June 16
“You He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” Ephesians 2:1-5.
The apostle Paul writes about our spiritual condition by nature and our spiritual condition by the grace of God. By nature, all people are spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins.” Speaking to the Ephesians who had become Christians, he reminded them of their spiritual past: “You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”
Before they became Christians, the Ephesians, like all people, were spiritually dead by nature. They lived according to the sinful desires of the flesh and mind. They lived according to the ways of the world. Their lives were controlled by the prince of the power of the air – that is, the prince of darkness, the devil.
The Ephesian Christians were no different than any of us who are Christians today. By nature, the life that we live does not paint a beautiful picture. We, too, were dead in trespasses and sins. By nature, none of us has anything to brag about. “(We) were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” As Paul wrote to the Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. By nature, all of us are children of disobedience. By nature, we feel that the Laws of God, the Ten Commandments, hem us in; they keep us from doing as we please.
The efforts that are being made today to silence the voice of the Ten Commandments are efforts to allow people to live according to the flesh. Remove the Ten Commandments from our schools, our government, our courts, and the workplace and then we have removed the standard of morality. Remove the Ten Commandments and we have removed the standard that determines what is right and wrong.
Into this immoral mess, which flows out of our sinful spiritual nature, the God of mercy and love comes to us to give us hope for time and eternity. God makes us spiritually alive by calling us to true repentance for all our sins and sinfulness, and He offers us His mercy, love, and forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ, His only Son and the Savior from sin, death, and the devil. The loving, merciful heavenly Father leads us to Calvary’s cross to behold the love of our Savior. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:8. Indeed, we have been saved by God’s grace alone! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” Acts 16:31.
“By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe, and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Hath Scripture ever falsehood taught?
Nay; then, this word must true remain:
By grace thou, too, shalt heav’n obtain.
“By grace! None dare lay claim to merit;
Our works and conduct have no worth.
God, in His love, sent our Redeemer,
Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;
His death did for our sins atone,
And we are saved by grace alone.” Amen.