombie-like state of spiritual death. Now let s consider the good news, which is our second truth we need to note: When Christ is my Savior and Lord, I am made alive by God and saved by grace. 2. When Christ is my Savior & Lord, I m made alive by God, saved by grace We may be insistent in our disobedience, but God is forever persistent with us. He continually calls us unto Himself. While He will not force Himself or His will upon us, God does not want to leave us to our own spiritual death and destruction. That why Paul writes to Timothy referring to God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:4). God has a better plan and purpose for our lives. Paul points this out in verses 4 and 5 of our Scripture text. Let s read aloud these verses: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5). In his book, What s So Amazing about Grace?, Philip Yancey tells of conference on comparative religions being held at Oxford University in the early 1950 s. Experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. What s the rumpus about? he asked. Then he learned that his fellow scholars were trying to determine what is Christianity s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, Oh, that s easy. It s grace. The others soon agreed. The very notion of God s love coming to persons free of charge, no strings attached, goes against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eightfold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenants, and the Muslim code of law each offers various ways to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God s love unconditional. But that the good news! God s grace really is amazing! It is by God s grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:5b). Tell me, have you believed and received Christ as Savior and Lord of your life? If so, it is evidence that you have embraced God s grace and that you are saved. If not, would you do so today? You can ask Christ to come into your life this morning! It s all about grace: God s Riches at Christ s Expense. God s Riches: God s love, the forgiveness of our sin, the gift of new spiritual life and a fresh start with God, the gift of eternal life one day in heaven. All of this at Christ s expense! Can we even begin to grasp what that entailed? The Bible tells us that God s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, entered our world and lived without sin, teaching, healing and preaching the kingdom of God. In his 33 rd year he was crucified. He died to pay the penalty for our sin, to pay for the disobedience of all humanity. He took our sin upon himself! He died a death he didn t deserve to give us life now and forever. We need be zombies no more!

5 5 Zombies No More Ephesians 2: Until Christ is my Savior and Lord, I am disobedient to God and dead in sin As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 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. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2). Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight (Isaiah 5:20-21). The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:15-17). Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). 2. When Christ is my Savior and Lord, I m made alive by God and saved by grace This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:4). But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5).