Alive Through Christ

Please do have a seat. It's great to be here this morning. I hope you've had a great weekend.

But let's just, before we turn to God's Word, let's just have a moment of silence.

Let's just still our hearts and let's pray together.

Gracious God and loving Heavenly Father, we praise you this morning, Lord, like we've sung.

You're an awesome God.

That your mercies are new to us each and every morning.

And that your grace is truly sufficient for us.

Lord, we come to your Word this morning desperate to hear from you.

So, Father, we ask that you would send your Spirit, that he would lead us into all truth.

He would be our teacher. He would be our guide.

And, Father, as we look at this wonderful picture of grace, that it wouldn't just be a word that we sing.

But, Father, it would be a reality and a truth that we experience.

So, Father, I pray that we would leave here this morning with a bigger picture of who you are.

And this is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.

One of the television programs that Alex and I have got into recently is The Voice.

I don't know if anyone else watches The Voice.

Have we got any other voice freaks here?

It's basically a music talent show on the BBC.

Now, I don't normally go for stuff like that.

It's not really my thing.

But, see, when you're up with a child at five in the morning changing nappies,

honestly, anything on the iPlayer will do.

So, loving watching The Voice at the minute.

And the way it works, for those of you who don't know, it's a singing competition.

Contestant comes on the stage and really belts it out for two minutes, any song that they want to sing.

And there's four judges.

And as you've seen the picture there, they've got the backs to the contestant.

And the whole aim of the game is for the contestant to convince the judges that they're good enough,

that their voice is worth it.

And then they hit the buzzer if they're good enough.

And they turn around, they face the contestant, and they point at them, and they say,

I want you in my team.

It's a great show.

It's a great idea.

I was watching this the other morning,

and it struck me.

You know, I wonder for how many of us,

actually that is what we think it is to be a Christian.

You know, maybe that you're here this morning,

you wouldn't describe yourself as a Christian,

and you feel like you're performing for God.

You're trying to live a good life, a moral life,

but deep down you know,

you think,

you're never going to be good enough for it.

Or perhaps that the problem isn't with you,

actually the problem is with the judge,

it's with God.

To you, he seems like he's got his back to you.

You think he doesn't care,

you think he doesn't know you.

And he comes across as harsh

and faceless.

Or maybe you're here and,

actually you would describe yourself as a Christian,

but if somebody asked you to articulate

how you became a Christian,

it would be along the lines of,

actually I was good enough for God.

And maybe you wouldn't articulate it like that,

you know that you're saved by grace,

but actually you're living your Christian life

as if that's true.

And you need to keep performing

to earn God's favor.

Now I think every single one of us in this room

is in one of those four categories.

And this is why it's so exciting

to preach this this morning,

because this passage speaks massively

into each of them.

So this is the great chapter in the Bible

about Christian salvation.

Effectively, it's going to tell us three things.

Firstly, it's going to give us a reality check

on where mankind stands before God

in his own right.

It's going to tell us what God has done about it.

And in light of that,

it's going to tell us how we should respond.

So turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

We're in at the first 10 verses this morning.

It's imperative that we have God's word open to us there.

If you've got a Bible in front of you,

can I encourage you to open it?

Just, if anything else, you can check this.

It's not something I'm making up.

This is actually what it says.

And as you're turning there,

let me give you a quick 101

on what we've seen in Ephesians so far.

Remember, this isn't a theology pamphlet.

This is a real letter,

written by a real person,

written to real Christians,

who've got real struggles.

And Paul's rocked up in Ephesus,

and he's declared,

in this city where the goddess Artemis is worshipped,

that a God that you can make with your own hands

is no God at all.

Now this is effectively like someone

turning up to Paris,

walking right underneath the Eiffel Tower

and declaring that the Eiffel Tower is a fraud.

It's not going to go well for that guy.

But this is what Paul's done,

and he's been aggressively forced out of this city.

But here's the thing.

These Christians remain.

These Christians remain living in this hostile,

pluralistic, dangerous,

spiritualistic, occultic, paganistic world.

A world that's not too dissimilar from ours.

And he's writing to give them confidence

in the incomparable power of God.

And that's what we saw last week.

Paul's been saying this,

that there is no greater power

than God against all the odds,

raising Jesus from the dead

and seating him above all powers

and rulers and authorities.

And this is what he's going to say this week.

That same power,

the resurrection power that God worked in Jesus,

if you're a Christian,

you've experienced it in your own life as well.

Big idea this morning,

to be a Christian is to be a living miracle.

And grace,

as we've been singing,

as we've been looking at so far,

grace is the banner that flies right across this section.

Now, I love a sporting cliche.

If you were watching rugby yesterday,

incredible by the way,

watching rugby yesterday,

full of sporting cliches.

My favourite,

game of two halves.

This section,

is a game of two lives.

And he's going to contrast the walk of death,

and he's going to contrast the walk of life.

So let's read about this,

the walk of death.

This is verses 1 to 3,

Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Paul writes this,

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 flesh,

and following its desires and thoughts.

Like the rest,

we were by nature

deserving

of wrath.

Now, Paul uses that word once,

two times in these verses.

So this is what he's saying

to these Ephesian Christians.

This is what your life was like

before God got involved.

You were dead.

That's really strong language.

Certainly comes across at that to us,

doesn't it?

Especially,

since these guys are physically

alive and kicking.

So what's Paul on about?

Well, he's saying that

out with Jesus Christ,

you're separated from God,

you're spiritually dead.

This is how the Bible says it is.

If you want a life of fulfillment,

of purpose,

of meaning,

and of lasting joy,

then you're only really going to get that

in a relationship

with the God who created you.

And to be outside

of that relationship,

to be separated from him,

is to be spiritually dead.

That's the diagnosis here

from Dr. Paul.

And he's going to write,

this death shows itself

in two ways.

Firstly,

you were enslaved.

Verse 2.

I was driving our car

on the M8

a few weeks ago

going to Glasgow.

And I noticed

that our car

massively started

veering to the left.

So much so

that I had to oversteer

to the right

just to make it go

in a straight line.

So I got back to Edinburgh,

phoned up the garage,

said I've got a problem

with the car.

They took a look at it.

They phoned me

the next afternoon

and they said,

Sir,

your wheel alignment

massively out.

Now we live in that area

of the city

where there's lots

of cobbled streets

and the cobbled streets

had knocked

the car's alignment

completely out.

So instead of going

in a straight line

like it was designed to,

actually this thing

was veering all over the place.

And unless we did

something about it,

if we left it

to its own devices,

it's going to veer.

And it's going to crash.

And that's what Paul

is saying is true

of these Christians

outside of Christ.

He uses a shipping metaphor.

Remember,

he's writing to Ephesus.

It's a port city.

They understand

what it means

to have a course.

That's what he's saying

as a result

of sin messing up

the alignment

in your hearts.

You're just following

the default nature

of your sick,

human heart

and you're just following

the course of the world.

He uses that word

following three times

in this section,

doesn't he?

You're following three things.

He says you're following

the flesh,

you're following the world,

you're following the devil.

You're just behaving

like everyone else.

That's how he used to behave.

You lived with the same

priorities,

you lived with the same

dreams and hopes

and ambitions.

That's how he used to live.

You know,

John Stott

says it so beautifully.

He says that it's only

dead fish that

go over the stream.

That's what you once were,

says Paul.

You were

enslaved.

And secondly,

as well as being enslaved,

you were condemned.

Look at what he says

in verse three.

You stood guilty

before a

holy God.

So this is because

of their willful

disobedience against him.

They stood at odds

with God.

And they are in the

firing line for his

holy anger,

his wrath.

That implies,

doesn't it,

that there is,

regardless of what

our world tells us,

there is an absolute

standard of truth

by which we will

all be judged.

And it's God's

standard,

his perfect standard,

which we have fallen

well short of.

Our world would tell us

that we're inherently good.

Paul would say,

you're being far

too optimistic.

You were enslaved

and you were condemned.

Outside of Christ,

you were dead.

And another program

that I watched

on the iPlayer,

it's getting a lot

of air time

at the minute,

J.K. Rowling's

The Casual Vacancy.

I don't know

if anyone watched it.

The only reason

I watched it

is because I read

something that told me

it was a bit

controversial.

And the reason

it was controversial

is because the BBC

make of the book,

the BBC changed

the ending.

I don't know

if anyone noticed

that,

if anyone actually

stomached it to the end,

I made it to halfway

through episode one.

But the BBC changed

the ending from the book.

So in the book,

it ends on a really

desperate note.

Whereas the BBC drama

ended on a really

positive note.

In the book,

the villain

at the end

is exposed.

In the BBC drama,

actually the villain

ends up being

the good guy.

Now why did they

change it?

That's the question.

Well the reason

they changed it

was because of

when it was being

shown.

On a Sunday

evening.

Now I well remember

that feeling on the

Sunday evening

before working

the Monday.

And that's why

they changed it.

Nobody wants to

see tragic TV.

People want to

see feel good TV.

People want to

feel great as they

go to bed on a

Sunday night.

And that's why

they changed it.

And I think the

temptation for all

of us as we read

these first three

verses here is to

give it a rewrite.

Is it not?

Surely we weren't

that bad.

Surely we,

that is just

Paul's opinion.

That's not really

what's happening.

But actually it's

true.

And what Paul

outlines here is

the staggering

reality of what a

life lived outside

of Jesus Christ

looks like.

Now if that's you

this morning then

can I just point

out to you where

your life is

heading?

What's going on?

You know Sinclair

Ferguson would

write that the

gospel sobers us

before it satisfies

us.

I have a good

friend of mine who

I met up with this

week.

He's a pastor down

in Leith.

And he was telling

me, and the church

plant there has been

going for two,

three years, and he

was telling me that

there's a woman who's

been going for that

whole time.

Not interested in

any of this God

stuff.

And actually she

was converted a few

weeks ago through

these verses.

That actually it

made sense to her

because she couldn't

figure out why she

kept going back to

church week on week.

She couldn't fathom

why she suddenly took

a notion to read

the Bible.

She couldn't

understand why she

liked hanging out

with Christian people

because this detested

her.

And then it

clicked.

She realized that

God was pursuing

her by his

spirit.

That God is into

making dead people

alive.

If you don't believe

that, come back a few

weeks time for Easter.

We go big on it.

It's kind of what it's

all about.

And she realized that

God was pursuing her.

And she gave her life

to Jesus.

I wonder if that's

something that's true

for some people in

here this morning.

Actually, you don't

really know why you

come to church.

You don't really know

why you like singing

these songs.

You don't really know

why you kind of read

the Bible.

Well, guys, can I say,

could it be that God

is pursuing you by

his spirit?

Could this stuff be

beginning to make

sense because God is

at work in your life

transforming you?

Have a think about

that.

But you were dead,

writes Paul.

Here is mankind shown

to be totally inadequate

to save themselves

apart from God's

intervening grace.

Dead.

You know the thing

about dead people?

They can't make

themselves alive.

This isn't like

Sherlock where he

puts the squash ball

under his arm,

he stops the pulse,

he's declared dead,

but he's not actually

dead.

Okay, this isn't like

your first aid certificate.

I don't care what

qualification you have,

you cannot revive

a dead person.

Okay, no kind of

Heinleck maneuver

in one, two, three

is going to resuscitate

a dead person.

A dead person's

only hope,

resurrection.

Only hope.

Now that is pretty

bleak reading as we

move on to our

next section.

The walk of darkness.

And it leads us to

ask the question,

is that it?

What's going to

happen next?

Well, this is where

I want you to think

of the first school

disco that you

ever went to.

Okay, do you

remember that?

Boys, you maybe

put on a bit of

your dad's Paco

Rabanne,

a bit of

bro cream in the

hair.

Girls, you maybe

borrowed your

sister's lipstick

for the evening,

and you went to

the village hall,

and you went into

the village hall,

only to be greeted

with the great

divide.

Yeah?

Boys on this

side of the hall,

playing keepy-ups

with balloons,

if you were me,

and girls on this

side of the hall.

And there was a

massive separation.

And the tension,

you could feel it,

it was palpable

in the room.

The tension was,

the question was,

who's going to

make the first move?

Who is going to

make the first move?

And as we leave

verse 3,

that is the

question that's

there.

Who is going to

make the first move?

Our sin has

separated us from

God.

There's a massive

chasm there.

So who's going to

make the first move

towards reconciliation?

Well, we've just

seen, haven't we,

quite categorically,

it wasn't us.

It couldn't have

been us.

We were dead.

It's not like we

were crying out in

God's direction for

forgiveness.

We weren't trying to

make ourselves look

pretty before God.

In fact, the

opposite is true.

that we were

shoving God's

kindness back in

his face.

We wanted nothing

to do with him.

We preferred the

darkness.

So who's going to

make this first move

towards reconciliation?

Who's going to

make the first move

to bring people

back to God?

Well, this is where

Paul pens two of

the most beautiful

words that you'll

find anywhere in

Scripture.

If you've got an

ESV, it just

reads, but God.

But God.

The two words on

which the whole

future of the

human race rests.

And it hits you,

doesn't it, given

everything that's

gone on before?

We were dead in

our transgressions

and sins, but

God.

We were enslaved,

but God.

We were condemned,

but God.

Do you see how

that works?

That God is the

one who makes the

first move towards

reconciliation.

Praise God that

it's him who

steps forward in

grace and it's

him that comes

down to us.

You know, when we

weren't looking for

him, he came

looking for us.

This is what it's

telling us.

That God is the

loving pursuer.

That God is the

gracious initiator.

And God is the

one who changes

absolutely everything

but God.

You know, let's

read verses 4 to

10 and we'll see

how this works.

Paul writes this,

God.

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.

And God raised us up

with Christ and seated

us with him in the

heavenly realms in

Christ Jesus in order

that in the coming

ages he might show

the incomparable

riches of his

grace expressed in

his kindness to us

in Christ Jesus.

For it is by grace

you have been saved

through faith and

this is not from

yourselves, it is the

gift of God.

Not by works so that

no one can boast.

For we are God's

handiwork created in

Christ Jesus to do

good works which God

prepared in advance for

us to do.

So what has God done?

See verse 6.

God has done in our

lives exactly what he

did to Jesus back in

chapter 1 and verse

18.

Have a little look at

it there.

God made Jesus alive,

he makes us alive.

He seated Jesus in

the heavenly realms and

he seats us with Jesus

in the heavenly realms.

God's power raises

Jesus from the grave and

the same power raises

us from the spiritual

grave.

We were dead, God has

made us alive.

We were condemned, now

God has saved us.

We were enslaved to the

flesh, now God has

freed us from its grip

and he's seated us, us

with Christ above every

rule and authority and

power.

What's the point,

caller?

We share in Christ's

victory.

If we are in Christ, we

share in his victory.

And this is something I

noticed this week.

Notice that it's in the

plural all the way there.

It's us.

So Paul's including

himself in this.

It's us.

And I think something that

hit me this week, this

has implications for the

way that we deal with

one another.

You know, I caught

myself this week, every

time that I was tempted

to gossip about

something, every time I

was tempted to speak

badly of someone, every

time I was tempted to

belittle someone.

And guys, listen, I still

struggle with that.

Don't think that just

because I'm standing up

here makes me immune from

those struggles.

But I'd reminded myself

that that person that I

was thinking about,

actually somebody that

God's raised from the

world.

God has put his spirit in

that person.

So who on earth am I to

belittle them?

To gossip about them.

To try and put them

down.

Do you see how that has

implications for us in

this room?

Have a think about that.

The next time you're

tempted to do something

about that, actually

that's the reality of

what you're doing.

He has seated us with

Christ.

You know, there's that

famous quote from C.S.

Lewis.

An inquirer came up to

him and he asked him to

summarize the difference

between Christianity and

every other religion in

the world.

Maybe it's a question

that you've got this

morning.

And Lewis said it's

simple really.

It's the difference

between do and done.

All the other religions

in the world, it's about

making your way up to

God by your good works.

But somehow we can make

our way up the ladder

to God.

I hope, if anything,

you've seen the futility

of that in these verses

this morning.

But Christianity is not

about us going up the

ladder to God.

Actually, it's about God

coming down the ladder

to us.

Our salvation is based

on what Jesus has done

for us.

His atoning work on the

cross is he takes our

filth, the death that we

deserve to die, and he

gives us his righteousness.

It is not in what we can

do for ourselves.

What has God done?

He's saved us by his

grace.

Friends, this should

humble us.

Do you see how we can

take absolutely no credit

for our salvation?

That we absolutely have no

boast about the fact that

we're Christians.

It wasn't like we performed

well enough for God to be

impressed by us, and he

chose us.

Do you see how God gets

all the credit here?

It should humble us, and

it should also cause to

dwell up within us a deep,

deep gratitude, a heart of

thankfulness.

It's a wow factor that

Paul's going for here, that

God saved us, us.

Wow.

And do you see as well how

this massively takes the

pressure off?

We're free to take off our

masks and stop pretending

that we're perfect people.

Two reasons for that.

First of all, because we're

not.

And second of all, if you

think about it, doesn't it

rob Jesus of his glory?

You know, actually, if we've

added something to our

salvation, if we added 5% and

God was 95%, then actually we

can take some credit for the

fact that we're Christians.

But if we take off the mask

and we say, actually, amazing

grace saved the rich like me.

Do you see how God gets all the

glory of that?

That Jesus has glorified, not

me.

There's something practical I've

tried to do this week every

time I've come to pray, is I've

just simply gone, but God.

But God.

You can do it, but God.

I don't know how you pray, but

you can do that.

Just reminding ourselves of what

God has accomplished for us, all

by grace.

Why has God done this?

Because he's a loving, heavenly

father.

Do you see how that works?

Verse 4, the adjectives that

Paul uses.

What's driving this whole

salvation venture is the great

love that God has for us.

You know, I used to think of God

a bit like the, I'm quite into

football, you may have guessed

that.

I used to think of God like the

football referee.

Actually, he's there just to spoil

my fun and he's just there to

keep the score.

He is somebody to be

begrudgingly obeyed, certainly

not enjoyed.

Maybe that's your opinion of

God this morning.

Well, can I ask you, is this the

God that you see Paul describing

here?

God's rich in mercy.

God's rich in grace.

Why does he love us?

He loves us because he loves us

because he loves us.

Actually, do you see how he's not

the referee?

He's the one who steps in off the

sidelines and gets involved in my

mess, gets his hands dirty to save

me.

You know, Rico Tice in the

Christianity Explored course, he

puts it like this.

You are more sinful than you ever

realized, but you are more loved

than you ever dreamed.

But you see, there's another reason

that God saves us.

And I wonder if you remember doing

show and tell at school.

I certainly do.

Maybe you brought in your pet

budgie.

Maybe it was your ninja turtle

figurine.

Show and tell at school.

Something that you were proud of

that you wanted to show the rest of

the class and tell them the story

behind it.

Well, these verses tell us that God's

doing a show and tell with his

church of the world.

Every single person that God has

saved is a trophy of his amazing

grace.

I don't know if you've ever thought

about that, that God's intention for

Brunsfield Evangelical Church is that

he can showcase his incredible grace

to the world.

As he does a resurrection job on dead

people.

As he forgives and transforms outrageous

sinners like us.

As people see that, his grace shines

forth.

Maybe you're here this morning and like

Paul alluded to earlier.

We didn't even talk about this

beforehand so it must be something in it.

If you have a hard time believing

that God loves you.

If you have a hard time believing that

grace really is sufficient for you.

Well, can I ask you from this passage

to look around.

You can do it.

Move your neck.

Look around.

This is a community of grace.

None of us

have earned

our right in God's kingdom.

This is all grace.

And this is a place where it's okay

not to be okay.

Grace.

If you don't believe me, listen to Mumford

and Sons.

They put it like this.

It seems that all my bridges have been

burnt.

But you say

that's exactly how this grace thing works.

It's not the long walk home

that will change this heart.

But the welcome I receive

with the restart.

Amazing grace.

What should be our response?

We'll see that God saves

every Christian

in order that they might do good works.

Saves them so that they can do good works.

So important we get that order right.

I hope you've enjoyed the Exodus series

that we've been going through

the last few mornings.

Taking a little break from it for a while.

We'll go back to it in a few weeks.

And we'll see them

being given the law

by God.

So this is what

is happening here.

God saved them

and he's saying

because you're my holy people

this is how I want you to live.

And notice that it's not

the other way around.

It's not that

you

obeyed me.

You lived up to my standards.

Therefore

I think you're worthy enough

to be saved.

No, no, no.

It's grace.

And it's the same for us.

God saved us

and he says

live for me.

This is how I want you to live.

And do you see how it's a

worshipful response?

We are

God's workmanship

at verse 10

created in Jesus

for good works.

Good works that you'll notice

that God has prepared

beforehand for us to do.

So these works that we're doing

we can't even take the credit

for them

because it's God

that's prepared them

for us to do.

You know,

I know a lot of you here

are in that transition

stage of life.

You know,

maybe you're a graduate.

Maybe you're leaving uni

this summer.

You're going somewhere else.

Maybe your job's finishing up

and you're about to move on

from this city.

Well,

can I

encourage you to see

the wonderful promise

here at verse 10?

That whatever you go on

to do

you can walk sure

knowing that God

has gone before you

and that

no matter what you

encounter there

he has got good works

for you to do

in that new situation.

He knows what you're

going to face.

He's prepared works

for you to do

and you can trust him.

So sovereign and gracious

is God's

that he's

prepared good works

for us to do.

I find that incredible

and I find that

amazingly humbling.

So do you see

the contrast in walk

as we bring this thing

to a close?

Verse 2

we're walking in darkness

without a hope.

Verse 9 and 10

we're walking in grace.

We're walking in

good works.

What an amazing God

we serve.

What an amazing God

that we know.

Now let's finish

by going back

to the voice.

Is the voice

theologically sound?

That's our question.

Well what picture

is Paul painted

in Ephesians here?

Can we do anything

to earn our way

onto God's team?

Is God the harsh judge

who's got his back

to us?

Did we earn our way

onto his team

by performing

well enough?

And are we

outwith God's

love

and grace?

No, no,

no, no.

Do you see

this picture

in Ephesians 2?

Do you see

how we're the contestant

that's dead on the floor?

Do you see

how God is the one

who turns towards us

in grace?

Do you see

how God is the one

who breathes

new life into us?

And do you see

how God is the one

who tells us

for the rest of our days

to sing a song

of worship to him

telling the world

how incredible

his grace is?

This is our great God.

You know,

one of the songs

I've been listening to

in preparation for this,

I don't know if that's

too small to read.

If it's not,

I'm going to read it out.

It's called

Grace Unmeasured.

It's a sovereign grace song

that we used to sing,

Alex and I,

at our church

back in Bristol.

And I've been listening

to it this week

and I just think

it's so poignant.

Let me read it to you

as we close.

Grace Unmeasured,

vast and free,

that knew me

from eternity,

that called me out

before my birth

to bring you glory

on this earth.

Grace amazing,

pure and deep,

that saw me

in my misery,

that took my curse

and owned my blame

so I could bear

your righteous name.

Grace abounding,

strong and true,

that makes me long

to be like you,

that turns me

from my selfish pride

to love the cross

on which you died.

Grace unending

all my days,

you'll give me strength

to run this race.

And when my years

on earth are through,

the praise will all

belong to you.

Let's pray together

as we close.

Amen.

Amen.

Father God,

we worship you,

Lord,

for your outrageous grace.

Thank you that you are

the God of all grace.

You have shown us favor,

Father,

sinful and disobedient

people like us.

Lord,

I pray for us this week

that you would help us

grasp grace more.

I pray that you would

help us love grace more.

And I pray that you would

transform our lives

by grace

more and more

into the image

of your Son,

Jesus Christ,

in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.