Dead towards God

So this morning's reading is from Ephesians 2, verses 1 to 10.

Ephesians 2:1–10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,

following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

By Christ you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him

in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages

he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in the kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing.

It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

for good works, and for good works.

But I was struck this week again that my nine-year-old grandchild,

who was doing a speech at his school up in Gandawindi,

can speak with some knowledge about Anzac Day.

Why is that?

Well, it's because, very simply,

what I might call this morning the doctrine of Anzac Day

is well and truly taught every year in the schools.

The doctrine is just a set of beliefs and values.

An Anzac has a set of beliefs and values.

And they shaped us as a nation,

and they're taught without embarrassment or without apology

in our schools every year.

Why?

To use the cliche,

lest we forget.

Today we also begin a nine-week doctrinal series

focusing on how we experience God's grace and salvation.

And yet an interesting thing might just have happened.

That sentence alone would be enough

to make lots and lots of Christians,

perhaps even some here this morning,

switch off,

because it mentioned that dreaded word doctrine.

The modern evangelical spirit

says,

look, I just want to praise and worship God,

so don't offend me

by trying to teach me doctrine.

I just want to praise and worship God,

so don't bore me

with the notion of doctrine.

I don't need it.

I don't want it.

Now that sort of statement sounds humble.

I just want to praise the Lord.

It sounds appealing.

It sounds virtuous.

But in actual fact,

as it's stated,

it's quite contrary to Scripture,

particularly verses like Romans 12, 1-3,

where it actually urges us as Christians

to pursue radically transformed minds.

And practically, it's nonsense.

I mean, at the end of the day,

how can we respond appropriately?

How can we praise in thankfulness

thankfulness?

Unless we understand God's character.

Unless we understand God's dealings

with the world.

Unless we understand

what his mercy and compassion

is meant to us in salvation.

Unless we're aware of how we've experienced

the salvation,

quite contrary to anything we deserve.

So my friends,

as we start this series,

it sounds as if I have to start negative,

and that may be my character,

but I just long

that we might be excited about doctrine.

That we might actually

think that it's valuable

to put the effort in

to learn it.

Why?

Lest we forget.

Lest we forget

the beauty of the Lord.

Lest we forget

his compassion and mercy to us

who deserve

only his condemnation.

Lest we forget

the firm foundation

we have to stand upon.

The foundation from which

we speak to others

in our world from.

Lest we forget.

Well, let's jump into the series then

with a question.

Very general question.

What is the Bible about?

And you won't get any prizes

for saying it's about God.

Dig down into that a little bit more.

And we say,

well, it's about God

and his relationship

with mankind.

And then we have to dig

a little bit more and say,

well, okay,

that's a relationship

that collapsed

and has become hostile

because of the rebellion

of the image bearer

against their creator.

And then we dig

a little bit more

and say,

well, that's not the full story

of the Bible

because the Bible tells us

about God's action

to undo that rebellion.

To fix the mess.

To restore the relationship.

To fix the mess.

So,

in a simple statement,

what is the Bible about?

Well, the Bible is actually,

it's of itself,

a systematic

or doctrinal statement

of God's answer

to the problem

of human sin.

And so we can say then

that the interrelated,

the key interrelated themes

in the Bible are

human sin

and how we experience

God's grace

in salvation

in response

to our sin.

And here's the rub.

Unless we actually

understand

the problem

of sin,

we will not

appreciate

or desire

God's solution.

God's solution.

Call me canon

is a song

along these lines

that says,

well,

it's only when you know

you're seriously

and totally lost

that you can fully

appreciate

being found.

Unless we understand

the problem of sin,

we will not appreciate

or desire

God's solution.

We won't even think

we need

a solution.

And certainly

not God's solution.

So this morning

I want to start

the series

by doing

just a brief

examination

of what I'm

going to call

Paul's case study

in Ephesians.

The passage

you just read to us.

And Paul's writing

to Christians

in Ephesus

and he's describing

to them

how they experienced

and why they needed

to experience

God's grace

and salvation.

It's typical,

this passage,

I've just chosen one,

but it's typical

of dozens of passages

across the Bible

I could reference

today but don't

have time.

And in this passage

Paul makes two

very, very simple

points but they're

profound points.

Sets out the case

beautifully as he

speaks to these

Christians at Ephesus.

The first thing he

says to them is,

verse 1 there,

at one time

you were dead

towards God

spiritually.

Just read the

passage again.

Very clear.

And you were dead.

And as we read this,

just see in your

mind that which is

dead.

So you can think,

oh, if you've seen

a person that's dead,

think of that.

If it's just

roadkill,

then think of that.

But,

and you were dead

in the trespasses

and sins

in which you once

walked.

Following the course

of this world,

following the prince

of the power

of the air,

the spirit that is

now at work

in the sons

of disobedience,

among whom

we all once

lived

in the passions

of our flesh,

carrying out the

desires of the body

and the mind,

and were by nature

children of wrath.

It's graphic

language,

isn't it?

And Paul

uses graphic

language

to make

absolutely

clear

the problem

of human

sinfulness.

What's the problem?

Well,

at one time,

every single person,

says Paul,

is like

a corpse

in terms

of their

relationship

with God.

What does that

mean?

Well,

it means

every part

of the heart

and the mind

and the will

is dead

or deadened

towards God.

your attitudes,

your emotions,

your affections

effectively

deadened.

the result

leaves people

totally

unaware

of their

true

spiritual

situation.

That's by nature

what it is

to be dead.

You can

see a

body there

and you can

poke it

or you can

see a dead

animal on the

side of the road

and you can

kick it

and poke it

and drag it

but it's

unaware of

its situation.

It gets

run over

multiple times

by vehicles

but it's

just there.

It doesn't

know what's

happening.

That's the

picture language

here.

Totally

unaware of

their true

spiritual

situation

and we're

still totally

unable to

do a thing

about it.

To do

anything to

change.

How did

such a

desperate

situation

develop?

Well,

verse 2

is the

direct

consequence

of our

sin

or rebellion.

the

expression

of which

is,

in verse 2,

following

Satan's

rejection

of God

and his

determined

opposition

to be doing

things God's

way.

Not God's

way,

but my

way.

Now,

in

classic

theological

terms,

we call

this

total

depravity.

Now,

that word

depravity

have to

work on

because

it's not

a common

word these

days,

so I've

sort of

gone for

total

inability,

which isn't

quite the

same,

but it's

close enough,

I think,

for our

purposes.

Total

inability.

Total

inability to

even recognize

your predicament.

Total

inability to

change your

predicament.

Just like

a corpse

is defined

by total

inability.

God's

will.

And it's

called that

because when

a person

is born,

they have

no awareness

of God's

will,

no inclination

to serve

God,

no inclination

even to

pursue God.

God's

will.

What we're

talking about

here is a

state of

total

disconnect

between God's

intentions for

his image

bearers and

the reality

of life for

his image

bearers.

When God

created his

image bearers,

he created

them with a

mind to

know his

will.

He created

them with a

heart to

do his

will.

He created

them with

affections to

love and

delight in

him.

But in

a spiritual

coup d'etat

of sin,

that's all

gone.

Instead,

people now

claim,

image bearers

now claim the

world to be

their own and

dismiss God,

the creator.

They live

actively as

though they

are autonomous,

as if they

don't have to

answer to

anyone else,

especially not

God.

They live as

though they

are God.

the image

bearer has

now become

the image

setter.

It's a

total disconnect.

But more

than that,

it's a

relational

problem.

The

natural

inclination

of any

person in

their natural

state when

they're born

in this

world is

hostility to

God.

sometimes

that's

expressed in

a really

aggressive

rejection of

God.

But if you

read Romans

1,

sometimes it

can be

expressed in

a religious

veneer,

where it

appears as if

people are

seeking God

and searching

for God,

but actually

they're not.

They're actually,

according to Romans

1,

reshaping or

rejigging God

and bringing

them down to

something that's

manageable and

something that's

acceptable to

them.

And so in

a sense,

it's another

form of

rebellion.

You say,

well God,

I'll acknowledge

you, but not

like that.

I'll acknowledge

you whenever I

can shape you

in a way that's

convenient to

me or in a

way that you're

no threat to

me.

Either way,

it's a deep,

deep relational

problem.

And it

becomes then a

legal problem.

Children of

wrath.

Verse 3.

We're told

God speaks.

He takes

himself very

seriously.

He responds

to such

rebellion by

justly condemning

the rebel.

So the

outworking of

all that is

that when

we're born,

we are

guilty before

God.

We are

objects of

his wrath.

verse 3.

That's pretty

strong language,

isn't it?

It's picture

language we

don't like

today.

Because it's

not flattering

to us.

it speaks of

our helplessness,

our inability.

But friends,

we have to

say it's a

very common

problem.

The way of

the world,

the course of

this world.

It is what

every person

is born into.

we're

wrong.

We often

think, well,

the majority

of people

can't be

wrong when

they think

life is

like this.

But the

Bible's

telling us

quite the

opposite.

The majority

of people

are wrong.

together,

blissfully

unaware

of that

predicament

that they're

in,

and the

judgment

that's looming

and impending

on them.

People

neither realize

their predicament

nor realize

they're unable

to please

God in any

way,

or make

themselves

acceptable

to God

when they

die.

That's what

it is to be

spiritually dead

towards God.

Now,

at this point

I want to

address two

common questions.

It might be a

question that's

in your mind.

You might be

saying, well,

come on,

are people

really that

sinful?

Well,

total depravity

or total

inability

does not

mean,

does not

mean that

any given

person is

as bad

as they

possibly

could be.

That's not

what the

Bible's

teaching at

all.

It's not

teaching that

a person is

not capable

of doing

good things

in our

community,

in our

society.

It's not

teaching that

people don't

have a sense

of right

and wrong.

The Bible

affirms all

those things.

People do

good things

in our world.

People do

have a sense

of right

and wrong.

That's not

what we're

meaning,

talking about

when we

talk about

total inability,

total depravity.

But it does

mean this,

that sin

has mutilated

every faculty

of us

image bearers.

Sin has

disabled

every good

thing that

the Lord

created in

us.

See,

people are

not born

morally

neutral.

It's hard

to believe

that when

you pick

up my

grandchildren.

It's hard

to believe,

well,

for a little

while,

it's hard

to believe

they're not

born morally

neutral.

By the time

they get to

six months,

you get no

doubts about

that.

But when

they look

sweet and

innocent and

newborn,

you think,

wow.

people are

not born

morally

neutral.

People are

born

hardwired

to reject

God,

to oppose

God,

to be

hostile to

God.

We might

say it's

in their

DNA.

And the

Bible's

constantly,

if you can

read the

Bible from

comfort to

comfort,

and constantly

it's

describing

this

condition

overflowing.

It overflows

from our

hearts,

and it

messes up

everything we

do in

our natural

state.

And it's

especially

true of

how people

treat God.

And you

can see it.

It's sort

of intuitive.

We don't

need to,

in a sense,

have the

Bible stand

alone in

this.

We can see

it as we

engage with

people.

People in

our world

generally

couldn't

care less

about God.

But even

where they

do have

some sense

of God,

they cannot

think or

choose or

do anything

that would

be acceptable

to God.

So,

are people

really that

sinful?

Well,

in terms of

the Bible,

yes.

Total

inability.

second

question

that's

often

thrown

up

then is

don't

people

have

a

free

will

whereby

they

can

choose

to

serve

the

Lord?

Don't

people

have a

free

will?

Well,

the problem

here,

it's a real

problem,

but not as

difficult as

what people

sometimes think.

The problem

here is that

people can

choose real

choice,

which we

all have,

with what the

Bible calls

free will.

I like to

use an

illustration

here,

I don't

know where

it come

from,

I've

plagiarized

it from

somebody or

somewhere else,

but I can't

remember where

now.

The illustration

goes like

this,

a vulture

circling over

the top,

and on the

ground here,

under the

vulture,

there is,

over here,

a rotten

sheep carcass,

stinks,

and beside

the rotten

sheep carcass,

a couple of

meters away,

there's a

beautiful

baked dinner

with veggies,

gravy,

mint sauce.

Which one's

the bulk

you're going

to go for?

It will go

for the

carcass.

Why?

Because that's

its nature.

It looks at

the two,

it has a

choice,

but it

goes for

the carcass

because

its choice

is bounded

by its

nature.

It makes

a choice

based on

how it

is hard

wired.

And it's

the same

way,

I think,

that people

are hard

wired to

reject God

in their

hearts and

minds and

attitudes.

it's a

real choice

that people

make,

but that

choice is

shaped and

limited by

their nature

they're born

with.

So in

practical terms

that means

then that

people are

not sinners

because they

choose to

sin.

People are

not sinners

because they

choose to

sin.

People

choose to

sin because

they're born

sinners.

sinners.

Born

hostile to

God.

Born with

the hard

wire to

reject God,

to go

against what

he represents,

what he

calls them

to.

So where

do we go

from here

then?

Well,

we used

this illustration

before.

When you

seek treatment

from a

doctor,

the doctor's

assessment of

your illness

determines

the treatment.

Headache,

or if you

go and

have a

Panadol.

A tumour

in your

brain,

much more

radical

approach.

Life

threatening

disease,

major

surgery.

His

starting

point

determines

what follows.

That's

precisely

Paul's

point

here.

People

are not

just

spiritually

off

colour.

People

are not

just

spiritually

distracted

and just

need a

little bit

of urging

to get

back onto

the right

track

again.

Paul

says

people

are

spiritually

dead.

They

need

something

major

to

happen.

person's

predicament

before

God

is

much

more

serious

than

just

something

that

requires

a little

pick-me-up,

spiritual

pick-me-up,

or a

spiritual

injection.

Before

God,

they're

spiritually

dead,

spiritually

helpless.

Verse

12 of

Ephesians 2,

Paul puts

it in

slightly

different

words.

He

says,

people

are

without

hope

and

without

God

in

the

world.

Now,

whatever way

you look

at it,

that's a

pretty

bleak

prognosis,

isn't it?

Or it

would be

without

more

graphic

language

that Paul

uses here

in verses

4 through

10.

And just

feel the

way this

sits neatly

in opposition

to the

first part.

And you

were

dead.

Verse

4,

but God

made you

alive.

Just

feel the

balancing

and the

removing

of that

terrible

predicament.

God

made you

alive.

Friends,

just let

that statement

sink in.

And

then keep

reading to

see that

everything

mentioned

in these

verses is

something that

God does

for us

and does

in us.

Now,

why would

we expect

that to

follow?

Because

we've already

established

there's total

helplessness,

total inability,

total blindness,

total unawareness.

So if anything

significant is going

to happen,

if we're going

to be rescued,

if we're going

to be turned

around,

if we're going

to be made

alive,

then God

will need

to do it

for us.

God will

need to

do it

in us.

The two

parts go

together.

Salvation

is God's

work from

start to

finish.

God's

love and

mercy

combine to

give new

life to

the sinner.

God knew

because God

had the

proper

diagnosis.

God knew

that it would

never be

enough just

to say,

well,

look,

hang on

a sec,

now,

I'm going

to make

salvation

available and

I'll put

it on the

table over

here.

And so

when you're

ready,

you just

go and

make use

of it

as it

pleases

you.

God knows

that that

wouldn't

work because

we're dead

spiritually.

We're unaware

that we even

need what

he's provided

for us if

he did it

like that.

people need

to be

renewed,

not just

told that

renewal is

possible.

They need

to be

resurrected.

They need

to be

brought back

to life.

And only

God's power

working in

us can do

that.

It's not

enough to

bring the

gospel message

to people

who have

no desire,

no ability

to respond.

God needed

to bring the

sinner

to his

solution,

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

He needed

to actually

not just

bring them

but actually

make them

alive.

Do radical

surgery in

the inside

out.

Change their

DNA if you

like.

And we'll

see more of

that over

the coming

weeks.

It is not

that we come

alive by our

own choice,

by our own

efforts.

it is by

God's grace.

We're

chatting about

this as elders

past Monday

night.

And one of

the comments

was that

one of the

elders said

that for

years they'd

never really

understood why

these things

are called

the doctrines

of grace.

Don't all

Christians

believe in

grace?

We'll see

more of this

over the next

few weeks

as well.

But the

idea of

doctrines of

grace is that

grace every

step of the

way because

we're left

to ourselves

we're unable,

unwilling.

It's not

just some

grace to

get us up

and running

and then

we're on

our own or

some grace

to then help

us get over

the death

line into

heaven.

It's God's

grace every

moment of

the way.

Because apart

from his

actions in

us and for

us we just

would not be

able to do

it.

But more

of that as I

say over

the coming

weeks.

verses 6

and 7

quite

instant when

you see

exactly what

God has

done for

us.

We've been

raised up

with Christ.

In other

words all

the privileges

all the

power of

God that

brought

Jesus back

to life

and took

him back

to heaven

as it

were all

of that

has been

invested in

us Christians

you and

me.

verse 8

for by

grace you

have been

saved

through

faith

and this

is not

your undoing

it as the

gift of

God.

Even our

faith and

we'll see

more of this

over the

next few

weeks.

Even our

faith

has been

given to us

as a gift

of God.

That's been

something God's

enabled us to

do.

And he had

to do that

because previously

we were

unwilling and

unaware of

our

predicament.

God needs

to actually

give us

the

willingness

and the

ability.

And God

does that

through his

spirit.

He actually

opens our

eyes to

our predicament.

He changes

our desires

and attitudes

so that we

actually reach

out and take

the gracious

gift of

salvation.

And finally

verses 9 and

10.

Even the

changed

lifestyle of

new obedience

and service

of Jesus

that results

from being

saved, from

having new

attitudes, from

having desires,

even that is

something God

has intended to

give us and

plan for us all

along.

It's grace from

start to finish.

Now just let

me sort of wind

up now with

a couple of

so what.

Given this, why

do people find

this truth so

hard to accept?

And people do.

People stumble at

this very starting

point.

This notion of

our total

inability before

God.

Now why?

Why do we

stumble on it?

Why is it so

hard to accept?

Well I think it's

because the

starting point for

thinking about

God and people

and salvation has

changed massively.

And throughout

history the

pattern is always

the same.

When people

move away from

God's description

of sin, when

people move away

from God's

description of

the sinner, then

people start to

believe they can

save themselves.

Albeit they'll

recognize they need

some help from

God, but generally

people will think,

well, yeah, I need

God to help me do

this, but generally

I can do this and

this and this.

So it's a sort of

cooperative effort.

And that can only

happen when people

have moved away from

God's view of sin

and the sinner.

In our day the

pattern's the same.

So many so-called

evangelical

Protestant churches

have as their

starting point the

humanist philosophy of

our society rather

than the Bible.

And our humanist

philosophy of society

says that we're

basically good people.

Yes, we need some

help, we're not as

good as we could be,

and we need some

help at particular

points, but

essentially I work

with Jesus as a

good person.

That's not what the

Bible says.

The belief of our

world is that man

is at the center of

things.

Given the right

circumstances, given

our own reason, given

our own logic, we'll

be able to work

things out and get

it right.

And history and

experience tells us

that's nonsense.

And so with this

starting point,

churches have lost a

real sense of what

it means for God to

have a holy character,

what it means for

God's demands in

response to the

rebellion of his

image bearers.

And so churches

actually teach that

by and by God is

happy to respond to

what essentially we

think and decide is

right.

And God is like a

grandfather figure who's

just grateful for some

attention, who's just

grateful for people to

treat him nicely.

And people have lost a

real sense of sin, I

think.

So if you look at the

word sin, I mentioned

this a few weeks ago,

the word sin mostly

today has been

secularized in its

usage.

It's no longer a

theological word, I

don't think, in our

society.

If people use it at

all, it's usually in the

context of a failure to

accept reasonable

standards of decency,

decent conduct.

And that's generally

defined by our

culture, by our

community.

Or, as I said a

couple of weeks ago,

sin is just an

indulgence in some

food that's really not

good for you but so

intensely desirable and

pleasurable, like the

lollies here this

morning.

And so the problem is

that when we start,

when people start to

define sin, then we

just start to slide

over the definition and

make it more palatable,

make it more comfortable

for us.

And that's under

pressure to do so from

our so-called progressive

society, intolerant

society.

Don't dare speak to me

as if I'm in this sort

of condition.

I'm a good person.

Yes, I've got flaws, but

essentially I'm a good

person.

Give me a chance and I'll

get it right.

But in the Bible you

see sin is defined

always as an offense

against God.

It may have

implications in our

behavior before and

towards others, but

primarily sin is about

rejecting God and his

authority.

And once we lose that

sense of sin and that

sense of God's holiness,

then, and we see it in

churches, everything just

slides and becomes

flexible.

And gospel can become

about people.

And the gospel is so then

it's about my needs, my

desires.

The gospel will make me

happy.

The gospel will build my

self-esteem.

That Jesus will help me

be fulfilled.

Or it can be the gospel

of works, performance.

You know, it says, well,

okay, yes, you need help

from Jesus, but alongside

that help, he expects you

to read your Bible and get

to church and pray and

help people and do all

these other things.

And a combination of

these two things will get

you over the line.

The Bible is totally

opposed to any such

thinking.

The word of the Bible is

that God saves sinners.

Now, when you think about

it, we actually pray that,

don't we?

Now, why do we pray that?

God, because intuitively,

we have a sense of God

when we come to him,

especially in this context,

we have a sense of God

that is so far removed from

us, and a sense of our own

unworthiness.

We intuitively know that we

need to be saved.

Contrary to what we deserve,

we need God to do for us

what we could never do for

ourselves.

Friends, this truth is hard

to accept because it is a

blow to human arrogance.

It's a blow to human

self-confidence.

And it's such a blow

that people, even

professing Christian churches,

would prefer to replace this

truth with a lie,

or a sort of

a cheap substitute

of this truth.

And we can understand

why, because naturally,

you'll understand this,

I see it in myself,

naturally,

we quickly and easily

reject any assessment

of self which is not

complimentary.

our instinct is to

excuse self

and blame others

for our behavior

as required.

And that is an

evidence of the very

point I'm trying to make.

Well,

second, so what?

Given this,

what sort of people

ought Christians to be?

And I finish fairly

briefly on this.

What sort of

people ought we to be

as Christians?

If we get a hold

of this truth

of being spiritually

dead to God,

totally unable,

totally inability,

but God

making us alive.

Well,

if we understand

what God has done

for us and in us

in making us alive,

then

surely,

of all people,

we ought to be

totally fanatic,

total fanatics

in responding

to God.

Surely we'd be

people who'd love

to sing his praises

as I started,

but now with the

full depth

of theology

driving those

praises.

If you and I

really believe

we're dead in sin

and under God's wrath

before God's grace

burst into our lives,

then, my friends,

we will be humble

and compassionate

in our dealings

with others,

especially as we engage

in the community.

How bizarre is it

that Christians

sort of want to

step back

from

contact

with unbelievers

who are just

doing what

unbelievers do?

How can that be

if we understand

that we also

were dead

to God

at one stage

but were made

alive by God's grace?

Why would we

recoil

from that

sort of behavior,

that sort of

person?

Surely,

my friends,

we'd be wanting

to reach over

to that person

and say,

hey,

yeah,

that's just

exactly what

I was like

and let me

tell you,

let me point

you to

the solution

to your problem.

Humble

and compassionate.

We ought

never,

my friends,

I think,

look down

our noses

at those

who perhaps

come among us

who are struggling

or whom

we engage

with at work

or elsewhere

in the community.

and if we

really believe