Awake to Grace!

By Pastor Matt Black

10 September 2006
Lord's Day morning
Ephesians 2:5-7; Matthew 5:3-14

Introduction: Open your Bible to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  The title of this morning’s message is “Awake to Grace!”  Let’s stand together and read Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 1 through 10.

[Stand and read Ephesians 2:1-10]

5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

An Awakening: What does an awakened life look like?

“Even when we were Dead in Sins”: What it is to be “Dead in Sins”.

To be dead in sins is to be dead to God.  It is to be alive to the world—alive to my desires, my wants, and my way, and hardened to God’s way and to God’s revealed will.  Our passions were dead to God.  God was boring, not useful for us—we fell asleep when we heard the message of the Cross.  It didn’t make sense!  We are reminded by God’s Word this morning that we once cared absolutely nothing for God.  We loved our sins.  We were dead in our sins to God.  It was sin that was between us and God.  We loved our sins, so we were blind and deaf to God’s calls.  We were on the play ground of sin, and we heard God’s calls, but we did not come to him, because we loved what we were doing so much.  We loved ours sins.  We took them in like a starving person eating a four course meal. 

“Dead in sins” means “no spiritual life”.  But what does that mean?  What does a person look like who is dead in sins?  Turn over to Matthew 5.  In Matthew 5, Christ presents to us the marks of those who are alive to God. 

He says:

I. Verse 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.  The one dead in sins cares not about the kingdom of heaven.  He says, “if I’m poor in spirit I’ll get walked all over.  I’ll get taken advantage of.  I have to assert my way to get by in life.” 

II. Verse 4: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted”.  The one dead in sins says—“I don’t like to mourn, so I will seek my comfort from entertainment.  Life hurts too much, so I need a movie.  I had a hard week, and I just can’t take it anymore, so I’m going to turn up the music and drown out my frustrations.

Dear friend, anything that you turn to in hard times outside of Jesus is your idol.  If you are a Christian, be dead to the passions of self, the temptation to self pity and worry and anger.  These are all part of the corpse of your vile, filthy depravity.  Leave this behind. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:12). 

III. Verse 5: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”.  Meek has the idea of being totally secure, and not easily offended.  Those who are alive in Christ have a gentle disposition when confronted—they don’t lash out, but are patient and loving when provoked and tempted and taunted.  Those who live in spiritual deadness are offended easily.  They are hyper-sensitive.  They are up in arms over the slightest hint that they might be wrong about something.  Those alive in Christ look not to their temporary injury, but to their eternal inheritance in Christ.  I may be held in poor esteem of others.  But I’m not looking to please men and to prop up my own ego and personality.  My security is not that people always do me right.  The one alive in Christ can take wrong with humility and meekness, because “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).  The earth and all that is in Christ is ours. 

Application:  Are you easily offended?  If you are a believer then you are like someone delivered from death row who just misses his old cell in solitary confinement!  Don’t be like Lazarus and go back to the cave and put the old grave clothes on!  Walk in newness of life!

IV. Verse 6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled”.  The one alive in Christ does not hunger for his own rights, but hungers for holiness, and God’s righteousness.  The living in spiritual deadness are lukewarm to God.  Is that you today?  If that’s you today, Jesus Christ speaks to you directly.  He gives you the message found in the book of the Revelation 3:15ff, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

Are you filled with your own self-righteousness and your own pride and agenda, or do you long to be filled by God and His Spirit and His agenda.  Do you long for the Spirit of God to be alive in you, living out His will in your life?  Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”  Are you led, controlled, filled by the life giving Spirit of God, or are you living in Spiritual deadness?

We don’t have time to fully look into all these marks of the spiritual life, but let’s glance at them.

V. The spiritually alive are “merciful”, “pure in heart”, and “peacemakers”.

A. Verse 7: Merciful is to not give people what you think they deserve.  A true Christian, spiritually alive believer will always give back to people what they received from Christ.  When you hated Christ, what did He give you?  Love, eternal life, mercy.  When people bad mouth you or speak wrong of you or hurt you, you must give them a merciful answer.  What does Jesus say in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”.

B. Verse 8: Pure in heart: Those who know and are alive to Christ never have to put on a mask.  They never have to be something they are not.  They are transparent.  Those who are dead in sins use careful schemes to deceive people.  They shade the truth.  They are what they need to be to get their way!  They are what they need to be to gain what they want in this world.  Those who are in Christ have died to the world and gained Christ, so they have one burning and pure motive.  Paul expressed it well in Philippians 3:8-10, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…”

C. Verse 9: Peacemakers:  Those alive in Christ promote peace at their own expense.  They suffer reproach and insults.  Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”  Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.”  If you always must get your way, then you are still living in spiritual deadness.  If you are a believer you need to flee from that life!  Put it off!  Don’t abide in it!

I love how Matthew 5 ends.  Look at verses 10-12, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”  If you live this way, you will be constantly assaulted for doing good.  People will call you names.  They will whisper behind your back accusing you of having ulterior motives.  You will be persecuted.  Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

Those dead in sins do are not living in the life and agenda of the Holy Spirit.  As Christians we must fight the temptation to live this way.  We have been delivered!  Sin and death have been conquered!  Don’t enter again into your former sins!  Live this awakened life. 

Closing Hymn: New Life in Christ