Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:11-13 | J. Allen Mashburn

Paul is writing to the Ephesians, and to us, to let the church know that, in Jesus, the walls are all taken down. In Jesus, there is no master or slave. There is no male or female. There is no rich or poor. There is no Greek or Barbarian. And, there is no Jew or Gentile. In Jesus Christ, we are all made one! That is the whole point of these verses.
 
In verse 11, Paul reminded us of The Divisions Of The Past. He reminds us of the wall between the Jews and us.
 
In verse 12, Paul reminds us of The Devastation Of The Past. He reminds us of just how bad the situation was on our side of the wall. In that verse, Paul reminds us that we had five huge problems.
We were “without Christ”
We were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel”
We were “strangers from the covenants of promise”
We were without “hope”
We were “without God”
 
In our lost condition, we were separated from God. We were hopelessly lost and headed to Hell without Jesus Christ. We were in a desperate condition from which we could not save ourselves. In the verse we will look at today, Paul tells us how the wall was broken down between the Jews and the Gentiles. He tells us how we who were on the wrong side of the fence, were brought “near.”
 

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:10 | J. Allen Mashburn

Everything we possess as believers is ours through and by the grace of God. We earned nothing we have received. We deserved nothing we have received. We purchased nothing we have received. Everything we have in Jesus Christ has been given to us by the free grace of Almighty God.
 
God has given us the gifts of His grace without asking for a single thing in return. He doesn’t expect us repay Him for grace. While God does not expect any return payments from us; He does expect a return on His investment. The work of grace in us results in some very real changes in our lives. These changes allow us to live for God. Our living for Him, according to His will brings glory to His name, and that is all He wants from us!
 
When grace comes to a lost, dead sinner, that sinner is born again as a “new creature” in Jesus, 2 Cor. 5:17. The old appetites and ways of living are laid aside for a brand new life in Jesus. What God works in us by His grace will work its way out in our lives. Not only are we saved by His grace; we are changed by that same grace. As the grace of God works itself out in our lives, it manifests itself in us through our works.
 
Verses 8-9 made it very clear that works have no part in our salvation. We are not saved by what we do or by what we produce. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone! However, the proof that God’s grace has worked in us to save us is our works after we are saved. John Calvin said, “We are saved by faith alone, but he faith that saves is never alone.”
 
In other words, works do not save us, but we are saved to work. James 2:18 says it this way, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James is reminding us that while faith brings us into God’s salvation, Acts 16:31, our works prove the reality of our profession of faith.
 
The verse before us today is about the work of grace in our lives. This verse tells us what the Lord does in us when He saves us, and how He works through us to accomplish His will in the world. This verse is a challenge to all of God’s people to be the examples of grace He saved us to be.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:8-9 | J. Allen Mashburn

In clear, concise language, the Apostle Paul lays out God’s way of salvation. This few verses are among the most important in the whole Bible. They teach exactly how people can be saved. They teach us about the Way, and the Wonder of salvation. These verses show all people, in all generations, in all places, and in all religions, what they must know in order that they might be saved from their sins and from the fires of Hell.
 
I want to take these verses and show you the truths that are exposed here. When these verses are taken at face value, they clearly reveal the way of salvation and how it is obtained.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:4-7 | "But God..." - Part 2 | J. Allen Mashburn

Verse 4 describes a Divine Intervention. It describes God intervening in our lives to bring us to Jesus Christ by His grace. When God intervened in our lives, He brought us out of spiritual death, spiritual deception, spiritual depravity and spiritual doom. He literally took us out of Adam and placed us in Jesus. Col. 1:13 says it this way, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Thank God He has because, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,” 1 Cor. 15:22. When we are placed “in Christ”, we become the exact opposite of what we were before. Everything changes, and it changes forever. These verses we will consider today describe the wonderful changes that are suggested in the word “but”. That word is a word of contrasts. Here, Paul contrasts what we have become “in Christ” with what we were before we met Christ.
Not only has God intervened in the lives of the redeemed by loving them and saving them from their lost condition, He also identifies those who are redeemed with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, when God looks upon His redeemed ones, He never again sees us like we are. He sees us just as we are in Jesus. He does not see our sins, but He sees the righteousness of His Son. He does not see us as we are, but He sees us as He is!
When God interrupted our march toward Hell and saved us by His grace, He changed our relationship with Jesus Christ. In our sins, we were separated from Him. In grace, we are placed into a vital relationship with Him. Notice these verses: “with Christ”, v. 5; “in Christ”, v. 6; “through Christ”, v. 7.
 

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:4-7 | "But God..." - Part 1 | J. Allen Mashburn

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes the deplorable condition of those who are unsaved. These verses remind us that the sinner “is dead in trespasses and sins”. Satan and the world system keep them in a constant state of deception. They are depraved in their appetites and their actions, and in that state, they have no appetite for the things of God. Their only goal is to satisfy their lusts and gratify their flesh. In that dead, deceived, and depraved condition, they are separated from God, and they are doomed to face God in judgment someday.
The lost sinner is in a terrible situation today. My friend, if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are in trouble! You need to be saved by His grace, and you need to be saved today!

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:1-3 -- PART 3 | J. Allen Mashburn

While these verses give us a depressing view into human depravity, these verses are essential to an understanding of the power sin holds over the sinner. Because sin invaded the human race, all humans are now sinners, and lost in their sins, until they come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am glad we have spent the time in the verses that we have for a couple of reasons.
 
First, because we considered these verses in depth, there should be no question in our minds that lost sinners are in deep trouble and are in need of a Savior. Second, because we have lingered here, and looked full in the face of the awful human condition, we should be motivated like never before to share the Gospel with the lost. Third, I am glad we lingered here because the Lord showed one of our young men that he was “dead in trespasses and sins” and he came to Jesus for salvation. That alone makes everything I have preached these last few weeks worthwhile.
 
Today, we will finish verse 3 and move on to truths that are more exciting. But, for today, we need to take one more dip in the cesspool of sin.
 

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:1-3 -- PART 2 | J. Allen Mashburn

In verse 1, Paul lays out the desperate condition of those who have never been born again. He tells us that they are “dead in trespasses and sins”. This does not mean that they are merely crippled in their spiritual life. The word “dead” refers to a “corpse”. It refers to the fact that sinners are “dead” as far as their relationship with God is concerned. Sinners are spiritually dead!
 
They do not care about Him. They have no desire for Him. They do not appreciate anything that has to do with Him. They cannot come to Him on their own for salvation. For all intents and purposes, sinners are spiritual corpses, who need to be born again. They have bodies which live, breath, love and die, but they are dead even while they live.
 
Most of us who are saved understand this truth, because we have been there. We know how we were before Jesus redeemed us, and we know the great changes He brought about in our lives after salvation. In fact, while this passage reveals the terrible condition of the lost, it is a passage written to the saints of God.
 
In verse one, Paul says “and you hath He quickened.” Paul writes to remind the Ephesian believers, and all other believers who take the time to read this book, that their lives have changed. He wants us to know that because we are in Jesus, everything has changed.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians | Ephesians 2:1-3 -- PART 1 | J. Allen Mashburn

This passage details the desperate condition of the lost sinner. This passage also reminds every redeemed child of God of what they were before God saved them by His grace. In chap. 1, Paul reminded us of our riches in Christ. He told us how God came to us, saved us by his grace, and adopted us into his family. Paul reminded us that the salvation we enjoy is completely of the Lord.
This passage details what we were before we met the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage also declares the hopeless, helpless condition of those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. This passage exposes the devastating results of sin’s intrusion into the human race.
I want to take these verses, and examine these "Dead People”. I want to share with you the characteristics that are common to all those who are trapped in the bondage of sin. If you’ve never been saved, this message is designed to teach you the truth about sin and its consequences. If you are saved, this message is designed to remind you of where you were when Jesus found you, and how He saved you and transformed your life by his power.
This description of the lost around us and among us ought to stir our hearts to reach them with the Gospel of grace that they too might come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior!