This message titled Grace Alone from Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 10 was preached at Winchester Reformed Presbyterian Church in Winchester, Kansas. For more information visit us at winchesterrp.com I'm sure that many of you have heard the analogy of man's separation from God. On the one side you have man. On the other side you have God. And in the middle you have this great divide separating man from God. All religions in some way try to explain how it is that this divide between man and God can be crossed. Within the world's religions, three primary views concerning this. The first is what most mainline churches hold to, which is through living a good life, man can build the bridge with his actions and then make it across. Acts of kindness, of love, acceptance, and tolerance. They all act as the building blocks to this bridge to make it across the gap. But this is simply moralism. And the second is similar but slightly different. It's the belief that God has built most of the bridge, but through man's religious actions and through good works, He builds the rest. This is the view of the Roman Catholics and even much of American Christianity. But this contribution of works to salvation is nothing but legalism. And the third way, the third view is that of Orthodox Christianity. that it is simply the cross of Christ which bridges the gap between man and God, and man contributes absolutely nothing to His salvation. This is the view of grace. I really like how Pastor Derek Thomas explains grace. He uses a phrase, a mnemonic. He says it is great riches at Christ's expense. And this is what Paul teaches here in this text. Great riches at Christ's expense. Paul gives us a picture in the most explicit language that salvation is by grace alone. And He does this by showing us three things. He shows us who we were. He shows us what God has done. And He shows us who we now are. So how does the Word of God show us who we were? Well, let's look back at our passage beginning in verse 1. 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 we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. These are tough. descriptions. So tough, in fact, that some people, Christians included, have tried to explain them away. But Paul doesn't hold anything back in his description of the natural man. He doesn't sugarcoat it to make it easier for the listener to hear. Instead, he uses clear and precise language to explain the state of man. We were dead in trespasses and sins. Now the word that Paul uses here really means dead. I've heard countless times that we are sinners and simply in need of the great physician. That we are sick That we need healing. Or that we are sinners who are drowning in the sea of sin and we need Christ to throw us a life preserver for us to grab onto. But that's not what the apostle is saying here. We were dead. We weren't sick and in need of the great physician. We were a corpse and in need of the great physician to bring us to life. We weren't drowning and in need of a life preserver to grab onto. We were dead at the bottom of the ocean with no possibility of bringing ourselves to safety. We were dead. And Paul tells us what this dead state meant. We followed the Prince of the Power of the Air, the Spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Not only were we dead, but we followed the way of Satan. We were in bondage to sin and did the will of our Father the Devil. Psalm 1 tells us, is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers." Everything about us was the exact opposite of the blessed man. Every inclination of our being was in accordance with the prince of the power of the air. We all lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. This is precisely what we see in the world today. Turn on the TV and you'll see the passions of the flesh being put on display. Vileness and filth is being published on cable television and online streaming services. The world is promoting all sorts of abominations as though they are natural. And the world is just eating this up. Media has become a platform for the brainwashing and desensitizing of the people to embrace and to normalize all sorts of sins. But this shouldn't surprise us. The world is just doing what is natural. It's following the will of Satan. It's satisfying the passions of man. And we were right there with them. Paul tells us that we were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. Do you see the wicked, natural state of man? Does this not make plain how offensive our captivity to sin is to a holy God? From what we've seen so far in this text, we must come away with an understanding that man is utterly hopeless in his sin when left in His natural state. We can't help but see all men are justly deserving of the eternal punishment of hell. And if this were where the passage ended, it would be one of the most miserable passages ever written. If that were the end of our story, we would have no reason to be here today because we would still be following the Prince of the Power of the Air. We would be utterly lost and without hope. But that's who we were. And praise God that that's who we were, and the passage does not end there. What Paul does next is he gives us the most glorious two words that we could ever hear, but God. Yes, that's who we were. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were following the prince of the power of the air. We lived in the passions of the flesh. and the desires of the mind, we were children of wrath but God. God, the sovereign King of the universe who rules and reigns over all creation did not leave us in our helpless and hopeless state. He set the world into motion and He rules and reigns over it actively. He did not leave us dead in our sins. We don't believe in the God of the deists who just winds up the world and sits back and lets it do its thing. No, our God is active. Our God works in this world. And with those two little words, Paul tells us, that the story does not end with us being dead in our trespasses and sins, but it continues with what God has done for us. So let's continue on in our passage with verse 4. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, When we were dead and our trespasses made us alive together with Christ. By grace 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 and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, this is good news. This is the Gospel. We were dead in our trespasses in sin. We were in bondage to that sin. We were following the path of the wicked. We were following the prince of the power of the air. But God made us alive. And it wasn't because of anything that we did. It wasn't because of any good found in us. Scripture tells us that it was because of the great love with which He loved us. Period. That ought to cause us to rejoice. If it were up to us, there would be no hope. The fact that our being made alive is not based upon anything that we've done or anything within us is what gives us hope. It's what gives us confidence that our salvation is sure. Just as Lazarus lying in the tomb could in no way bring himself out of the grave, but He needed the life-giving Word of Christ to bring Him forth, so too are we totally reliant upon God to bring us out of our dead state and unto life. And not only has God brought us from death to life, but He made us alive together in Christ. That phrase is incredibly important, though it's fairly easy to gloss over. This being made alive is part of our union with Christ. It's in his resurrection that we are raised as well. And that's why Paul says God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. How amazing is this? It's in our union with Christ that not only are we made alive, but we are seated in heavenly places alongside Christ. Now, I know this may seem a little strange to us right now. How can we be seated in heavenly places while we are still here on earth? But what Paul is doing here is he's giving us a glimpse of the already and not yet of an eschatological or an eternal reality. Being brought from spiritual death to spiritual life has granted us all spiritual blessings that are found in union with Christ. And so in this moment, our being raised together and seated in heavenly places in Christ is a spiritual reality. We truly are in spiritual communion with our risen Savior. But there will come a time, there will come a day when it will become a physical reality. When this age has passed away and the new has come, when we enter into that glorified state in the New Jerusalem, we will truly and physically be seated with our Savior in heavenly places. What joy that should bring us, knowing that that is our expectation for future glory. And what God has done is for a purpose. Look with me in verse 7. So that in the coming ages, He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. This is that purpose. We are brought from death unto life as an example of the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness. God saving sinners is a testimony of His grace. We were all dead, hopelessly lost in sin, justly deserving His wrath. Now, people often say that grace is undeserved favor. But it's much more than that. It's not just that God does something for someone who deserves absolutely nothing. No. Grace is actually favor in the face of deserved wrath. It's not just love for the undeserving, it's God's love for the hell deserving. He chose to show mercy upon us and to save us only because of His great love for us, so that His grace may be made known. This is precisely what Paul tells us about salvation in Romans 9. where he says, What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory? God's act of saving displays His glory. We have been saved so that the world may see the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness and His mercy toward His people. And God's grace and what He has done in changing who we were now leads us to who we are. And this is the flow of Paul's argument. Let's continue on in our passage. 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. The first thing to notice about who we are now is that we are saved. This is that change of state from being dead to being alive. No longer Do we follow the Prince of the Power of the Air? We follow the ways of the Lord. We were once unable to do anything but sin, but now we have the ability to live according to the law of God. We had followed the Spirit which worked in the sons of disobedience. But now we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit who works obedience within us as the sons of God. We are not who we once were. We are now new creations in Christ Jesus. And that's what 2 Corinthians 5.17 tells us. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come." And this salvation, this making of the new man, it's by grace, through faith. And this is not of your own doing. Now this points back to verse 4 and God working this salvation in man because of His great love that He has for us. It's not because of anything that we have done or any foreseen faith in us that calls God to save us. No, it's because of His bountiful grace and His imparting faith to us. Paul is emphasizing that we are saved by grace alone. This crucial doctrine that we are saved by grace alone is absolutely essential to a right understanding of the Gospel. Without this doctrine, we do not have a true Gospel. We have a false one. And Paul tells us that it's not your own doing, it is the gift of God. Now this may be one of the most misunderstood passages pertaining to salvation and it's caused much discussion and debate among biblical scholars throughout history. The question is, what is the gift of God? Is it grace? Is it faith? Well, the grammar of the text seems to point to the fact that the gift is all-encompassing. It's grace. And it's faith. And it's all wrapped up together into that act of salvation. All of it is a gift of God. And this is further confirmed by what Paul says next. It's not a result of works. so that no one may boast." If faith were something that we contributed to salvation, if it were not a gift given to us by the Lord, then in some sense, our salvation would be dependent upon something we do. It would be a salvation of works. But Paul shuts down that notion decisively. But for whatever reason, be it ignorance or the schemes of Satan, this doctrine has been perverted and abused throughout history in the church. It's very well known that the Roman Catholic Church has condemned the gospel in their denial of this doctrine at the Council of Trent. this perversion is readily seen and condemned, and rightly so. And we know that legalism, the thought that works contributes something to salvation, is widespread in much of Christianity today. And we're right in condemning a works-based salvation. But that's not to say that works have no place in the life of the believer. In fact, Paul says the exact opposite. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Notice the endearing language that's being used of us now. We are God's workmanship. We're a masterpiece. We're a work in which the Lord takes great pride in creating. This isn't a boasting way of looking at us. It's a means of marveling at and appreciating what God has done in this act of making sinners new creations in Christ Jesus. But more than that, we have a purpose. Our purpose is good works. We have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Since we've been made new, we now have the ability to perform good works, albeit not perfect in this life. And this is a distinction that needs to be made. Francis Turretin says that we must distinguish between truly good and perfectly good. We've proved before that the latter, perfectly good works, cannot be ascribed to the works of the saints on account of the imperfection of sanctification and the remains of sin. But the former, truly good, is rightly predicated of them, because although they are not as yet perfectly renewed, still they are truly and unfaintedly renewed. Our sins still taints us, though we've been made alive in Christ. But through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, we have been made new. And we have the ability to perform truly good works. And we know that this is our purpose because God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Just as before we had followed the prince of the power of the air, now we walk in good works that God has prepared for us. We're not saved by works, but we are created for good works. And these works are a means by which we bear witness to the world, what the Lord has done in saving us. We're told that we will know a tree by the fruit that it bears. And these works are our fruit. and others will know what kind of tree we are by this fruit. Brothers and sisters, I hope you see the amazing grace that has brought salvation to you. I pray that this Word of Truth has made it clearer to you today the beauty that is found in the grace of God. It's my desire that as we leave here today, we all have a greater understanding and appreciation for salvation by grace alone. And that we continually remind ourselves of this great doctrine. Every day we need to preach this gospel to ourselves. We wake up every morning thinking Just a little bit of effort on our part can make God love us a little better. But if we hold fast to this Gospel, and if we remind ourselves of it continually, we can rest comfortably in the knowledge that we have been saved by grace alone. Let us pray.