Get Alive!
23 February 2014 PM – Ephesians 2:1-10 – Eph 14 – Scott Childs
Introduction: In 1996, I coached the under 15’s North Coast Baseball team. One of the things I tried to drill into the players was to get alive as they played. Every player must be alert and know exactly what to do if the ball comes to him. A player who was half-hearted or daydreaming was sure to hurt our team.
The same is true for Christians. God wants us to Get Alive!
Transition: This evening we are going to learn three reasons that every Christian ought to Get Alive!
I. Get Alive Because You are no Longer Dead (1-3)
Each of the statements in this section is in the past tense. Here Paul is speaking of one’s life before coming to Christ.
A. We were spiritually dead (1)
1. A dead man can do nothing. Before a person trusts Christ as Saviour, he may be religious, he may be baptised and confirmed, he may be moral, he may be kind, but he is spiritually DEAD.
2. You were dead in trespasses. This noun means “slip” or “error.”
3. You were dead in sins. This noun describes one who has missed the mark.
4. When Adam and Eve sinned, perfection and innocence was lost and every human since (other than Christ) has stumbled and missed God’s mark of perfection. We were all spiritually dead.
B. In time past we walked as a dead man (2)
As evidence that you were dead in time past:
1. You walked according to the course of this world. You patterned your life after the godless world.
2. You walked according to the prince of the power of the air. Satan is that prince.
a) Even if you lived a moral and religious life, without Christ as your Saviour, Satan was your prince. He influenced your thoughts, motives, and actions. You were his child.
b) Satan is that spirit who is working in the children of disobedience.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
C. In time past we wandered from lust to lust (3)
1. The word conversation has the idea of wandering.
a) We wandered from one fleshly lust to another.
b) We fulfilled the desired of the flesh and mind.
2. By our very nature, we were children of wrath. This means that because of our sin nature, we are exposed to the wrath of God. We inherited the sin nature from Adam and Eve and we have added countless times of missing God’s mark ourselves.
II. Get Alive Because God Gave You New Life (4-9)
A. We received God’s lovingly, rich mercy (4-6)
God is rich in mercy (4). This is because of the great love he has for every sinner. He wants no one to perish.
1. He made us alive together with Christ (5).
a) If you, as a dead sinner, repented and trusted Christ alone, God made you a living saint. You have spiritual life.
b) You are no longer a slave to lust and sin.
Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
2. He raised us up together with Christ (6). God gave us a spiritual resurrection with Christ to live a new life of victory.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
3. He sat us in heaven together with Christ (6). Like the two previous verbs, we are to take this spiritually. At salvation, God does not snatch us from this world and place us bodily in heaven with Christ, but He does positionally set us in heaven with Christ. He gives us a place of honour and dignity.
a) Christians are not losers. They are winners.
b) We may struggle and suffer for Christ in this world, but we are honoured by God and have a glorious eternal home in heaven.
B. We became an exhibit of God’s rich grace (7-9)
In the ages to come God wants to exhibit us as trophies of His rich grace. His grace (undeserved divine enabling) reached out in kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
1. We were saved by God’s grace through faith (8)
a) Without God’s enabling, no one could be saved. By grace, Christ paid our sin debt. By grace, God offers salvation to us.
b) We receive God’s offer by faith. That is the only way we can receive it. Faith is not a feeling; it is a choice to act upon trusted information.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
2. We received God’s gift of salvation (8). Salvation is free. It is God’s gift to repentant sinners.
Look at salvation in its origin – it is “by grace.” Look at it in its reception – it is “through faith. Look at it in its manner of conferment [presentation] – it is a “gift.” Eadie
3. We did not work for it, so we cannot boast (9). No amount of morality, good works, religious activity, or money can earn salvation because it is not for sale. No work of any kind aids salvation. Many religious, moral, good, kind people will spend eternity in hell because they failed to receive God’s gracious gift of salvation by faith alone.
Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
III. Get Alive Because You Have Work to Do (10)
A. God did a special work in your life (10)
1. You are his workmanship. Christ did a re-formation in our lives. He translated us from darkness to light. He changed us from dead to living.
2. He created you new in Christ Jesus. The work of change that God did in us was through the atonement of Christ.
B. God has a special work for your life (10)
1. He created us unto good works. God had our service in mind when He saved us. Each of God’s children has a job to do that fits his abilities.
a) We are not saved by good works. We are saved to do good works.
b) We are saved to serve the Lord.
2. He planned beforehand the good works He has for us. “They have been prescribed, defined, and adapted to us.” Eadie These good works are God’s works which He has for us to do, not things we do to impress God.
3. God expects us to walk in the works He planned for us. If we fail, we will miss God’s best for our lives.
a) The first thing God wants for every Christian is to have a real relationship with Him. This is not just “being” a Christian. We need a close, real relationship with God. This is daily hearing from God through His Word, and having a meaningful talk with Him through prayer.
b) Then God wants to use our real relationship to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, direct our decisions, guide our witness, and empower us to serve Him.
c) This is just the “tip of the iceberg” as God has much planned for our lives if we will truly yield to Him.
Conclusion: If you are a Christian but not been living like you are alive, God wants you to Get Alive: You are no longer dead, He gave you new life, and He has work for you to do. Stop settling for a ho-hum Christian life. Ask God to revive you. Seek a real relationship with God. Don’t miss God’s best. Get Alive!
Chorus: You Can Have Revival