Saved by Grace…  (3 things)

• 1^st – Destined for destruction… vs. 1-3 (4 thigns)
  • 1^st – Looking back… vs. 1
    • Paul paints a vivid picture of exactly what God saved us from…
      • A diamond is a beautiful jewel – but its true beauty can only be seen in contrast…
      • Shine a light on a sparkling diamond with a black background – it becomes brilliant!
      • In order to really appreciate what God has done – we need to look at who we were…
      • Placed on the black backdrop of our past – with the light of Christ shining on us…
      • We see the magnificence of what God has transformed us into!
    • We were dead in our sins…
      • In the eyes of God – we were already dead…
      • If someone has committed a crime – and as a result been sentenced to death…
      • Even though they are ‘alive’ waiting for their sentence to be carried out…
      • They are in a sense already dead – in fact they are referred to as ‘ dead men walking’
      • Sin has only one penalty – death – Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death…”
      • So because we are all sinners – Romans 3:23 – we were in a sense all dead men…
      • From God’s perspective we were just on ‘death row’ waiting for Judgment day…
  • 2^nd – We were just like the world – under the power of satan… vs. 2
    • Before Jesus were the sons of this world – the children of satan – Matthew 12:30
      • We went wherever the world – motivated by satan – told us to go…

• In other words before we knew Jesus we had no direction – no purpose…
• Every new idea – we blindly followed after – not knowing where we were going…
• If someone said we should go gamble – we went / or to a Disco – we went…
• No thought of consequence/no plan – following the world/satan without question
• Satan is the price of the power of the air (only used here by Paul)…
  • The word air refers to the lower atmosphere – literally the ‘air’ above/around us…
  • Perhaps it is no accident that TV and radio are transmitted through the ‘air’…
  • Because satan certainly is the power behind the ‘media’…
  • You turn on the TV and see advertizing showing all the things you NEED to buy…
  • You see add of women in scantily clad clothing – giving you impure thoughts…
  • Satan uses TV to twist and pervert the minds of men – keep them in bondage to sin!

• 3^rd – We lived only to please ourselves… vs. 3
  • Before Jesus we did not think about sin – we just did what we wanted…
  • We had no other choice – we did not know any better – we were by nature – sinners…
  • We did not think about God – think about righteousness – we were bound to sin…
  • When we sinned  – we did not care – sin did not bother us…
• 4^th – We were just like everyone else – the children of wrath…
  • Whether we realized it or not – when we were the enemy of God…
    • James 4:4 – “Friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”
    • And because God was opposed to us – we were under the wrath of God…
    • The only thing we deserved – was to be sent directly to hell…
    • With every sin we sank deeper into ‘debt’ – a debt we had no way to repay…
    • Men on death row – just waiting to be sent to hell – the children of satan…
    • Only living to please ourselves – destined to face the wrath of God…
    • This is who we were before Jesus came into our lives!
  • It is easy to forget who we were before Christ…
    • If we do not remember what we were saved from – we might want to go back…
      • We think back on all the ‘good times’ we had – all the fun – before we knew Jesus
      • We forget about the hangovers / the conviction / the lack of purpose in life
      • When we remember what we were saved from – sin and death – power of satan
      • We hold on all the tighter to Jesus – determined never to go back…
    • If we do not remember – we think we are better than others…
      • There is also the danger of forgetting we are no better than any other sinner
      • We become judgmental of others – ‘holier than thou’ – super spiritual…
      • Forgetting we’re just as much a sinner – but have been redeemed from the world
        

He desires for us to grow – following the example of Jesus – become like Jesus!

2^nd – But God had Mercy… vs. 4-7 (3 things)

1^st – BUT GOD… vs. 4

These two words are what stand between us going to heaven or hell…

No one else could save us – there was nothing we could do to save ourselves…

It was only God who could step in and change our fate – save us from our sin!

The ‘Good News’ is God did not leave us in are sinful / fallen state…

Instead of the judgment we deserved – God gave what we did not deserve – mercy!

And not just a little bit of mercy – God is RICH in mercy – meaning He had A LOT!

He gave everyone the change to be forgiven of their sin – a chance to be saved…

God had mercy – because of the abundance of love He had for us…

God so loved us / the whole world so much He sent Jesus to die for our sins…

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

LOVE – ‘unconditional love’ – no matter what we have done God LOVES us…

So much that He was willing to sacrifice Jesus – so we could go to Heaven…

Because of His Love His mercy – rather than judgment He gave us life!

2^nd – Though we were dead in sin – God gave us new life with Jesus… vs. 5

Jesus was willing to die so that His enemy could live…

Few men would be willing to die in place of another…

Would you die in place of a murderer / drug dealer / child molester…

The simple answer is no – let them pay their own penalty for their crimes…

Perhaps for a VERY good man – someone might be willing to die…

History shows some ‘extraordinary men’ others have been willing to die for

But they are exception – and few and far in between…

Yet Jesus showed us His love – He died for us while we were still sinners (bad people)!

Jesus did not die for noble men – or VERY good men – He died for sinners!

He loved us so much He was willing to die – while we were still His enemies!

Romans 5:8 – “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinner.”

And when God raised Jesus up from the Dead – we also received new life!

Our old man – our old sinful nature – was crucified and buried with Jesus…

We were then ‘raised from the dead’ – no longer the old sinful man we once were…

We were given ‘new life’ – freed from sin to live for God!

II Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

3^rd – God lifted us up with Jesus to the heavenly places… vs. 6-7

So in the ages to come – He can show us His great love for us through Jesus…

When God says he will do greater things  – He goes above and beyond!

God does not just want to bless us – He wants to blow us away with His goodness!

God wants to take us with Him to heaven – spend eternity with us!

I Corinthians 2:9 – “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Heaven is not the most amazing place we can imagine – beyond our imagination!

It will take ages – literally 1000s of years – in heaven for God to reveal it all to us!

3^rd – By grace through faith… vs. 8-10 (3 things)

1^st – We are saved by faith through Grace – it is a gift of God…

Our salvation is a gift from God by faith…

The word Grace – charis – can be translated grace of gift…

God gave us the incredible gift of righteousness and heaven – through Jesus!

We did nothing to earn it – in fact there is nothing we can do to deserve it…

If someone gives you a gift – you do not have to accept it…

Our part of salvation is faith – being willing to believe and receive God’s gift…

God does not want anyone to perish – but He gives all men the choice…

He offers everyone the gift – and then lets any and all choose how to respond…

We can ignore it – decide not to take it – and miss out on heaven…

Or by faith receive from God the most amazing gift we will ever get – salvation!

The way we receive the gift – is through faith…

Hebrews 11:1 – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

We cannot see God – and the gift God gives us is not something we can hold…

It is something we believe  – by faith we believe God has forgiven us of our sin…

By faith we believe that life is not only about living here on earth…

By faith we believe one day God will take us to be with Him forever in heaven…

So by faith we receive the Grace of God – His free gift of salvation!

2^nd – We have nothing to boast about…

Because salvation is a gift of God – we loose the ability to boast…

If I can be saved by my own efforts – by my own ‘good works’…

I can tell everyone how wonderful I am – I am better than other people…

Men love to act ‘holy’ – boast about how good they are – all their works…

Men love to tell you how much better they are compared to others – self-righteous…

Walk into a church and see the ‘donation plaque’ or the ‘thank you announcements’

Because of Faith – there is no more boasting – God did all the work…

If you bought a new motor – you could boast in what you had – you ‘earned it’

If you were given a new motor – might boast about who gave it – not about yourself

Jesus did all the work to save us – we go to heaven as a ‘free’ gift from God!

We cannot boast how good we are – we are not good  – we can only boast in God

Psalms 34:2 – “My soul shall make its boast in the LORD…”

3^rd – We are God’s workmanship / poema – created to do ‘good works’…

The love story written in our lives…

When you want to show a woman how much you love her – you write a poem…

We are the poem God wrote to show His great Love for us…

The story of how God took a sinner like us – and made us saints!

God saved us for a purpose – to make us into a masterpiece…

Canvas and paint are nothing special – until the painter makes it a work of art…

A lump of clay is nothing – until it falls under the skillful hand of the potter…

Isaiah 64:8 – “You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”

We are clay on God’s potter’s wheel – He desires to make us His masterpiece!

It is not something that happens in a moment – the very day we are saved…

It is a process of growing in Jesus – learning to become more like Him…

God does not want to us to stay the same after we are saved…