WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.679 Most of you probably have been to a funeral at least once in your life, by this point in your life. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.740 It's always a sobering thing. 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:12.720 There's a sense of finality. 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:19.740 And especially if it's a loved one, the sense of loss is very real, right? 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:25.280 Even if you know that that person is in heaven. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:38.840 But I suppose to ease our grief, when funeral homes take the corpse in, they try to kind of mask the harsh reality of death, right? 00:00:38.900 --> 00:00:42.420 So I don't know if you've been to a funeral where they have the viewing of the deceased. 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:47.200 They leave the coffin open so they can see the deceased. 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:54.579 And of course, they're not leaving the corpse unadorned and decaying in the coffin like they put makeup on it. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:00.000 And maybe even close the eyes, right? 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:02.500 And just put the hair done right. 00:01:02.620 --> 00:01:07.659 And so everything, the person actually looks quiet, content, alive. 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:10.879 Going through and viewing the deceased. 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:17.060 But the truth is, of course, even though that corpse is dressed in her best clothes and has makeup on and all of that, 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:19.700 there is no life at all in that corpse. 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:21.980 The corpse can't lift a finger. 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:24.780 The corpse has no will of its own. 00:01:24.880 --> 00:01:25.439 You can't think. 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:26.500 You can't do anything. 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:29.120 The heart has stopped beating, right? 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:33.780 So it's no longer supplying oxygen to its body cells. 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:38.520 The calcium has leaked into its muscle cells, causing bigger mortis. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:39.740 So the body's stiff. 00:01:42.240 --> 00:01:43.159 There's no will. 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:45.120 There's no brain activity. 00:01:45.320 --> 00:01:47.460 So there's nothing that the corpse can do. 00:01:47.459 --> 00:01:50.919 She is completely disposed to the will of others. 00:01:52.919 --> 00:02:04.139 In this passage we just read, Apostle Paul tells us about the spiritual condition of people outside of Christ. 00:02:04.679 --> 00:02:10.840 But unlike the funeral homes that dress up the dead body, Paul doesn't dress up his truth at all. 00:02:11.359 --> 00:02:14.340 He tells us that we are spiritually dead. 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:32.099 And the reason why he's so grim is because we can't grasp, we can't understand the exceedingly great reality of God's salvation in rescuing us unless we get the gravity of the condition we were in. 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:34.659 That we were dead in our trespasses and sins. 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:35.560 That we were hopeless. 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.879 Of course, he's not referring to a physical death. 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:45.379 But in a similar way to the physical death, there's nothing that spiritually dead people can do to save themselves. 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:47.960 They can lift a finger to save themselves. 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:55.099 And this is hard for us to admit, right? 00:02:55.159 --> 00:03:00.659 People are willing to admit that, oh, you know, I was foolish and immature when I was young. 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:07.120 Oh, maybe I was a little sick, maybe spiritually sick, ill. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:09.060 But, you know, but that's not what Paul says. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:14.180 That's not enough to admit that you were maybe a little wrong, had a little error, maybe had a little sin. 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:18.280 What Paul wants us to get is that we were dead in our trespasses and sins. 00:03:18.359 --> 00:03:21.079 And there was nothing we could do to save ourselves. 00:03:21.859 --> 00:03:25.139 And to that end, Paul first describes our hopeless condition. 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:28.359 And then secondly, he describes God's merciful action. 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:32.700 And then third, he describes God's ultimate purpose for his saving action. 00:03:33.380 --> 00:03:41.420 In order to teach us, and this is the main point of this passage, that God saves hopeless sinners to display his sovereign grace. 00:03:42.160 --> 00:03:45.380 God saves hopeless sinners to display his sovereign grace. 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:50.680 So let's turn first to verses 1 to 3, which tell us about our hopeless condition. 00:03:51.740 --> 00:03:56.080 Verse 1 tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins. 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.000 Trespass, another translation says transgression. 00:03:59.160 --> 00:04:02.720 It's a violation, transgressing of a standard that God has set. 00:04:02.980 --> 00:04:06.480 Boundaries that God has placed around us and we transgress and we go beyond it. 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:12.020 The same thing, sin, likewise, is a word that refers to a violation of God's commands. 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:15.320 His explicit commandments in his laws, we violate it. 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:22.180 And at the heart of every sin and every transgression or trespass is unbelief and pride. 00:04:22.659 --> 00:04:26.839 And we see that in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sin against the Lord. 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:33.159 It's that we disbelieve, we doubt God's word, we disbelieve his word and think that we know better. 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:43.120 So there's unbelief, there's pride, and we rebel to do our own way, to pursue our own will as opposed to being submitted to God and living according to his will. 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:51.180 And Romans 6.23 teaches us that there's only one lawful consequence to that kind of activity, to sin and trespass, and that's death. 00:04:51.300 --> 00:04:52.960 The wages of sin is death. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:58.400 That's why it says in verse 1 that we were dead in our trespasses and sin. 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:07.239 And then in verses 2 to 3, Paul tells us what our spiritual death looked like with three descriptive phrases, participative phrases. 00:05:07.479 --> 00:05:09.979 First, we were following the course of this world. 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:13.359 Second, we were following the prince of the power of the air. 00:05:13.679 --> 00:05:17.919 And third, we were carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. 00:05:18.179 --> 00:05:23.079 So this is what theologians have historically called the world, the flesh, and the devil, the three enemies of the soul. 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:27.099 Now let's take a closer look at the first description in verse 2. 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:31.780 It says that we were once following the course of this world. 00:05:31.960 --> 00:05:35.140 It literally means following the age of this world. 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:46.800 It refers to various non-Christian or anti-Christian ideologies, values, philosophies, systems, fashions, pressures that govern our world. 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:48.020 Worldliness. 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:53.459 And there's only two courses you can follow. 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:58.639 You're either following the course of God, the heavenly course, or you're following the course of this world. 00:05:58.979 --> 00:06:05.519 And Jesus says in Matthew 12, 30, whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 00:06:05.979 --> 00:06:06.099 Right? 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:22.060 Even if you pride yourself in being different from the rest of the world, even if you stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the world, if you're not following God, then you're squarely in the pattern of this world. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.439 You're like everybody else following the course of this world. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.980 You're worldly in the most profound sense of that word. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:31.399 But a Christian follows another way. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:38.560 And the phrase age of this world highlights the radical break that takes place when a Christian gives himself, his life to the Lord. 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.000 When he's united with Jesus. 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:43.420 Because a Christian no longer belongs to this age. 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:50.720 The priorities and the values of the Christian shifts so drastically that it's almost as if the Christian no longer belongs to this age. 00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:53.199 No longer belongs to this world at all. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:07:00.439 What would be some examples of following the course of this world? 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:00.740 Right? 00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:03.420 For one, the pervasive materialism of our age. 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:09.219 People don't pay attention to God and his word. 00:07:09.219 --> 00:07:17.919 People are walking in the course of this world are blind to the eternal spiritual realities and are fixated on the temporal, physical realities. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:24.580 They're more concerned with their physical appearance than their spiritual character. 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:31.140 They're more concerned with their material possessions than their heavenly treasures. 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:41.839 They're more concerned with their opinions of their online virtual friends that they don't ever see than the verdict of their creator. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:56.120 Another example is deep-seated naturalism of our culture which tries to explain away everything with natural causes without any acknowledgement of God anywhere. 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:01.660 So then people lose sight of their ultimate purpose as people who are created by God for his glory. 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:05.639 So we live with the worldview that's men-centered, not God-centered. 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:09.740 And so in everything we do, we live without reference to God. 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:16.019 We seek to accomplish everything through human planning, through human ingenuity, through human power, and through human programs. 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:19.459 Without relying on God and His power. 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:27.120 Our world is, the diamond worldview of our age is godless. 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:31.319 There's no place for authority of God's word. 00:08:32.740 --> 00:08:42.279 And because beliefs in God, in spiritual truths are considered or basically demoted and relegated to the realms of private opinions. 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:46.919 There's no central anchor that holds us together. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.100 We drift in the sea of relativism. 00:08:52.059 --> 00:08:54.339 I mean, I can name, you guys can name a lot more. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:55.360 I can name a lot more, right? 00:08:55.419 --> 00:09:02.199 You see, in our world, people divide along various lines of identity and disdain those who don't belong to that identity or share that identity. 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:09.340 Whether it's systemic racism or ethnocentrism that leads to ethnic cleansing in places like Myanmar. 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:14.420 Or just classism here in Cambridge and Boston. 00:09:17.640 --> 00:09:23.840 The course of this world wrongly devalues people who are supremely valuable because they're created in the image of God. 00:09:24.300 --> 00:09:26.500 And we divide and disdain and dispute. 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:36.200 In these ways and more, we were all once following the course of this world, the age of this world. 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:45.980 And the second way in which we were dead in our trespasses and sins, as Paul describes, is that we were, in verse 2, following the prince of the power of the air. 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:47.480 What does that mean? 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:50.779 This sounds like some kind of sci-fi supernatural stuff, right? 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:54.720 The prince of the power of the air. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:56.240 The next clause gives us a clue. 00:09:56.560 --> 00:09:59.600 The prince of the power of the air is described as a spirit. 00:10:00.920 --> 00:10:04.480 In the same Greek word that means spirit can also be translated as wind. 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:06.720 The wind is in the air. 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:13.879 And the kingdom of the air is the invisible world of spirits, which people in this age largely saw as the realm above. 00:10:14.420 --> 00:10:16.200 The airy realm, they called it. 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:22.640 And he is called a prince because he can only act within the bounds of God's ultimate sovereignty. 00:10:23.180 --> 00:10:25.560 He still has a sort of a rule over this world. 00:10:26.060 --> 00:10:29.620 And John describes him consistently in his gospel as the ruler of this world. 00:10:31.040 --> 00:10:32.820 Satan is his name, the accuser. 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.680 And these forces are in the air, so to speak. 00:10:36.800 --> 00:10:37.640 It's pervasive. 00:10:37.640 --> 00:10:37.780 It's pervasive. 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:41.959 But this is often overlooked. 00:10:42.419 --> 00:10:42.799 Why? 00:10:42.959 --> 00:10:44.939 Precisely because it's the realm of the air. 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:45.699 It's invisible. 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:47.139 You don't see it. 00:10:48.339 --> 00:10:50.419 It's like carbon monoxide poisoning. 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:53.059 Orderless. 00:10:53.839 --> 00:10:54.360 Tasteless. 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:56.480 Colorless. 00:10:57.299 --> 00:11:01.819 You die killed by it without even knowing that you are being killed by it. 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:03.620 Spirit. 00:11:04.579 --> 00:11:04.980 Satan. 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:06.079 Demons. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:13.220 And this is so important for us to recognize whether you're a Christian or not here at this place. 00:11:13.340 --> 00:11:16.680 I mean, when you see, read in the news about human trafficking, right? 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:22.460 People being enslaved, abducted, enslaved, and sold for, and used, abused. 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:24.879 We are rightly indignant. 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:26.960 And we want to right that wrong. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:28.900 And we want to see the evildoers punished. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:34.020 But when it comes to Satan and his minions, they are doing this every day. 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:36.480 We are spiritually abducting, abusing. 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:43.000 And yet, we don't even protest. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:56.659 If we knew that, if we lived with that reality, how different would our posture be toward people who are being dragged to hell and enslaved by Satan? 00:11:56.659 --> 00:12:01.299 And the consequence is eternal death. 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:03.299 Separation from God. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:14.100 As Christians, to use the modern slang, we need to stay woke about that reality. 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:18.000 That's the ultimate reality that we need to be aware of. 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:20.639 As Ephesians 6, 12 says, 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:28.200 We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:31.200 against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:36.560 Are you aware of the spiritual battles that are being waved in and around you right now? 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:45.239 The pervasive and insidious influence of the prince of the power of the air. 00:12:47.819 --> 00:12:48.799 That's the second way. 00:12:49.359 --> 00:12:50.979 We were dead and not trespassed in sin. 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:54.899 And the third way in which we were dead and not trespassed in sin is in verse 3. 00:12:55.019 --> 00:13:00.879 It's that we live in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:05.039 Paul's not condemning all passions and desires that we have, right? 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:10.299 But he's referring to everything within us that is inclined toward evil and toward rebellion. 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:11.740 That's contrary to God. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:15.820 It's what God described in Genesis 8, 5 before he sent the flood judgment. 00:13:15.939 --> 00:13:21.659 He said that every intention of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.259 That's what it's describing here. 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:25.700 Those passions of the flesh. 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:30.720 Galatians 5, 19, 21 gives us some examples of these passions of the flesh. 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:48.220 Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. 00:13:49.419 --> 00:13:58.980 And people sometimes think that indulging these desires of the flesh and living without any kind of constraints from God's word as freedom. 00:13:58.980 --> 00:14:01.300 Living it up. 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:02.860 You have only one life to live. 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:03.680 Do what you enjoy. 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:04.399 Do whatever you want. 00:14:06.680 --> 00:14:08.460 But that can't be further from the truth. 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:10.940 There's no freedom in that kind of a lifestyle. 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:15.039 There may be the sensation of freedom, but there is no life there. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:16.899 It's a sign of death, as Paul described. 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:29.600 It's not unlike, I hope no one in this crowd does this, but it's not unlike climbing, rock climbing while unroped, right? 00:14:30.459 --> 00:14:33.419 Climbers call this free soloing, right? 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:38.459 And those who do it mention getting hooked to the adrenaline rush, right? 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:42.860 The sensation of being free from any constraints, being alive. 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:46.500 But if you climb anywhere above 30 feet, 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:52.519 you mess up and it's death. 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:57.919 And so if you look up the statistics on climbing, 00:14:58.100 --> 00:15:01.679 the fatalities from free soloing is disproportionately high. 00:15:02.199 --> 00:15:08.559 And the list of top world-class climbers who have died free soloing grows every year. 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:17.619 Sure, wearing a harness and being tied to a rope and using an anchor might feel like inhibitions, 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:23.099 but it's these safety mechanisms that enable climbers truly to enjoy their climb, 00:15:23.099 --> 00:15:28.079 to climb freely without fear of exchanging a thrill for death. 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:38.159 Similarly, indulging in the passions of our flesh may offer a sensation of freedom and life, 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:39.480 but there's no life there. 00:15:39.699 --> 00:15:40.379 It's death. 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:45.219 And some free soloing climbers survive, 00:15:45.939 --> 00:15:48.600 but sin has 100% fatality. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.539 And this is how we all once lived. 00:15:57.059 --> 00:15:58.259 There are no exceptions. 00:15:58.259 --> 00:15:59.399 Look at verse 3. 00:15:59.839 --> 00:16:02.299 Among whom we all once lived, 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:03.959 in the passions of our flesh, 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:05.919 carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.539 and were by nature children of wrath, 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:10.579 like the rest of mankind. 00:16:11.839 --> 00:16:13.039 There's no exception. 00:16:13.339 --> 00:16:14.959 Every single one of us, 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:16.979 no matter your upbringing, 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:18.740 no matter your heritage, 00:16:19.319 --> 00:16:21.639 no matter your background, 00:16:22.659 --> 00:16:26.039 we were all once dead in our trespasses. 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:31.599 And so we were objects of God's wrath. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:32.879 And God's wrath, 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:34.679 don't think of it as this capricious, 00:16:34.860 --> 00:16:35.099 you know, 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:37.899 this arbitrary, 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:39.179 maybe anger, 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:40.059 or pitiful, 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:40.360 you know, 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:42.179 petty anger of the pagan gods, 00:16:42.439 --> 00:16:44.199 of the Greco-Roman world. 00:16:44.319 --> 00:16:46.559 This is the expression, 00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:49.620 God's wrath is a manifestation of His commitment 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:50.699 to His holiness, 00:16:51.219 --> 00:16:52.079 and justice, 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:53.139 and righteousness, 00:16:53.139 --> 00:16:54.939 and it is just anger, 00:16:55.939 --> 00:16:56.899 righteous anger, 00:16:57.960 --> 00:16:59.740 wrath that we fully deserve 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:01.419 because of His righteous judgment. 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:06.240 All of us were dead like that, 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:07.339 and some of us 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:09.379 are probably still dead 00:17:09.379 --> 00:17:10.539 in our trespasses. 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:14.400 And what is required then 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:16.920 is not a partial renovation, 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:20.140 but a radical new birth. 00:17:22.320 --> 00:17:23.440 J.C. Ryle, 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.720 a 19th century Anglican pastor, 00:17:25.860 --> 00:17:26.140 writes, 00:17:26.840 --> 00:17:27.519 puts it this way, 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:30.539 it's not a little mending and alteration, 00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:32.600 a little cleansing and purifying, 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:34.220 a little painting and patching, 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:35.900 a little turning over a new leaf 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:37.279 and putting on a new exterior 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:38.160 that is wanted. 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:40.340 It is the bringing in 00:17:40.340 --> 00:17:42.320 of something altogether new, 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:44.860 the planting within us 00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:45.939 of a new nature, 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:47.139 a new being, 00:17:47.399 --> 00:17:48.439 a new principle, 00:17:48.579 --> 00:17:49.479 a new mind. 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:50.799 This alone, 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:52.419 and nothing less than this, 00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:54.559 will ever meet the necessities 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:55.419 of man's soul. 00:17:56.619 --> 00:17:58.299 We need not merely a new skin, 00:17:58.399 --> 00:17:59.259 but a new heart. 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:01.199 All things must pass away, 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:02.719 and all things must become new. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.219 Man must be born again, 00:18:05.659 --> 00:18:06.599 born from above, 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:07.779 born of God. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:09.939 The natural birth 00:18:09.939 --> 00:18:11.119 is no more necessary 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:12.319 to the life of the body 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:14.119 than is the spiritual birth 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:16.039 to the life of the soul. 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:20.119 And if you are not a Christian this morning, 00:18:20.159 --> 00:18:22.119 you have a tremendous opportunity 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:24.839 this day to be born again 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:26.399 from death to life. 00:18:27.419 --> 00:18:28.899 And don't despise 00:18:28.899 --> 00:18:30.379 your desperate need for salvation 00:18:30.379 --> 00:18:31.299 by pointing to 00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:32.200 and comparing yourselves 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:33.659 to weak, feeble, 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:34.799 hypocritical Christians 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:35.919 that you see in your life. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:40.580 Sure, 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:42.779 they may be less accomplished 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:43.220 than you. 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:44.740 Sure, 00:18:44.820 --> 00:18:45.380 they may appear 00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:47.100 even less moral than you. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:48.779 But there is 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:50.640 an unsurpassable gap 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:51.940 between the Christian 00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:53.220 and the non-Christian 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:54.720 because the one is alive 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:55.759 while the other is dead. 00:18:57.840 --> 00:18:59.519 The magnificent sculpture 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:01.220 of David by Michelangelo, 00:19:01.380 --> 00:19:02.680 even though it looks 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.640 in every appearance 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:04.240 to be alive 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:04.980 and it's beautiful 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:05.940 and it's magnificent, 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:07.319 but even that 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:08.420 does not compare 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:09.539 to this feeble 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:10.640 and weak life 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:11.920 of a child 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:13.180 born prematurely 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:14.539 in a neonatal cato unit. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:15.660 Why? 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:17.420 Because that statue is dead, 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:19.200 but that baby is alive. 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:27.779 The weakest member 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:28.700 of God's family 00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:30.160 has more life in him 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:30.680 and thus, 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:30.960 therefore, 00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:32.359 more precious to him 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:34.299 than the most successful, 00:19:34.679 --> 00:19:35.259 beautiful, 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:36.000 athletic, 00:19:36.379 --> 00:19:36.979 intelligent, 00:19:37.399 --> 00:19:39.000 and moral unbeliever. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:41.000 So you need Jesus today. 00:19:41.659 --> 00:19:43.319 You need to be born again. 00:19:46.159 --> 00:19:48.159 But how can that which is dead 00:19:48.159 --> 00:19:49.539 be brought to life? 00:19:49.959 --> 00:19:51.439 What can those who are dead 00:19:51.439 --> 00:19:52.319 in their trespasses 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:53.599 and sins do? 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:56.519 To be short 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:57.679 and blunt, 00:19:59.139 --> 00:19:59.539 nothing. 00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:01.980 Absolutely nothing. 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:04.019 There is nothing you can do. 00:20:07.379 --> 00:20:08.920 That's what death means. 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:10.839 The dead tell no tales. 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:14.119 The dead can't save themselves. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:16.839 Christian author Paul Tripp 00:20:16.839 --> 00:20:18.079 compares putting on 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:19.519 the appearance of life 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:20.460 on oneself 00:20:20.460 --> 00:20:21.619 apart from Christ 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:23.500 to trying to staple apples 00:20:23.500 --> 00:20:24.519 onto a dead tree. 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:25.799 Sure, 00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:26.619 it might look great 00:20:26.619 --> 00:20:27.379 for a little bit, 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:29.140 but there's no life 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:29.860 to sustain 00:20:29.860 --> 00:20:30.940 and nourish that fruit. 00:20:33.820 --> 00:20:34.620 We may be able 00:20:34.620 --> 00:20:35.120 to change 00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:36.080 some of our habits, 00:20:36.620 --> 00:20:37.320 but we cannot 00:20:37.320 --> 00:20:38.760 change our hearts. 00:20:40.260 --> 00:20:40.940 We may be able 00:20:40.940 --> 00:20:41.320 to take up 00:20:41.320 --> 00:20:42.100 a new lifestyle, 00:20:42.380 --> 00:20:42.600 sure, 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:43.800 many people have done that 00:20:43.800 --> 00:20:44.400 without Christ, 00:20:44.580 --> 00:20:45.360 but you cannot 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:46.940 take on a new nature. 00:20:47.300 --> 00:20:48.660 Only Christ can do that. 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:53.780 I hope 00:20:53.780 --> 00:20:55.380 you will crush 00:20:55.380 --> 00:20:55.940 this morning 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:56.580 because that's what 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:57.119 I'm trying to do. 00:20:57.960 --> 00:20:59.240 Crushed every dash, 00:20:59.339 --> 00:21:00.259 every last bit of hope 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:01.279 that you have in yourself 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:02.919 because there is no hope 00:21:02.919 --> 00:21:04.439 apart from Christ. 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:10.139 And the reason 00:21:10.139 --> 00:21:10.659 why I do that 00:21:10.659 --> 00:21:11.379 is not so that 00:21:11.379 --> 00:21:13.919 we can be depressed, 00:21:14.919 --> 00:21:15.859 but so that 00:21:15.859 --> 00:21:16.759 we can appropriate 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:17.740 and appreciate 00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:18.839 God's mercy. 00:21:20.259 --> 00:21:21.039 That brings us 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:21.699 to our second point. 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:25.859 Notice the descriptions, 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:27.179 notice the important word 00:21:27.179 --> 00:21:28.259 in verse 2 to 3, 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:29.679 we were once 00:21:29.679 --> 00:21:30.519 dead. 00:21:31.619 --> 00:21:31.679 Right? 00:21:31.939 --> 00:21:32.539 There's hope. 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:33.599 There's some 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:34.319 in our midst 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:35.699 who are no longer 00:21:35.699 --> 00:21:36.559 dead. 00:21:36.979 --> 00:21:37.819 That's the description 00:21:37.819 --> 00:21:38.819 of their past. 00:21:38.919 --> 00:21:39.619 It's our past, 00:21:39.740 --> 00:21:40.519 not our present. 00:21:40.699 --> 00:21:41.359 Why and how 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:41.959 did that happen? 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:42.899 Verse 4, 00:21:42.979 --> 00:21:43.559 read it with me. 00:21:43.939 --> 00:21:44.279 But 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:45.279 God, 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:49.859 that has to be 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:50.920 the most glorious, 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.019 hope-filling, 00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:53.420 and life-infusing 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:54.279 use of the 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:55.519 adversative conjunction 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:56.299 in literature. 00:21:57.220 --> 00:21:57.579 But, 00:21:58.019 --> 00:21:58.720 there's hope, 00:21:58.859 --> 00:21:59.220 but 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:00.720 God. 00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:03.339 It doesn't say, 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:04.839 but we pulled ourselves 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:05.660 up from our own 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:06.379 bootstraps. 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:08.279 It doesn't say, 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:09.700 we labored diligently 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:11.059 and earned our salvation. 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:12.039 It says, 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:12.639 it's not we 00:22:12.639 --> 00:22:13.359 who worked hard 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:14.519 to perform good works 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.480 to become alive 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:16.019 in Christ. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:16.579 It says, 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:17.799 but God 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:18.920 saved us. 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:20.539 Not you. 00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:22.460 Not me. 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:27.839 Why? 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:28.460 Read the verse 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:30.000 4 to 4 to 5 with me. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:30.740 But God, 00:22:31.380 --> 00:22:32.980 being rich in mercy 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:35.359 because of the great love 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:36.779 with which He loved us, 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:38.319 even when we were dead 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.160 in our trespasses, 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.680 made us alive 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:42.039 together with Christ. 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:42.819 By grace, 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:44.700 you have been saved. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:46.059 And notice the jarring 00:22:46.059 --> 00:22:47.019 contrast between 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:47.720 verse 3, 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:48.680 which talks about 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:49.799 God's wrath, 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:50.579 that we are objects 00:22:50.579 --> 00:22:51.319 of God's wrath, 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.279 and verse 4, 00:22:52.339 --> 00:22:53.000 which talks about 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:54.000 God's mercy 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.200 and His love. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:55.440 Right? 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:56.539 Paul puts them 00:22:56.539 --> 00:22:58.160 intentionally side by side, 00:22:58.279 --> 00:22:59.359 and the contrast 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:00.719 is not a contradiction. 00:23:01.919 --> 00:23:02.579 God still 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:04.000 resolutely opposes 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:05.379 and condemns our sin 00:23:05.379 --> 00:23:06.379 and judges us 00:23:06.379 --> 00:23:07.119 for our sin, 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.079 but not unlike 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:08.979 a parent who, 00:23:09.579 --> 00:23:10.359 while simultaneously 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:11.459 despising 00:23:11.459 --> 00:23:12.759 the willful rebellion 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:13.699 of their child, 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:15.859 still loves them, 00:23:16.379 --> 00:23:17.259 still corrects them, 00:23:17.979 --> 00:23:19.039 and instructs them. 00:23:19.979 --> 00:23:21.019 So God's wrath, 00:23:21.459 --> 00:23:22.399 God's mercy and love, 00:23:22.459 --> 00:23:23.019 they coexist. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:23.979 God loves us. 00:23:23.979 --> 00:23:24.839 It's because of 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:25.659 His love for us. 00:23:25.919 --> 00:23:26.679 It's because of 00:23:26.679 --> 00:23:27.240 His mercy 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:28.319 that though God 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:29.439 has wrath toward us 00:23:29.439 --> 00:23:30.119 in our sin, 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:31.379 He provides the means 00:23:31.379 --> 00:23:32.419 for us to be rescued 00:23:32.419 --> 00:23:33.379 and delivered 00:23:33.379 --> 00:23:34.679 from that wrath. 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:37.379 That's incredibly good news, 00:23:37.439 --> 00:23:38.480 and that's how He makes us 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:39.779 alive together 00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:41.679 with Christ. 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:42.960 And that phrase, 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:44.000 with Christ, 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:45.039 repeated emphatically 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:45.819 three times, 00:23:46.059 --> 00:23:47.159 verses 5 to 6, 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:48.460 these are the three things 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:49.599 that God does for us 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:50.500 that correspond 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:51.720 to the three ways 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:52.519 in which we were dead 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:53.619 and our trespasses and sin, 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:54.220 the world, 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:54.659 the flesh, 00:23:54.700 --> 00:23:55.119 and the devil. 00:23:55.399 --> 00:23:56.539 This is what God does first. 00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:57.659 God made us alive 00:23:57.659 --> 00:23:59.039 together with Christ. 00:23:59.440 --> 00:23:59.940 Second, 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:01.259 God raised us up 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:02.059 with Him. 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:03.379 And third, 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:04.539 God seated us 00:24:04.539 --> 00:24:05.180 with Him 00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:06.339 in the heavenly places 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:07.279 in Christ Jesus. 00:24:07.659 --> 00:24:08.599 God made us alive 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:09.079 with Him, 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:10.359 raised us with Him, 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:11.539 and seated us 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:12.539 with Him. 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:13.779 All of God's 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:14.740 saving activity 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:15.339 happens 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:17.159 with Christ. 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.119 So there's no salvation 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:19.700 apart 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:21.279 from Christ. 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:23.599 And what this means 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:24.099 is this, 00:24:24.279 --> 00:24:25.079 why with Christ, 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:25.579 with Christ, 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:26.559 what He's saying 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:26.960 is that we're 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:27.559 participating 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:29.279 in Christ's death 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:30.079 and resurrection 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:31.240 and ascension 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:32.139 and session, 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:32.679 His reign, 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:33.439 being seated next 00:24:33.439 --> 00:24:34.379 to the Father's right hand 00:24:34.379 --> 00:24:35.319 and reigning over 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:36.000 all authority, 00:24:36.139 --> 00:24:36.299 rule, 00:24:36.379 --> 00:24:36.659 and power, 00:24:36.699 --> 00:24:37.179 and dominion. 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:38.859 We get to be partakers 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:39.319 of that 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:41.079 because as we were singing, 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:42.720 He took our place. 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:44.779 He took the punishment 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:45.579 that we deserved 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:46.220 as sinners 00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:48.659 so that we can take place, 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:49.460 His place, 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:50.319 as the righteous, 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:51.460 beloved Son 00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:52.240 of the Father. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:55.960 that's what baptism 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:56.740 represents 00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:57.700 and signifies. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:24:58.620 That's why that's 00:24:58.620 --> 00:24:59.559 the sacrament 00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:01.420 of Christian initiation. 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:03.480 You go into the water, 00:25:03.620 --> 00:25:04.240 that signifies 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:05.759 your death. 00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:07.539 You're buried, 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:08.720 you're dead to sin, 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.859 and you rise again 00:25:11.859 --> 00:25:13.359 with Christ 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:14.339 in His resurrection 00:25:14.339 --> 00:25:15.140 power, 00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:17.099 with new life, 00:25:17.180 --> 00:25:17.920 being born again 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:18.960 in the family of God. 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:20.160 That's why we do baptism. 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:26.279 So how specifically 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:26.940 did He deal 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:27.900 with those three things? 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:29.360 Look at verse 5. 00:25:29.460 --> 00:25:29.640 First, 00:25:29.800 --> 00:25:30.800 He deals with the passions 00:25:30.800 --> 00:25:31.400 of our flesh. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:31.680 He says, 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:33.240 He made us alive 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:34.759 together with Christ. 00:25:35.620 --> 00:25:35.840 Right? 00:25:36.300 --> 00:25:37.160 So the fact that 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:37.680 we participate 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:38.360 in His resurrection 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:39.540 means we participated 00:25:39.540 --> 00:25:40.440 in His death. 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:43.540 Galatians 5, 00:25:43.600 --> 00:25:44.519 24 to 25 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:45.259 puts it this way, 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:46.060 those who belong 00:25:46.060 --> 00:25:46.960 to Christ Jesus 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:47.980 have crucified 00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:48.779 the flesh 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:50.279 with its passions 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:51.460 and desires. 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:52.639 Since we live 00:25:52.639 --> 00:25:53.319 by the Spirit, 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:55.000 let us keep in step 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.559 with the Spirit. 00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:57.519 The passions 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:58.259 of our flesh, 00:25:58.759 --> 00:25:59.240 crucified, 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:00.859 nailed on the cross. 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:02.059 Now we're dead. 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:03.180 We were once dead 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:04.440 in our trespasses 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:04.779 and sins. 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:05.680 Now we are dead 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:07.279 to our trespasses 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:07.720 and sins. 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:10.539 I hope you guys 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:11.460 think about it this way. 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:12.799 There's a radical break 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:13.559 that we're Christians. 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:14.400 That's no longer 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:15.079 who we are. 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:16.920 That's not how we live anymore 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:17.539 because that doesn't 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:18.480 define us anymore. 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:19.440 I mean, 00:26:19.600 --> 00:26:21.660 that's a very powerful 00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:23.339 idea, 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:24.279 mentality to have. 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:24.519 I mean, 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:24.980 think about it. 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:26.220 Sometimes when 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:28.220 my elder daughter 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:29.900 asks me to spoon feed 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:30.420 her food 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:31.339 for her meal, 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:31.920 I tell her, 00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:32.460 girl, 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:34.380 you gotta feed yourself 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:36.339 because you're not 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:37.079 a baby anymore. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:39.139 You're not a baby anymore. 00:26:39.879 --> 00:26:41.139 And that often works 00:26:41.139 --> 00:26:41.459 for her 00:26:41.459 --> 00:26:42.599 because she thinks 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:43.159 about it for a second. 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:43.480 Oh yeah, 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:44.459 I'm not a baby anymore. 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:44.659 Yeah, 00:26:44.699 --> 00:26:45.500 so I should feed myself. 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.019 It's like, 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:47.339 that's what my baby sister 00:26:47.339 --> 00:26:47.619 does. 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:48.579 I mean, 00:26:48.619 --> 00:26:49.459 it's recognizing, 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:49.720 no, 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:51.099 we are born again 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:52.899 into Christ's righteousness, 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:53.939 into His kingdom. 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:55.259 We are no longer 00:26:55.259 --> 00:26:56.699 defined by our trespasses 00:26:56.699 --> 00:26:57.159 and sins. 00:26:57.299 --> 00:26:58.579 So why linger then? 00:26:58.679 --> 00:26:59.439 Why live in it? 00:26:59.439 --> 00:27:00.579 That's not who we are. 00:27:01.399 --> 00:27:02.199 We're new people. 00:27:02.959 --> 00:27:04.220 We have a new father. 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:05.539 We have a new family. 00:27:05.539 --> 00:27:06.579 We have a new identity. 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:11.920 And there's so much power 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.759 in appropriating 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.659 that grace of God 00:27:14.659 --> 00:27:15.200 in Christ 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:16.240 for ourselves. 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:18.579 Some of us wrestle 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:19.299 with guilt, 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:20.079 lingering guilt 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:20.799 a lot of times 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:21.420 and you wrestle 00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:22.839 with a lot of sins 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:23.639 that you have, 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:24.879 seem to have no power 00:27:24.879 --> 00:27:27.159 to kill. 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:27.879 And maybe you're 00:27:27.879 --> 00:27:28.940 telling me at this point, 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:29.159 well, 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:30.019 you might say that 00:27:30.019 --> 00:27:31.440 we're dead to trespass 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:31.819 and sins, 00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:33.279 but my sins and trespasses 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:34.519 seem alive and well 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:35.139 in my life, 00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:35.400 right? 00:27:35.900 --> 00:27:37.700 And if that's the case, 00:27:37.800 --> 00:27:38.600 then this illustration 00:27:38.600 --> 00:27:39.560 might be helpful for you. 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:42.160 When you're farming 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:43.640 or doing gardening work, 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:43.880 right, 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:45.360 you have to take care 00:27:45.360 --> 00:27:45.900 of the weeds. 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:47.420 I do this every week. 00:27:48.320 --> 00:27:49.780 And you have to 00:27:49.780 --> 00:27:50.800 uproot the weeds, 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:51.220 right? 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:54.660 And once you take them out 00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:55.720 and remove the root 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:56.819 and you take the weeds out, 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:57.839 they will still, 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:00.319 for maybe a day or two, 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:01.500 still have a semblance 00:28:01.500 --> 00:28:02.240 of life in them, 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:02.600 right? 00:28:02.839 --> 00:28:03.759 It'll still be green. 00:28:04.779 --> 00:28:06.100 It'll still be a little 00:28:06.100 --> 00:28:06.720 flexible, 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.500 has some water left in it. 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:11.299 But that's a dead weed. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:13.720 There's no way 00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:15.380 that weed survives. 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:16.579 It's dead 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:17.539 because it's uprooted. 00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:20.039 It's just a matter of time. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:22.220 In the same way, 00:28:22.659 --> 00:28:24.259 when Christ decisively 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:25.579 defeated sin 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:27.159 on the cross 00:28:27.159 --> 00:28:28.019 on our behalf, 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:30.460 He killed it. 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:31.299 He was victorious. 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:34.359 And it's just a matter 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:34.859 of time 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:36.659 before we're fully 00:28:36.659 --> 00:28:37.680 delivered from even 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:38.619 the presence of sin 00:28:38.619 --> 00:28:39.059 in our life. 00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:41.119 That's why increasingly 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:42.579 every believer's life 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:43.180 is characterized 00:28:43.180 --> 00:28:44.579 by sanctification, 00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:45.980 becoming holier 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:47.079 day by day, 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:48.019 year by year 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:49.700 because sin is dying. 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:50.740 It's dead. 00:28:56.180 --> 00:28:57.279 This is how Christ 00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.279 deals with our flesh, 00:28:58.319 --> 00:28:59.359 but He doesn't stop there. 00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:00.099 He also deals 00:29:00.099 --> 00:29:01.500 with our world 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:04.819 because as participants 00:29:04.819 --> 00:29:05.539 of His death 00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:06.079 and resurrection, 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:07.119 we're also participants 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:08.139 in His ascension. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:09.079 It says in verse 6 00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:10.539 that God raised us 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:12.079 up with Christ. 00:29:14.539 --> 00:29:15.559 And because 00:29:15.559 --> 00:29:16.399 we have been raised 00:29:16.399 --> 00:29:17.379 to new life 00:29:17.379 --> 00:29:18.759 above with Christ, 00:29:18.919 --> 00:29:20.479 we no longer live by 00:29:20.479 --> 00:29:21.519 or are defined by 00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:23.019 the age of this world. 00:29:23.719 --> 00:29:25.319 Our hope is not here anymore. 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:28.519 It's in God's kingdom. 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:29.440 It's with Christ. 00:29:30.139 --> 00:29:32.259 1 Peter 1, 3-4 says, 00:29:32.359 --> 00:29:33.460 God has caused us 00:29:33.460 --> 00:29:34.339 to be born again 00:29:34.339 --> 00:29:35.579 to a living hope 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.420 through the resurrection 00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:37.319 of Jesus Christ 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:37.980 from the dead 00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:39.200 to an inheritance 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:40.480 that is imperishable, 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:41.500 undefiled, 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:42.480 and unfading, 00:29:42.639 --> 00:29:43.420 kept in heaven 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.519 for you. 00:29:45.900 --> 00:29:46.980 That's what we look forward 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:47.839 to and live by. 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:48.579 That's our hope. 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:51.460 This world tells us 00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:52.799 that wealth 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.720 will bring us happiness. 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:53.860 happiness. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:57.839 You should accumulate 00:29:57.839 --> 00:29:59.000 more and more 00:29:59.000 --> 00:29:59.500 and more 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:00.440 so you could spend 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:01.600 more and more 00:30:01.600 --> 00:30:01.960 and more 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:02.500 and be happy. 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:06.120 But because 00:30:06.120 --> 00:30:06.940 we have been raised 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:07.519 with Christ 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:08.779 above this world, 00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:09.799 we no longer 00:30:09.799 --> 00:30:10.740 lay up for ourselves 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:11.900 treasures here on earth 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:12.880 where moths and rust 00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:13.519 destroy, 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:14.400 where thieves break 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:14.940 in and steal, 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:16.519 but instead we lay up 00:30:16.519 --> 00:30:17.420 our treasures in heaven 00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:19.299 where moths and rust 00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:20.059 do not destroy, 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:21.539 where thieves do not 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:22.339 break in and steal. 00:30:22.339 --> 00:30:25.980 This world tells us 00:30:25.980 --> 00:30:27.099 you are what you eat. 00:30:30.699 --> 00:30:31.740 Eat organic, 00:30:32.500 --> 00:30:33.179 stay fit, 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:34.519 so you can be healthy 00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:35.399 and look good 00:30:35.399 --> 00:30:36.779 and attract the other sex. 00:30:39.339 --> 00:30:41.139 But 1 Corinthians 6.13 00:30:41.139 --> 00:30:41.639 tells us 00:30:41.639 --> 00:30:42.480 food is meant 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.179 for the stomach 00:30:43.179 --> 00:30:44.039 and the stomach 00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:44.659 for food 00:30:44.659 --> 00:30:45.859 and God will destroy 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:47.299 both one and the other. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:49.119 The body is not meant 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:50.299 for sexual immorality 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:51.279 but for the Lord 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:52.179 and the Lord 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:53.259 for the body. 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:56.980 Eating well 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:57.519 and exercising 00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:58.340 are good things, 00:30:58.539 --> 00:30:58.860 sure, 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:01.160 but that must never 00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:02.480 be the driving concern 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:03.220 of our lives 00:31:03.220 --> 00:31:05.460 because we have been 00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:06.220 raised with Christ 00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:07.100 above the course 00:31:07.100 --> 00:31:07.620 of this world. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.880 There's more to us 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:09.600 than our bodies 00:31:09.600 --> 00:31:12.620 and more to life 00:31:12.620 --> 00:31:13.740 than enjoying food 00:31:13.740 --> 00:31:14.420 and sex. 00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:18.840 So not only does Christ 00:31:18.840 --> 00:31:20.539 save us from the flesh 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:21.960 and the world, 00:31:22.840 --> 00:31:23.720 He also deals 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:24.539 once and for all 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:25.220 with the prince 00:31:25.220 --> 00:31:25.980 of the power 00:31:25.980 --> 00:31:26.600 of the air. 00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:27.860 He does this 00:31:27.860 --> 00:31:28.500 by making us 00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:29.080 participants 00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:30.240 in His session. 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:31.720 His ascension 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:32.360 and His session, 00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:33.160 He's being seated 00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:33.779 at the right hand 00:31:33.779 --> 00:31:34.220 of the Father 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:34.620 which means 00:31:34.620 --> 00:31:35.500 He's enthroned 00:31:35.500 --> 00:31:36.519 and He's reigning 00:31:36.519 --> 00:31:37.400 over all authority, 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:38.060 rule and power 00:31:38.060 --> 00:31:38.600 and dominion. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:39.900 We now reside 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:40.380 with Him 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:41.480 and reign with Him. 00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:42.299 That means we are 00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:42.980 no longer 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:44.200 under the tyrannical 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:45.480 reign of Satan 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:46.920 in our lives. 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:50.240 Remember from last week 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:51.440 that Christ is above 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:52.559 every name that is named 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:53.539 so we don't have to name 00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:54.700 any other name. 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:56.299 That's us. 00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:57.599 And for the Ephesian 00:31:57.599 --> 00:31:58.559 believers who 00:31:58.559 --> 00:31:59.360 at the time 00:31:59.360 --> 00:31:59.900 were living 00:31:59.900 --> 00:32:01.099 with perpetual fear 00:32:01.099 --> 00:32:01.839 of what these 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:02.620 aerial spirits 00:32:02.620 --> 00:32:03.559 can do to them, 00:32:05.120 --> 00:32:06.860 this is a liberating reality. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:08.519 You're not under 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:09.360 His dominion anymore. 00:32:10.099 --> 00:32:11.240 So stop doing 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:11.700 His being. 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:13.519 You're not a slave. 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:15.059 You've been free 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:16.940 at the highest cost 00:32:16.940 --> 00:32:17.539 of the blood 00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:18.640 of Jesus Christ. 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:24.220 God's a complete sinner. 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:25.200 He delivers us 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:25.779 from the world, 00:32:25.900 --> 00:32:26.339 the flesh, 00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:27.120 and the devil 00:32:27.120 --> 00:32:28.240 but that leaves us 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:30.160 one lingering question. 00:32:30.779 --> 00:32:31.640 What's in it for Him? 00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:33.400 Why? 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:37.400 Our final point, 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:39.380 God's ultimate purpose 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:40.700 but before I get 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:41.880 to God's ultimate purpose, 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:42.880 let me tell you 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:43.700 about God's 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:44.960 penultimate purpose. 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:47.519 It's still one of His purposes 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:48.539 but not the ultimate purpose, 00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:49.720 the purpose just before that. 00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:51.120 And He says, 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:52.860 we all once walked 00:32:52.860 --> 00:32:54.200 in trespasses and sins 00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:55.140 in verses 1 to 2 00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:56.000 but now He uses 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:57.140 the same word walk 00:32:57.140 --> 00:32:57.920 and it says this 00:32:57.920 --> 00:32:58.539 in verse 10, 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:00.160 we are His workmanship 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:01.960 created in Christ Jesus 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:03.860 for good works 00:33:03.860 --> 00:33:05.660 which God prepared beforehand 00:33:05.660 --> 00:33:06.920 that we should walk 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:07.720 in them. 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:09.259 Note the repetition 00:33:09.259 --> 00:33:10.460 of the word walk. 00:33:10.560 --> 00:33:12.000 So we used to walk this way 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.140 but God saved us 00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:14.060 so that now we walk 00:33:14.060 --> 00:33:15.220 this way differently 00:33:15.220 --> 00:33:16.960 for good works 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:18.660 as God's workmanship. 00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:19.840 That word means 00:33:19.840 --> 00:33:20.880 it's creation. 00:33:21.340 --> 00:33:21.820 That means we are 00:33:21.820 --> 00:33:22.960 God's new creation. 00:33:23.100 --> 00:33:23.660 He created us 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:24.400 for His purpose 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:26.240 and as created beings 00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:27.660 we serve the will 00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:28.660 and desire 00:33:29.320 --> 00:33:30.140 of the Creator, 00:33:30.460 --> 00:33:31.040 His purpose. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:33.119 And what this means 00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:33.920 is that contrary 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:35.019 to what a lot of people say, 00:33:35.099 --> 00:33:36.000 oh if God saves you 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:37.159 freely by God's grace, 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:38.079 well then you don't need 00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:39.079 to do any good works. 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:42.680 No, God saved us 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:43.579 for good works. 00:33:43.639 --> 00:33:44.019 What do you mean 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:44.960 we don't do any good works? 00:33:46.259 --> 00:33:47.039 And that's what 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:48.299 every Christian does 00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:49.000 because that's what 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:50.059 we've been saved for, 00:33:50.119 --> 00:33:50.659 that's what we've been 00:33:50.659 --> 00:33:51.460 consecrated for 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:52.299 so we live 00:33:52.299 --> 00:33:53.619 and do good works 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:54.420 every day. 00:33:55.440 --> 00:33:56.659 So if you're a Christian 00:33:56.659 --> 00:33:57.539 and that's the thought 00:33:57.539 --> 00:33:58.299 that you have had 00:33:58.299 --> 00:34:00.099 and if in your life 00:34:00.099 --> 00:34:01.859 you do not give evidence 00:34:01.859 --> 00:34:02.579 of the fact 00:34:02.579 --> 00:34:03.439 that you have been 00:34:03.439 --> 00:34:04.699 transferred from this 00:34:04.699 --> 00:34:06.539 kingdom of the dominion 00:34:06.539 --> 00:34:06.939 of Satan 00:34:06.939 --> 00:34:08.039 to the dominion of Christ 00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:09.819 through your good works, 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:10.659 through your life, 00:34:11.339 --> 00:34:12.119 then you're still dead 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:13.299 in your trespasses and sins. 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:15.819 If you don't give evidence 00:34:15.819 --> 00:34:16.400 of the fact 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:17.239 that you have, 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:18.199 you're dead 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:19.639 to your trespasses and sins, 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:20.759 that you no longer 00:34:20.759 --> 00:34:21.759 follow the desires 00:34:21.759 --> 00:34:22.380 of the flesh 00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:23.480 but you follow the desires 00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:24.659 of your Lord Jesus Christ, 00:34:24.839 --> 00:34:25.839 then you are not 00:34:25.839 --> 00:34:27.199 alive in Christ. 00:34:28.759 --> 00:34:29.599 The true Christians 00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:32.079 must show evidence, 00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:32.839 show proof 00:34:32.839 --> 00:34:33.759 of their salvation 00:34:33.759 --> 00:34:34.619 in the way they live 00:34:34.619 --> 00:34:35.719 because that was the purpose 00:34:35.719 --> 00:34:36.880 for which God saved us. 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:39.839 Saved us for good works, 00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:41.980 not by good works. 00:34:43.179 --> 00:34:43.920 The prepositions 00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:44.799 are so important 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:45.639 when it comes to talking 00:34:45.639 --> 00:34:46.900 about these theological issues. 00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:48.059 We're not saved 00:34:48.059 --> 00:34:49.119 by good works. 00:34:49.219 --> 00:34:50.400 We're saved by grace 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:51.579 through faith 00:34:51.579 --> 00:34:53.139 but we have been saved 00:34:53.139 --> 00:34:55.039 for purpose, 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:56.000 good works. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:59.420 But that's only 00:34:59.420 --> 00:35:00.500 the penultimate purpose 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:02.300 and the ultimate purpose 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:03.199 is this, 00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:04.860 God saves hopeless sinners 00:35:04.860 --> 00:35:06.559 to display 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:08.900 His sovereign grace. 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:10.300 See this clearly 00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:11.219 in verse 7. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:13.519 So that purpose, 00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:15.579 in the coming ages, 00:35:15.860 --> 00:35:16.619 He might show 00:35:16.619 --> 00:35:18.219 the immeasurable riches 00:35:18.219 --> 00:35:19.440 of His grace 00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:21.159 in kindness toward us 00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:22.940 in Christ Jesus. 00:35:22.940 --> 00:35:25.700 That's His ultimate purpose. 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:27.000 He wants to show 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:28.760 case to all the generations 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:29.820 for eternity, 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:31.240 His grace 00:35:31.240 --> 00:35:32.920 and kindness toward us. 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:37.599 He continues this thought 00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:38.240 in verse 5. 00:35:38.340 --> 00:35:38.659 Paul says, 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:39.880 by grace 00:35:39.880 --> 00:35:42.180 you have been saved. 00:35:43.680 --> 00:35:44.180 And then now 00:35:44.180 --> 00:35:45.180 he repeats that 00:35:45.180 --> 00:35:45.800 in verse 8 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:46.619 and then explains 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:47.599 what he means by that. 00:35:47.680 --> 00:35:48.480 For by grace 00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:49.420 you have been saved 00:35:49.420 --> 00:35:50.440 through faith 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:51.579 and this is not 00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:52.680 your own doing, 00:35:52.980 --> 00:35:53.940 it is the gift 00:35:53.940 --> 00:35:55.039 of God. 00:35:56.200 --> 00:35:57.480 Salvation is a gift. 00:35:58.619 --> 00:35:59.539 Do you really believe that? 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:03.139 Can you imagine 00:36:03.139 --> 00:36:03.820 getting a gift 00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:04.519 from someone 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:06.179 and then 00:36:06.179 --> 00:36:07.079 a week later 00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:07.699 getting a bill? 00:36:12.980 --> 00:36:13.960 Come on. 00:36:14.820 --> 00:36:15.940 That's not a gift. 00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:17.340 It's in the very 00:36:17.340 --> 00:36:18.800 definition of a gift 00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:19.840 that it is freely 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:20.759 given 00:36:20.759 --> 00:36:21.860 with nothing 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:23.099 expected in return. 00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:28.159 So why 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:29.119 do we live 00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:30.199 with insecurity 00:36:30.199 --> 00:36:31.779 like God gave us 00:36:31.779 --> 00:36:32.400 a loan? 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:35.579 Oh, here's a loan. 00:36:35.699 --> 00:36:36.319 Now you do 00:36:36.319 --> 00:36:37.099 everything for me. 00:36:38.299 --> 00:36:39.219 If you don't 00:36:39.219 --> 00:36:40.199 I might take it back. 00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:44.960 Why do you live 00:36:44.960 --> 00:36:46.400 like you owe Him 00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:46.779 something 00:36:46.779 --> 00:36:48.400 when He gave it 00:36:48.400 --> 00:36:49.019 to you freely 00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:50.099 and said 00:36:50.099 --> 00:36:50.940 this is a gift 00:36:50.940 --> 00:36:52.319 because I love you 00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:53.000 because I want to 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:53.960 show you my grace 00:36:53.960 --> 00:36:54.420 and kindness. 00:36:54.539 --> 00:36:55.660 That's why I saved you. 00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:56.480 Why do you live 00:36:56.480 --> 00:36:57.240 like you owe Him 00:36:57.240 --> 00:36:57.620 something? 00:36:59.600 --> 00:37:00.000 Sure, 00:37:00.180 --> 00:37:01.019 in love 00:37:01.019 --> 00:37:01.600 we owe Him 00:37:01.600 --> 00:37:02.039 everything 00:37:02.039 --> 00:37:02.980 but you don't 00:37:02.980 --> 00:37:03.519 have to pay 00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:04.300 anything back. 00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:06.740 God paid for it. 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:08.920 It's a gift. 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:13.140 And that brings us 00:37:13.140 --> 00:37:14.539 to another one 00:37:14.539 --> 00:37:15.800 of the five 00:37:15.800 --> 00:37:16.460 core principles 00:37:16.460 --> 00:37:17.120 of the Protestant 00:37:17.120 --> 00:37:17.700 Reformation. 00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:19.740 Grace alone. 00:37:19.739 --> 00:37:21.419 we're saved 00:37:21.419 --> 00:37:22.599 not by our works 00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:24.000 but by grace 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:24.839 alone. 00:37:25.839 --> 00:37:27.000 We're not saved 00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:27.879 through penance. 00:37:30.099 --> 00:37:31.299 We're not saved 00:37:31.299 --> 00:37:32.279 through the sacraments. 00:37:33.799 --> 00:37:35.099 We're not saved 00:37:35.099 --> 00:37:36.199 through our good works. 00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:37.719 We're saved 00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:38.599 by grace 00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:39.379 alone. 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:47.880 And don't be 00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:48.900 misled into thinking 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:49.800 that it's our faith 00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:50.660 that saves us. 00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:52.860 Remember I told you 00:37:52.860 --> 00:37:53.460 the prepositions 00:37:53.460 --> 00:37:53.920 are important. 00:37:54.059 --> 00:37:54.400 We're saved 00:37:54.400 --> 00:37:55.099 by grace 00:37:55.099 --> 00:37:57.099 through faith. 00:37:57.660 --> 00:37:58.079 Faith 00:37:58.079 --> 00:37:59.140 is the instrument 00:37:59.140 --> 00:38:00.019 of our salvation. 00:38:00.220 --> 00:38:01.200 It's not the cost. 00:38:01.640 --> 00:38:02.820 It's not the basis 00:38:02.820 --> 00:38:03.800 of our salvation. 00:38:04.360 --> 00:38:05.019 Let's say this. 00:38:05.099 --> 00:38:05.740 Let's say you apply 00:38:05.740 --> 00:38:06.500 to an incredibly 00:38:06.500 --> 00:38:07.880 prestigious law firm 00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:09.000 that you're completely 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:10.119 unqualified for 00:38:10.119 --> 00:38:11.200 and have no business 00:38:11.200 --> 00:38:11.780 applying to. 00:38:13.700 --> 00:38:14.740 But let's say 00:38:14.740 --> 00:38:17.079 that your dad 00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:18.780 is the president 00:38:18.780 --> 00:38:19.579 of this law firm 00:38:19.579 --> 00:38:21.300 and he makes 00:38:21.300 --> 00:38:22.280 all the hiring decisions. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:26.780 Well of course 00:38:26.780 --> 00:38:27.519 you're going to get in. 00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:30.760 Did you get in 00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:31.960 because your application 00:38:31.960 --> 00:38:32.579 was stellar? 00:38:32.579 --> 00:38:36.059 No, you got in 00:38:36.059 --> 00:38:36.980 because of your 00:38:36.980 --> 00:38:38.159 father's grace. 00:38:39.659 --> 00:38:40.659 The application 00:38:40.659 --> 00:38:41.799 was just the means. 00:38:42.360 --> 00:38:43.539 It was not the basis 00:38:43.539 --> 00:38:44.840 of your entry, 00:38:45.179 --> 00:38:45.840 of your induction, 00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:47.400 of your acceptance. 00:38:52.019 --> 00:38:52.799 So then 00:38:52.799 --> 00:38:53.539 as 00:38:53.539 --> 00:38:55.539 those who 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:56.460 were once dead 00:38:56.460 --> 00:38:57.219 but made alive 00:38:57.219 --> 00:38:57.559 in Christ 00:38:57.559 --> 00:38:58.539 by God's grace, 00:38:58.799 --> 00:38:59.559 it's appropriate 00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:00.500 for us as people 00:39:00.500 --> 00:39:01.300 to display 00:39:01.300 --> 00:39:02.780 his sovereign grace, 00:39:02.860 --> 00:39:03.699 the ultimate reason 00:39:03.699 --> 00:39:05.139 for his saving us. 00:39:07.059 --> 00:39:07.880 And that's why 00:39:07.880 --> 00:39:08.699 God saves us 00:39:08.699 --> 00:39:09.340 by grace 00:39:09.340 --> 00:39:09.980 through faith 00:39:09.980 --> 00:39:11.260 so that we don't boast 00:39:11.260 --> 00:39:11.900 but that God 00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:13.239 gets the glory for it 00:39:13.239 --> 00:39:14.619 because if God's 00:39:14.619 --> 00:39:15.420 completely responsible 00:39:15.420 --> 00:39:16.099 for our salvation 00:39:16.099 --> 00:39:16.599 from the beginning 00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:17.079 to the end, 00:39:17.139 --> 00:39:17.519 there's nothing 00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:18.280 we can do 00:39:18.280 --> 00:39:19.539 to exalt ourselves 00:39:19.539 --> 00:39:20.480 in God's, 00:39:20.820 --> 00:39:22.619 before God's throne. 00:39:23.760 --> 00:39:25.199 As verse 9 implies, 00:39:25.300 --> 00:39:25.480 it says, 00:39:25.739 --> 00:39:26.519 if our salvation 00:39:26.519 --> 00:39:27.480 were a result 00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:28.440 of works, 00:39:28.780 --> 00:39:29.900 then we could boast. 00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:31.539 Then we'd have 00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:32.619 something to boast about. 00:39:33.180 --> 00:39:33.980 We deserve some 00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:34.780 credit and glory 00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:35.760 but it's because 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:36.380 our salvation 00:39:36.380 --> 00:39:37.480 is not a result 00:39:37.480 --> 00:39:37.900 of works 00:39:37.900 --> 00:39:38.619 but the gift 00:39:38.619 --> 00:39:39.160 of God 00:39:39.160 --> 00:39:40.519 we may not boast. 00:39:40.760 --> 00:39:40.900 Well, 00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:42.019 going back to the illustration, 00:39:42.220 --> 00:39:43.139 if you had graduated 00:39:43.139 --> 00:39:44.079 as a valedictorian 00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:45.119 from Harvard Law School 00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:47.300 and you aced 00:39:47.300 --> 00:39:48.019 your bar exam, 00:39:49.420 --> 00:39:49.700 well, 00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:50.599 when you get 00:39:50.599 --> 00:39:51.280 into that firm, 00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:52.079 who gets the credit 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:52.500 for that? 00:39:53.680 --> 00:39:53.860 Well, 00:39:53.860 --> 00:39:54.200 you do 00:39:54.200 --> 00:39:55.820 because everybody 00:39:55.820 --> 00:39:56.559 sees it and says, 00:39:56.680 --> 00:39:56.780 oh, 00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:57.440 you are eminently 00:39:57.440 --> 00:39:58.079 qualified. 00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:04.840 it's when 00:40:04.840 --> 00:40:05.159 you have 00:40:05.159 --> 00:40:05.980 no qualifications 00:40:05.980 --> 00:40:07.599 but you get in 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:08.219 because of your 00:40:08.219 --> 00:40:08.980 father's grace, 00:40:09.039 --> 00:40:09.759 that's when he gets 00:40:09.759 --> 00:40:10.139 the credit. 00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:11.380 Of course, 00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:11.980 in that example, 00:40:12.079 --> 00:40:12.819 he'd also be accused 00:40:12.819 --> 00:40:13.880 of nepotism probably 00:40:13.880 --> 00:40:14.900 but that's not 00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:16.119 the point of the analogy 00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:19.159 because our salvation 00:40:19.159 --> 00:40:19.980 is not a result 00:40:19.980 --> 00:40:20.619 of works. 00:40:21.619 --> 00:40:22.539 Church historian 00:40:22.539 --> 00:40:23.719 Richard Loveless 00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:24.360 writes this, 00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:24.880 that he said, 00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:25.780 many Christians 00:40:25.780 --> 00:40:27.019 below the surface 00:40:27.019 --> 00:40:27.900 of their lives, 00:40:28.480 --> 00:40:29.420 they are guilt-ridden 00:40:29.420 --> 00:40:30.280 and insecure 00:40:30.280 --> 00:40:33.000 and draw the assurance 00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:33.860 of their acceptance 00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:34.579 with God 00:40:34.579 --> 00:40:35.760 from their sincerity, 00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:37.780 their past experience 00:40:37.780 --> 00:40:38.480 of conversion, 00:40:38.900 --> 00:40:40.300 their recent religious 00:40:40.300 --> 00:40:40.940 performance, 00:40:41.220 --> 00:40:43.160 or the relative infrequency 00:40:43.160 --> 00:40:44.220 of their conscious 00:40:44.220 --> 00:40:45.720 willful disobedience. 00:40:45.719 --> 00:40:49.519 when we do this, 00:40:49.739 --> 00:40:50.539 when we rely 00:40:50.539 --> 00:40:51.959 on our own sincerity, 00:40:52.299 --> 00:40:53.259 on our own past 00:40:53.259 --> 00:40:54.219 experience of conversion, 00:40:54.339 --> 00:40:55.299 on our own recent 00:40:55.299 --> 00:40:56.639 religious performance 00:40:56.639 --> 00:40:57.459 or experience, 00:40:57.619 --> 00:40:58.500 or on our relative 00:40:58.500 --> 00:41:00.059 infrequency of sin 00:41:00.059 --> 00:41:00.959 in our lives, 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:01.899 then we're robbing 00:41:01.899 --> 00:41:02.959 God of his glory 00:41:02.959 --> 00:41:05.299 because then when 00:41:05.299 --> 00:41:06.159 we are relying on that, 00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:07.099 we're saying to ourselves, 00:41:07.279 --> 00:41:07.480 well, 00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:08.459 God loves me 00:41:08.459 --> 00:41:09.779 because I do my 00:41:09.779 --> 00:41:10.939 devotions every day. 00:41:11.939 --> 00:41:12.259 Well, 00:41:12.359 --> 00:41:13.419 God saved me 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:15.079 because I was more sincere 00:41:15.079 --> 00:41:16.139 and full of faith 00:41:16.139 --> 00:41:16.920 than those people. 00:41:19.380 --> 00:41:19.860 Well, 00:41:19.900 --> 00:41:20.700 God loves me 00:41:20.700 --> 00:41:21.440 because I haven't 00:41:21.440 --> 00:41:22.320 sinned that badly 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:23.320 in a long time. 00:41:25.599 --> 00:41:26.980 Stop robbing God 00:41:26.980 --> 00:41:27.619 of his glory. 00:41:32.139 --> 00:41:33.940 When we say to ourselves, 00:41:33.940 --> 00:41:35.400 God saved me, 00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:37.000 a hopeless sinner, 00:41:37.619 --> 00:41:39.220 utterly hopeless sinner, 00:41:39.500 --> 00:41:40.800 not because I'm great, 00:41:40.860 --> 00:41:41.980 but because his love 00:41:41.980 --> 00:41:42.579 is great. 00:41:43.420 --> 00:41:45.260 When we tell others 00:41:45.260 --> 00:41:45.800 in our lives, 00:41:45.980 --> 00:41:46.760 God saved me, 00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:47.639 a hopeless sinner, 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:49.180 not because I was 00:41:49.180 --> 00:41:49.740 so deserving, 00:41:49.860 --> 00:41:51.740 but because of his mercy, 00:41:52.400 --> 00:41:54.480 that gives glory to God. 00:41:55.780 --> 00:41:57.400 That's why he saves us 00:41:57.400 --> 00:41:59.059 by grace through faith. 00:42:02.280 --> 00:42:03.460 Does that seem too good 00:42:03.460 --> 00:42:03.900 to be true? 00:42:06.200 --> 00:42:07.000 It's true. 00:42:09.639 --> 00:42:11.659 I have one last story 00:42:11.659 --> 00:42:12.039 to tell you 00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:12.880 that hopefully drives 00:42:12.880 --> 00:42:12.900 that hopefully drives 00:42:12.900 --> 00:42:13.659 this home for you. 00:42:14.420 --> 00:42:15.360 I had a professor 00:42:15.360 --> 00:42:15.960 at seminary. 00:42:16.500 --> 00:42:17.179 His name was 00:42:17.179 --> 00:42:17.960 Haddon Robinson. 00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:19.400 He just recently passed away. 00:42:19.579 --> 00:42:20.539 He was a preaching professor. 00:42:21.279 --> 00:42:21.880 He was once 00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:22.440 a president 00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:23.719 of Denver Seminary. 00:42:24.599 --> 00:42:25.400 And while he was 00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:26.219 president of Denver Seminary, 00:42:26.300 --> 00:42:27.199 he did what presidents 00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:27.920 are supposed to do, 00:42:27.960 --> 00:42:28.719 which is fundraise. 00:42:29.559 --> 00:42:31.079 And in that particular time, 00:42:31.179 --> 00:42:33.380 he had to fundraise 00:42:33.380 --> 00:42:34.420 about $20,000 00:42:34.420 --> 00:42:35.800 for a new phone system 00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:36.500 for the seminary. 00:42:36.500 --> 00:42:37.840 And he had this golden 00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:38.360 opportunity 00:42:38.360 --> 00:42:39.519 with a very wealthy 00:42:39.519 --> 00:42:40.639 Christian businessman. 00:42:41.980 --> 00:42:44.000 And the businessman 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:44.900 cut right to the chase 00:42:44.900 --> 00:42:45.400 when they met 00:42:45.400 --> 00:42:46.199 to talk about this. 00:42:46.300 --> 00:42:46.539 He says, 00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:47.840 so how much would you 00:42:47.840 --> 00:42:48.500 like me to give you? 00:42:49.860 --> 00:42:50.619 Haddon Robinson 00:42:50.619 --> 00:42:52.239 didn't want to be 00:42:52.239 --> 00:42:52.800 presumptuous, 00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:53.440 so he said, 00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:55.940 how about $1,000? 00:42:56.940 --> 00:42:57.579 A lot of money 00:42:57.579 --> 00:42:58.400 for most of us. 00:43:00.019 --> 00:43:00.659 And it wasn't 00:43:00.659 --> 00:43:01.360 a lot of money for him. 00:43:01.900 --> 00:43:02.800 He didn't bat an eye. 00:43:03.180 --> 00:43:03.780 He cut a check 00:43:03.780 --> 00:43:04.480 for $1,000 00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:05.840 and handed it to him 00:43:05.840 --> 00:43:06.440 right away. 00:43:06.539 --> 00:43:07.420 And as he did that, 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:08.460 he told him this. 00:43:09.220 --> 00:43:11.320 You insulted me. 00:43:15.019 --> 00:43:17.060 The comment stunned Robinson, 00:43:17.320 --> 00:43:18.140 and so the businessman 00:43:18.140 --> 00:43:18.660 continued, 00:43:19.019 --> 00:43:20.500 you asked me for $1,000, 00:43:21.180 --> 00:43:22.480 but you needed $20,000. 00:43:24.300 --> 00:43:26.080 Either you felt 00:43:26.080 --> 00:43:27.060 that I wasn't able 00:43:27.060 --> 00:43:28.240 to give you that much money, 00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:29.539 in which case 00:43:29.539 --> 00:43:30.440 you underestimated 00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:31.700 how I'm doing financially, 00:43:31.699 --> 00:43:34.219 or second, 00:43:34.759 --> 00:43:35.579 you believed 00:43:35.579 --> 00:43:36.679 that I had the money, 00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:37.719 but didn't think 00:43:37.719 --> 00:43:38.480 I would give it, 00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:39.679 in which case 00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:40.379 you insulted 00:43:40.379 --> 00:43:41.379 my generosity. 00:43:46.259 --> 00:43:47.079 Do you think 00:43:47.079 --> 00:43:48.019 that God's grace 00:43:48.019 --> 00:43:49.000 for you is too good? 00:43:51.559 --> 00:43:52.859 Are you doubting 00:43:52.859 --> 00:43:54.379 the rich reserves 00:43:54.379 --> 00:43:55.759 of God's mercy for you? 00:43:58.279 --> 00:43:59.419 He's rich enough 00:43:59.419 --> 00:44:00.399 in mercy for us, 00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:01.139 all of us, 00:44:01.360 --> 00:44:02.760 no matter how deep 00:44:02.760 --> 00:44:04.940 we have sinned, 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:05.840 no matter how lost 00:44:05.840 --> 00:44:06.400 we have been. 00:44:09.139 --> 00:44:10.039 Or do you doubt 00:44:10.039 --> 00:44:10.840 his generosity, 00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:12.500 that he's willing 00:44:12.500 --> 00:44:13.119 to forgive, 00:44:13.320 --> 00:44:13.820 that he's willing 00:44:13.820 --> 00:44:14.240 to give, 00:44:14.300 --> 00:44:15.180 but he doesn't want it? 00:44:16.139 --> 00:44:17.559 He has great love 00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:18.820 toward us, 00:44:19.460 --> 00:44:20.280 great love, 00:44:21.220 --> 00:44:22.019 rich in mercy, 00:44:22.460 --> 00:44:23.619 great love toward us. 00:44:26.099 --> 00:44:26.460 Ask, 00:44:26.579 --> 00:44:27.119 and it will be given 00:44:27.119 --> 00:44:27.500 to you. 00:44:27.720 --> 00:44:28.039 Receive, 00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:29.280 and you will find. 00:44:29.280 --> 00:44:29.660 Knock, 00:44:29.720 --> 00:44:30.060 and the door 00:44:30.060 --> 00:44:30.740 will be opened to you. 00:44:30.880 --> 00:44:31.920 Ask today 00:44:31.920 --> 00:44:33.160 for much grace, 00:44:33.220 --> 00:44:34.320 and receive it from him. 00:44:35.360 --> 00:44:36.360 As God saves 00:44:36.360 --> 00:44:37.240 hopeless sinners 00:44:37.240 --> 00:44:37.960 to display 00:44:37.960 --> 00:44:39.720 his sovereign grace. 00:44:40.519 --> 00:44:41.120 Let's pray together. 00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:54.759 Father, 00:44:54.759 --> 00:44:59.699 humble us as your people, 00:44:59.699 --> 00:45:05.900 so that we make much of you 00:45:05.900 --> 00:45:07.559 and your grace and salvation, 00:45:08.339 --> 00:45:09.759 and not much of ourselves. 00:45:09.760 --> 00:45:20.920 so that having received 00:45:20.920 --> 00:45:24.500 mercy, 00:45:25.500 --> 00:45:26.580 grace, 00:45:27.520 --> 00:45:28.860 great love toward us, 00:45:30.140 --> 00:45:31.680 we may be stirred up 00:45:31.680 --> 00:45:33.480 and grow 00:45:33.480 --> 00:45:35.420 in our love for you, 00:45:35.420 --> 00:45:37.519 and our love for us. 00:45:38.840 --> 00:45:40.099 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:45:41.099 --> 00:45:41.420 Amen.