Why Does Man Need a Savior?

The Myth of Human Progress and the Reality of Sin

Now, in fairness, I think that only a few people would agree with evolution is that change will occur until perfection is achieved. Why change? Now, if you go ask the average man on the street if he has achieved perfection, he likely will tell you no.

There are no doubts some men brazen enough to answer in the affirmative and tell you they are perfect. However, most men will tell you they are not perfect. If you ask a man if he has the potential to be perfect, Not a student of history, though, would have to look at the history to prove it all.

We have improved significantly over the centuries. Our ability to grow food, our ability to produce medicines for various ailments, our ability to construct structures both large and small, and the list goes on.

These accomplishments are impressive. One cannot doubt that man's ability to understand the physical traits of the world in which we live has improved leaps and bounds. Not a student of history is faced with the fact that men still lie, still cheat, they still commit adultery, and continue to go to war with each other.

Therefore, the history student must ask the question, Has man changed at all over the centuries in regard to his morals and motives? The honest answer is, Just be careful and not confuse the improvements of technology with the improvements in the condition of man's heart.

Have man's morals improved? Have his motives changed? The answer is no, and I think one could argue quite successfully that man has digressed in these areas. Therefore, let us turn to God's understanding of man's reality, because we honestly can say that man's understanding of his own reality is false.

Now, we must face the question, Who knows what God thinks? Our answer to this question is that we believe the Bible is God's word, and therefore contains God's understanding of man's condition. So it is to the Bible we will turn.

We do not need to prove this in the traditional sense of the word prove, and indeed we cannot prove it to the natural man. The Bible teaches that spiritual truths must be discerned spiritually, meaning that the Holy Spirit must open the heart of the man in order for him to believe the truth of his own reality.

The Fall in Genesis 3 and the Inadequacy of Human Coverings

We do not have to turn very many pages to begin to find God's answer to the question regarding man's reality. We need to look no further than the very first book in the Bible. In Genesis 3, we read of man's fall into sin.

Beginning in verse 6, When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate. And she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. After the first sin, Adam and Eve sought to make coverings for themselves.

They sought to cover their own sin. Even here we read of man's view of himself, that he can fix his own reality, that he can change his nature, that he does not need God. They sought to cover themselves.

They did not go to God and confess what they had done. Rather, they hid from God and tried to make excuses for their behavior. Do we not act the same way today? We do. We really haven't changed at all.

Later in the same chapter in Genesis 3, we read that these coverings were not adequate. In verse 21, we read that the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Their efforts to clothe themselves were not adequate.

This is difficult for man to accept about himself that his works are not adequate. His understanding of his own reality is false, and it is that his works are not adequate. His understanding of his own reality is false, and it is not possible for him to change his own reality.

Man thinks he can improve himself. Man thinks he can fix his own inadequacies. Man sees his faults. Man knows he has faults. However, he is faced with the reality of not being able to correct his own faults.

God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve. We are led to conclude that the skins came from an animal. Where else could the skins have come from? Therefore, we see the first example of a blood sacrifice, and the first example of God demonstrating that the shedding of blood is necessary for the remission of sin.

Through our pastor's sermons on the book of Hebrews, we have learned that these sacrifices actually did not atone for sin. Rather, these sacrifices were a picture of the one true sacrifice that actually would atone for sin.

The first sin of Adam and Eve plunged man into a state of complete inadequacy. Man cannot earn his salvation. He cannot, on his own, overcome his own tendency to sin. Also, his sin must be paid for because God is just.

Ephesians 2 and the Deadness of Unbelievers

The question that must be addressed regarding how man can be saved, and this question will be addressed in the next few terms. Keith has given me three weeks. He's taking three weeks off to be with his wife and the baby.

So, you're going to have to wait a while to get to the rest of the story, but we'll get there. Before addressing this question, we need to address the question, why does man need a savior? This is the question we will address this morning.

To answer this question, it is to Paul's letter to the Ephesians that we will turn. Paul's letter to the Ephesians is filled with instruction both in theology and application. He describes the role of all three members of the Godhead in salvation, and yet he addresses the structure of the family.

He addresses the salvation of men as well as the conduct that should describe the believer. Here's a brief outline of this letter to Paul. In chapter one, he addresses the role of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in salvation.

In chapter two, he addresses the transformation of the sinner into a believer. In chapter three, he addresses the Jews and Gentiles being saved into one body, and the ministry of Paul to the body of Christ.

Chapter four addresses spiritual gifts, their purpose, and the transition of the believer's actions from a pattern of sin to a pattern of righteousness. Chapter five addresses avoiding false teachers and relationships within the family.

Not avoiding relationships in the family, he addresses them. Chapter six addresses the believer striving for personal righteousness and resisting the attempts of the evil one to trip us up. During this series of three sermons, we are going to examine the life of a person prior to salvation, the transition from being an unbeliever to being a believer, and finally, third, the goal for the believer.

Therefore, it is to chapter two that we will turn. In this text, Paul sets down the truth of the gospel, the beginning of the state of man, and demonstrating that salvation is entirely and completely God's work.

If you would stand with me, please, while we read. Again, Ephesians chapter two, beginning in verse one. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Father God, as we turn to your word this morning, I pray that you would open our hearts to the truth, and I pray, Father, that you would help me to speak truth and only truth.

And Father God, as a result of our time here this morning, we would be both more faithful and more fruitful. For it is in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. You may be seated. One of the first things we notice about our text is the conjunction of and.

This conjunction connects the preceding verses to this verse. Remember that the chapter and verse numbers were not part of the inspired text. Paul didn't sit down and start with the chapter one, verse one, verse two, so forth and so on.

He did not do this. They were added. The numbers were added later so that we more easily could discuss the scriptures. So we need to understand Paul's transition in thought. We read the preceding verses for our call to worship this morning.

Verse 15 in chapter one. For this reason I too have incurred the faith of the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us to believe.

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion in every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.

He put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him his head over all things to the church which is his body with fullness of him who fills all, in all. Notice that Paul prays to the Ephesians, number one, that they will know the hope of God's calling, number two, that they will know the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and number three, that they will know the surpassing greatness of his power toward us to believe.

Paul then says that all three of these are in accordance with the working of his strength which he brought about in Christ. This thought of strength and power continues on for the next few verses. Number one, he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand.

Secondly, he seated Christ above all rule, authority, and dominion. Number three, he placed everything in subjection to Christ, that is, under his feet. And number four, he gave him his head to the church.

Then Paul says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Paul is continuing this thought of all things being in subjection to Christ as he moves into what we know as chapter two. Notice the following in chapter two.

Number one, in verse five, he made us alive together with Christ. Number two, he says in verse six that he raised us up and set us in heavenly places with Christ. Third, in verse ten, we are his workmanship.

Number four, in verse thirteen, the Gentiles have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And number five, in verse fourteen, he has made the Jewish and Gentile believers into one body in Christ. It is clear that Paul is establishing the argument that God has authority over all that exists, including our salvation.

It is within this context that we come to the verses that we are considering this morning. Man cannot change his steps. He cannot make himself to be anything other than what he is. Paul says the same truth in Colossians 2 .13 when he says that we were dead in our transgressions and the uncircumcision of our flesh.

We are unable by our own strength and ability to overcome our own nature. To be dead spiritually means that we do not have an interest in God, in salvation by grace, or in recognizing the truth of our condition before God.

We do not want to confess our unrighteousness. Rather, we are interested in the ways of the world described in 1 John 2, verses 15 -17, where John says the ways of the world include the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

To be dead, to quote one commentator, is to be the opposite of alive. Consider the following verses. In John 1, verse 4, we read,. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The Gospel of John 3, verse 36,.

He who believes in the Son of God has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. John 17, verse 3,. This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

We could quote more, but the commentator's point is this. If death is the opposite of life, then death is the opposite of what these verses from John's Gospel describe. To be spiritually dead means to not be alive, and therefore not in Christ.

And Paul says in our text,. You were dead in your trespasses and sins. Notice that both of these words, trespasses and sins, are in the plural. That's important because it denotes the pattern of the life of an unbeliever.

Therefore, the unbeliever is in a state of completely being able to remove himself from the pattern of sin. Since he is dead. John 3, verse 8,. The one who practices sin is of the devil. And in the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 44, Jesus uses the same words to describe a group of individuals who did not understand that he was a Messiah.

He says, you are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature.

For he is a liar and the father of lies. The bottom line is this. We act according to our nature. Prior to salvation, sin characterizes our lives. Since we are dead in our trespasses and sins, we are not able to remove ourselves from our trespasses and sins.

We are completely unable to change our state. So look in our text once again. He says, you are dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked. Now we are going to come back to that word formerly again.

Because it goes with the word were. We are going to address that here in a few minutes. But the idea of walking. Pay attention to this in scripture. The idea of walking is an important theme in scripture.

Walking denotes the pattern of your life. It denotes your habits, your routines, and those things which are priorities to you. In addition to our text this morning in Ephesians 2, Paul uses the idea of walking several times in his letter to the Ephesians.

In chapter 2, verse 10, he says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. In chapter 4, verse 1, therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.

Chapter 4, verse 17, so this I say in according together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walked in the futility of their mind. Chapter 5, verse 1 -2, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a prayer of a Roman.

Chapter 5, verse 8, for you were formerly in darkness, but now you are in light, and the Lord walk as children of light. Chapter 5, verse 15, therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise.

Including our text, seven times in his letter to the Ephesians, he uses the image of walking. A Christian needs to pay attention to his walk. Paul emphasizes this again and again in this letter. But notice what he says here in verse 2, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world.

So according to the course of this world, or the status of this world, which is opposed to God. The walk of the unbeliever is according to the course of this world. We must realize that Paul is stating that the walk of the unbeliever is opposed to God.

John states this most clearly, we've already referred to it, 1 John chapter 2, here's verse 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the pocket, but is from the world.

The world's system and focus is upon what is temporary. Lusts change from one moment to the next. What our eyes focus on also changes from one moment to the next. Yet God is eternal, and life with him is going to be eternal.

The world's system and its focus eventually will be no more after Christ returns to take his church with him to heaven. The walk emphasized by the world is in opposition to that which Christians are called.

Just as death is opposed to life, and specifically spiritual death is opposed to God, so the walk of the world is opposed to the walk that Christ calls his followers to keep. Yet the unbeliever does not recognize this truth, and indeed he cannot.

We quoted Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 above, but read a little further. Verse 17 says, So this I say and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer, just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind.

Pay attention to this. Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

You see, the root of the unbeliever's trouble is the hardness of his heart. The hardness of his heart leads to his understanding being darkened, leads to his ignorance or lack of knowledge, which excludes him from the life of God.

The hardness of his heart leads him to becoming callous for the life of God, and therefore he gives himself over to the practice. Note the consistent lifestyle. The imagery of a callous is most telling.

From our own experience, we know that blisters form as a result of work, work that is repeated over and over again. When the blister heals, callousness disappears. First, the hardness of callousness prevents the skin from being further damaged and irritated.

Second, the hardness of callousness prevents the nerves from feeling pain. The callous renders the surface quite difficult to penetrate. Wherein the gospel is concerned, a callous heart is not good because it becomes difficult for the truth of the gospel to penetrate the heart and bring repentance.

The Devil, Spiritual Warfare, and the Sons of Disobedience

Now in our text, he says that it formally walked according to the course of this world, in verse 2 of chapter 2. And then he says, according to the prince of the power of the air. Very simply, this is the devil.

We need to note that the Apostle Paul tells us that this walk is according to the prince of the air. He is opposed to God, and has been opposed to God since the beginning. It is the devil who tempted Eve in the garden.

It is the devil who asked for permission to test Job. It is the devil who tempted Jesus on a Jesus list of delirious. It is the devil who will one day be cast into the pit of hell, as we read in the gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 31.

Now judgment is upon the world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, beginning in verse 3. And even if our gospel is availed, it is availed to those who are perishable, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so that they might not see the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ Jesus in the image of God.

We must realize that the real battle is spiritual. It is not against people. If you are in the book of Ephesians, turn a couple of pages to the right to chapter 6. Look with me in verse 12. Paul says this is plain as day.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The battle is against the forces of darkness and the forces of wickedness. It is against the devil. The devil manipulates with the result being that people are against each other. It's a division that we see in our own society.

If you were to ask people of all walks of life what they want in their community, the same thing. They want their own families. They want their children to be able to have good opportunities and a sound education.

They want safe communities. They don't want crime. They don't care what the race, the gender, the age. It doesn't matter. You ask people what they want in their community, that's what they're going to tell you.

Why is it all the division? I think the biblical answer is because we're being manipulated to fight against each other. When reality of the battle is lost with our fellow man, really with Satan, the devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers.

Coupled with the fact that their hearts are calloused, we can see that it is quite difficult for the gospel message to penetrate the heart of an unbeliever. Yet God is not limited by our callouses, as we will learn over the next couple of weeks.

Note his next thought about the prince of the air. During the course of this war, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. The devil works through the sons of disobedience.

Unbelievers are sons of disobedience. You see, the something of which we are a son of is that from which we originated. Thus Paul is describing our nature. We are sons of disobedience prior to salvation, meaning that we have a sinful nature.

Note the progression of his thought in these first two verses of chapter two. First of all, he says we were dead in the trespasses and sins. Second, he says we walked according to the course of this world.

Third, we walked according to the prince of this world. And fourth, the spirit of the prince of this world is now working in the sons of disobedience. We had emphasis past tense. We had a nature that was opposed to God and we lived according to that nature.

Note the logic. We act according to our nature. We expect dogs to act like dogs. We expect worms to act like worms. We expect birds to act like birds. Therefore, it only makes sense that sinners act like sinners.

Our nature is to sin, for we sin. And sinners are sons of disobedience. And therefore, as sons, we act as our father, which Jesus said back in the gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 44, that we read earlier.

We are of our father the devil. But again, I want you to note the words were and formerly. Because these are crucial to understanding what Paul is getting at. Back to these words. He says, among them we too, verse 3, all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh.

Notice the universality of Paul's statement, we too all. He includes himself as well as all of the believers that he is addressing. And keep in mind, he's addressing believers. He does not say to the unbelievers who live at Ephesus.

He's writing to the church. He's writing to believers. And he makes no exceptions here. If Paul is anything about himself, he is honest about his own past. Paul is anything about himself, he is honest about his own past.

In 1 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 13, he says, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. He says in Galatians, chapter 1, verse 13, for you have heard of my former manner of life and Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

He says in Acts 26, verse 9, so then I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem. Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priest, but also when they were being put to death, I cast my vote against them.

And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme. And being furiously and racist to them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. In Acts 22, verse 4, he says, I persecuted this way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in prisons.

We have already quoted many verses addressing the universality of man's captivity in Jerusalem. Genesis 1 and Jeremiah. If the sinfulness of man extends to every human being descended from Adam, then Paul is correct to say that we do all.

He is honest about the condition of his own creation. He says that we are indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Hear our text in verse 3. Note how we all live, he says, in the lust of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind.

Compare this to 1 John 2, verse 16, as we read earlier. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Please understand that this does not mean that all of us are as evil as we could be. All the pastors preached on this subject from the scriptures have taught that this means that not a single one of us has any aspect of our lives that we can offer up to God as evidence of righteousness.

In other words, we may look good in the eyes of men, but when we are compared to the standard that is Christ, we fail to measure up to God's standard. Therefore, we are worthy of condemnation because we are not without blame.

We have sinned, and the wage, or that which we have earned from that sin, is death. According to Paul, we live to satisfy our own desires. We did not live for Christ. We lived for self. And then he says that we were, again past tense, we're going to come back to that, by nature, children of wrath, even as the rest.

Referring to the unbelievers. Here in verse 3, Paul continues to state the universality of the depravity of man. Note what he says next, we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. It is difficult for us to grasp, sometimes, but scripture affirms that prior to salvation, we were enemies of God.

Consider Romans chapter 5, verse 8. But God demonstrates his own love for us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.

For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son. Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. If Christ's blood had not covered our sin, we would still be optics of wrath.

Paul says the same thing in Colossians, chapter 1, verse 21. Although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds. We were alienated from God, we had minds that were hostile toward God, we were engaged in evil deeds whether we realized it or not.

Because we had engaged in such deeds and were hostile toward God and our thoughts and deeds, we deserve his wrath. We, therefore, were children of wrath, acting consistent with our nature. So why does man need a Savior?

Man, according to the Apostle Paul, is dead in his trespasses and sins. He walks according to the course of this world, according to the prince of this world who is working in the substance of disobedience.

He lives according to the lusts of his flesh and mind, and are by nature children worthy of being objects of God's wrath. Man needs a Savior because his sins must be paid for and he cannot change his own nature.

The Hope of Salvation in Christ Alone

In the coming weeks, we will examine why we believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior that man needs. So, in conclusion, the truth is there has not been much in this message that we would be considered positive.

Yet, there is hope. Return to the first verse. Paul says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. In verse 2, he says, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world. And in verse 3, he says, among them we too all formerly lived.

Notice the words were and formerly. These words are important for the believer this morning because these words indicate that we are not presently what we used to be. We are no longer sons of disobedience.

We are no longer children of wrath. We no longer desire to walk in the ways of the world. The Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel has changed our hearts and enabled us to believe that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins at the cross.

We are no longer what John describes in 1 John chapter 3 verse 8 as those who practice sin and are therefore of the devil. Yes, we still struggle with sin and the struggles are different for each of us.

But we are not content to continue with sin. However, one of the difficult lessons that we must learn is that it is not by our own strength that we overcome our struggles with sin. Rather, it is by faith in Christ according to 1 John 5 that we overcome sin.

And according to Ephesians 2 .8 that we will look at in a couple of weeks, that faith is a gift from God. So although this message has focused upon the sinfulness of man, take comfort that Paul indicates that these traits are in the past for the believer in Christ.

These traits are not present descriptions of believers. As we will find in the next two messages, we have so much for which to be grateful. Although it can be disheartening to realize that man needs a Savior, we can take comfort that God has provided a Savior who meets our needs.

And He has provided the Holy Spirit to transform our nature. Consider Romans chapter 5 verse 8. But God demonstrates His own love for us. And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. Much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His blood. If Christ's blood had not covered our sin, we would still be objects of wrath.

Paul says the same thing in Colossians chapter 1 verse 21. Although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, we were alienated from God. We had minds that were hostile toward God.

We were engaged in evil deeds whether we realized it or not. Because we had engaged in such deeds and were hostile toward God and our thoughts and deeds, we deserve His wrath. We therefore were children of wrath, acting consistent with our nature.

So why does man need a Savior? Man, according to the Apostle Paul, is dead in his trespasses and sins. He walks according to the course of this world, according to the prince of this world who is working in the sons of disobedience.

He lives according to the lust of his flesh and mind and are, by nature, children worthy of being objects of God's wrath. Man needs a Savior because his sin must be paid for and he cannot change his own nature.

In the coming weeks we will examine why we believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior that man needs. There has not been much in this message that we would consider positive. Yet there is hope. Return to the first verse.

Paul says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. In verse 2 he says, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world. And in verse 3 he says, among them we all formerly lived.

Notice the words were and formerly. These words are important for the believer this morning because these words indicate that we are not presently what we used to be. We are no longer sons of disobedience.

We are no longer children of wrath. We no longer desire to walk in the ways of the world. The Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel has changed our hearts and enabled us to believe that Jesus Christ paid the bill before our sins at the cross.

We are no longer what John describes in 1 John chapter 3 verse 8 as those who practice sin and are therefore of the devil. Yes, we still struggle with sin and the struggles are different for each of us.

But we are not content to continue in sin. However, one of the difficult lessons that we must learn is that it is not by our own strength that we overcome our struggles to sin. Rather it is by faith and Christ according to 1 John 5 that we overcome sin.

And according to Ephesians 2 .8 that we will look at in a couple of weeks, that faith is a gift from God. So although this message has focused upon the sinfulness of man, take comfort that Paul indicates that these traits are in the past for the believer in Christ.