Live and Walk in The Grace of God – Live Each Day in Christ, part 3
Do you rejoice in the freedom of God’s grace? This message examines a life without God’s grace compared to a transformed life of freedom living in God’s grace. You’ll learn how God’s grace allows you to leave behind your past and look toward the future. Plus, get a better understanding of what God’s grace offers each believer.
This series asks and answers life questions such as: Who am I? How do I get past my past and embrace my future? How can I have peace? Learn how to live in Christ every day and in the hope you have in Christ, both now in the present and in the future. As a believer, God is with you, and your past is forgiven. God chose to love you and extend his grace to you in Christ. It is my hope that you are spiritually encouraged. No matter what you are facing, living in Christ, you can face anything, even death. God has a plan for your life. He loves you and you can trust him.
Be Transformed and Rejoice in God’s Grace
We have seen in the last several weeks how the apostle Paul wanted the believers in Ephesus to realize who they were in Christ. Paul wanted the believers to know that their past sins did not need to define who they were once they placed their faith in Christ.
Paul wanted you, and all believers, to know in your heart:
God is with you, and you are never alone.
Your past is forgiven.
You are freely loved by God, chosen, and predestined in Christ, even before the creation of the world.
Before you did anything wrong, God chose you.
He chose you knowing your sin.
Paul emphasized that God chose to love the believers in Ephesus and extend his grace to them and everyone who are in Christ. Paul encourages the believer to live in Christ every day and in the hope that every believer has in Christ, both now in the present and in the future, and for all eternity.
We learned last week that Paul is concerned that the believer grows in spiritual wisdom and revelation. Paul prayed that the Holy Spirit would instruct the believers in the things of the Lord and for them to grow spiritually into the man and woman of God that God desired for them. Paul knew that God would receive all the glory as the person of God grew in the knowledge of Christ and lived it, for all to witness.
Now, as we turn to Ephesians 2, we find Paul is clearly defining the person they were before they received the grace of God and the spiritual transformation that occurs when a person embraces the grace of God in Christ. By the grace of God, you are no longer that same person.
As noted last week, grace is an unmerited, undeserved favor that is shown to a person. We learned that grace is different from mercy. Mercy is withholding a punishment that is deserved, whereas grace is extending favor that is undeserved. The grace that God extends to a person is totally undeserved by the person, and God’s grace results in peace with God and the peace of God when they receive the grace of God in faith. It is only by the grace of God that a person can experience the peace of God and peace with God.
Remember the apostle Paul is speaking from personal experience. If God extended grace to Paul (the worst of sinners) God will certainly extend his grace to you.
Paul wanted the believer to know:
The hope God.
The riches of God.
And the incomparably great power of God for us who believe.
In doing so Paul also proclaims the authority of Christ, and Christ having been raised from the dead.
Paul then tells us that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Jesus seated at the right hand of God means that the work of salvation is complete. Nothing else needs to be accomplished regarding salvation.
Paul also makes clear that Jesus is above all rule and authority, every power and dominion and that Jesus’ name is above every name and that God placed all things under his feet.
As we read Ephesians 2: 1-10, I want you to personalize it. Read it as if Paul is speaking directly to you personally. Consider your life and how you once lived in rebellion to God and followed the way of the world before you placed your faith in Christ compared to now. By the grace of God, when you asked Jesus into your heart you are now made alive with Christ. You are no longer spiritually dead. Your sins are forgiven and by grace through faith you are saved.
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 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. 3 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. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 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. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:1-10, NIV).
Look back to verses 1-3 and be honest with yourself. Do you now see yourself as being spiritually dead before you placed your faith in Christ? Did you ever see yourself as living dead in your trespasses and sin? You may not have seen yourself as spiritually dead when you followed the way of the world before knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Most likely you never given it any thought as to following the ruler of the kingdom of the air. You gave no thought to spiritual things or something being right or wrong. You may have never given God any thought at all.
Growing up, I knew about God. I believed in Jesus being the son of God, but as a teenager I had no thought or any concept of spiritual consequences or things. Maybe you did not either. I never considered myself to be satisfying a sinful craving or that my actions would cause me to deserve God’s wrath. I thought myself to be OK. I was not like some who did things that I knew were wrong in God’s eyes. I knew of the commandments of God, but I never really gave them much thought. I did not see myself as an awful sinner. I could always find others to be a worse sinner than me. I might be a sinner but an awful sinner, no way! Looking back, I did not see myself as an awful sinner because I was spiritually blind at the time.
For a person who is spiritually blind, for a person who is spiritually ignorant, for a person who is spiritually dead, they have no awareness that they are doing anything spiritually wrong in the sight of God. The reason being most people focus on the physical, the present and not on the future or the spiritual. They are blinded by their own selfishness and sinful heart. Sure, a person might think that something is morally wrong. They might consider something as not right personally but still live far from God in Christ. A person can be religious and attend a church and still be living in spiritual bondage and sin.
Just consider the apostle Paul. Before his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, Paul went by the name Saul. He lived a strict religious life. He persecuted followers of Christ, thinking he was doing the work of God, but he was living far from God. Paul was spiritually blind to the fact that what he was doing was following the ruler of the kingdom of the air. He was acting in accordance with the spirit that is in those who are disobedient. Paul acknowledges that all of us, including himself, once lived that way.
Before you placed your faith in Christ, did you see yourself as living a life of sin? You, like most people, may have never even considered the seriousness of sin. That is, until one day when your spiritual eyes were opened by the truth of God’s word. The Holy Spirit made real the truth and you repented of your sin and responded to the grace of God.
However, some people have ignored the seriousness of their sin. They might joke about joining their friends and others who have died, thinking the party will go on. Not realizing the wages of sin is death (see Romans 6:23).
Sin and disobedience are not a game. The party will all end the same way. Living spiritually dead in your transgressions and sin. The person who is living dead in their transgressions and sin are spiritually dead, but they do not realize it.
A drug addict may not admit he has an addiction.
An alcoholic may not see themselves as being an alcoholic.
An abuser may not see themself as an abuser, whether it is verbal or physical.
The thief might justify their actions and see no wrong in what they do.
The thief might think it’s owed them, so they just take it.
The adulterer, the liar, the cheat, the disobedient, the murderer, gossiper, the hater and so many others do not see their own sin. The person may have no awareness their actions are wrong or sinful because they do not recognize the authority that says it is wrong or sinful. It is only when the law and authority is made known to them that a person might see their sin. Understand, the law or authority may not be recognized by a person but that does not neglect the fact that both the authority and the law exist. It doesn’t mean there are no consequences to breaking the law. If the police pull you over because you are speeding and you tell the officer that you did not know the speed limit, that is no excuse. You will still get a ticket. Just because you are not aware of the speed limit, and you were traveling faster than the speed limit you are still a law breaker. You will face consequences.
A person may not recognize themselves to be a sinner. They may have no awareness of being an object of wrath. They may have no awareness of the punishment awaiting them when they die. But that does not excuse their sin or excuse the punishment. The punishment is still coming.
Revelation 20 tells us that there is a second death:
“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15).
The person who knows Jesus as their Lord and Savior has their name written in the book of life. The person who refuses to believe; the person who rejects the grace of God, their name is absent from the book of life. The lake of fire awaits the unbeliever. The second death is for those whose names are not in the book of life.
The person who follows the way of the world and refuses to believe in Jesus as Lord and savior; the person who ignores the truth of God’s word is a person who is following their own sinful nature and selfish desires of their heart, and is deserving of the wrath of God. We were once that person except for the grace of God having become real in our hearts.
Church, it is easy to follow a crowd and get caught up in a cause that you may not fully understand, but getting caught up in the excitement of the crowd and participating in the chaos, the burning of buildings, breaking of windows and such, does not make the act OK. Nor is it an excuse. Just because a crowd of people think something is OK or justified does not make what they are thinking or acting upon to be OK or right. Just because the government passes some law and allows something does not mean that it is OK or right in the eyes of God. Abortion is legal but not according to God’s law. Sex before marriage may not be wrong according to the government or by some people, but that does not make it right. Drinking is legal at a certain age. Getting drunk is not illegal but what does God’s word say? Paul tells us we were all following the ruler of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. But thanks be to God for his mercy and grace toward us and all who believe.
Before having faith in Jesus, we were each objects of wrath and destined for hell and the lake of fire.
‘So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile’ (Romans 2:3-9).
How we respond to God’s mercy and grace determines either God’s blessing or God’s punishment.
Paul tells us that even before the law was made known there was sin. In Genesis we learn that from the time Adam and Eve sinned, mankind was born with a sin nature.
“To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law” (Romans 5:13).
However, where sin increased, God’s grace increased all the more.
“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20-21).
Paul continued to write using himself as an example:
“Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death” (Romans 7:9-11).
The Jew believed that obedience to the law would save them and gain heaven. But the law could not save anyone, instead it revealed the need of a savior, only the Jew was too proud and spiritually blind to the truth of God’s word. Pride will keep a person bound in their sin. Pride blinds a person to the truth of God’s word. Pride will also blind a person to their sin. But thanks be to God, his grace is greater than my sin.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).
Most people know right from wrong but ignore it because they are driven by their selfish desire and sinful nature. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truth of God, and the grace of God brings salvation through faith in Christ to those who believe.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:28-34).
People everywhere need to hear the gospel message. They need to be made aware of God’s grace and that his grace and mercy are available to all who will believe.
People need to learn that God’s grace is a gift. God’s gift of grace is freely given and is not earned. God’s grace is greater than the power of sin and death. It is by the grace of God that every believer is made alive in Christ. We are raised up with Christ in order that the grace of God will be seen, and God will receive all they glory.
When a person rejects, ignores, or refuses to believe in Christ and the truth of God’s word, they reject the gift of grace that is available to them freely and without cost. They are rejecting the gift of salvation. They are rejecting the love and mercy of God. They are rejecting the truth of God’s word and believing a lie that originates from the enemy of God, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. The spirit who is at work in the disobedient.
Today I want you to know that living according to your sinful nature will result in you being a spiritually dead man walking. The future for the spiritually dead man is hell and the lake of fire. But thanks be to God, in his love and grace God sent his son and whosoever believes in him will have eternal life.
Live each day in the grace of God. Live each day in Christ and your life will bring glory to God. Know your name is written in the book of life.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Live in the grace of God. Tell of the grace of God. Show forth the grace of God in all you do so others will know and believe. As you do, God will receive the glory. You will be fulfilling the work that God has prepared in advance for you to do.
Suggested Praise and Worship
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