Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship

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Good morning, my brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace be unto you from God our
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Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome to the corporate worship of our God.
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Please stand and hear God call you to worship through his word.
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After these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all the nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues standing before the throne and before the
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Lamb clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice saying salvation belongs to our
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God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped
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God saying Amen blessing and glory and wisdom thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our
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God forever and ever. Amen. Let us pray.
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Our Father in heaven, we have come to worship and bow down and kneel before you the
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Lord our maker for you are our God and we are the people of your pasture, the sheep of your hand.
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We come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
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He is our advocate with the Father. He is the only mediator between God and man. He always lives to make intercession for us.
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Through him we come boldly to your throne of grace. In his name we earnestly seek you.
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O Lord, our souls thirst for you, our flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
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Bow your heavens and come down. Inhabit the praises of your people. Remember your promise,
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O Spirit of Christ, to be present in the midst of your worshiping people when two or more are gathered in your name.
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Condescend to us. Grant us the joy of your fellowship. Speak to us through your word.
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And be blessed by our praise and adoration. And we ask this all in the name of Christ.
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Amen. Please kneel as you are able for the corporate confession of sin.
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Let us join together in confessing our sins. Jesus, forgive my sins.
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Forgive the sins I remember and the sins I have forgotten. Forgive my many failures in the face of temptation, and those times when
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I have been stubborn in the face of correction. Forgive the times I have been proud of my own achievements, and those when
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I have failed to boast in your works. Forgive the harsh judgments I have made of others, and the leniency
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I have shown myself. Forgive the lies I have told of others, and the truths
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I have avoided. Forgive me the pain I have caused others, and the indulgence
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I have shown myself. Jesus, have mercy on me and make me whole. Amen.
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Please stand and receive these words of comfort in our assurance of pardon.
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He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
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For if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. Our sins, not the part, but the whole, are nailed to the cross and we bear them no more.
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Praise the Lord, O our souls. My brothers and sisters in Christ, rejoice! For those who are in Christ, your sins are forgiven.
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Amen. Please take up the Trinity Hymnal and open to Hymn 38.
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Immortal, invisible, God only wise, Hymn 38. Amen.
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Please take the insert and look for our Psalm of the Week, Psalm 78.
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As when wine makes the soldier bold, and we will be singing this to the tune of how sweet and awesome
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Psalm 78. Please remain standing for our public reading of God's Word from Genesis, Chapter 10.
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Hear now the word of the Lord, Genesis, Chapter 10. Now this is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and sons were born to them after the flood.
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The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshach, and Tiras.
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The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Ripath, Togarmah. The sons of Javan were
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Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Doranim. From these the coastal peoples of the
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Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
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The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were
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Seba, Havlah, Sabta, Ramah, Sebtecha, and the sons of Ramah were
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Sheba and Dedan. Cush begot Nimrod. He began to be a mighty one on the earth.
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He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, like Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the
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Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Akkad, Chalna, in the land of Shinar.
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From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth, Ere, Kela, and Resen, between Nineveh and Kela, that is the principal city.
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Mizraim begot Ludum, Annamim, Lehabim, Nephthuim, Pathrusim, and Kasluim.
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From whom came the Philistines and the Kaphtorim. Canaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth, the
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Jebusite, the Amorite, the Gigerite, the Hivite, the Archite, and the
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Sinite, the Arvidite, the Zemrite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the
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Canaanites were dispersed. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as you go from Gerar as far as Gaza.
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Then you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma, Zeboim, as far as Lasha. These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, and in their nations.
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And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth, the elder.
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The sons of Shem were Elam, Asher, Arphaxad, Lod, and Aram. The sons of Aram were
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Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad begot Salah. Salah begot
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Eber. To Eber were born two sons. The name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was
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Joktan. Joktan begot Almadad, Shalep, Hazarmaveth, Jera, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obol, Abimele, Sheba, Ophir, Havlah, and Jobab.
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All these were sons of Joktan, and their dwelling place was from Misha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountains of the east.
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These were the sons of Shem, according to the families, according to their language, and their lands, according to their nation.
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These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generation, and their nations, and from these nations were divided on on earth after the blood.
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This is the word of the Lord. Let us continue our worship by confessing our ancient
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Christian faith in the singing of the Apostles' Creed. The Holy Spirit was crucified, ascended into heaven.
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The Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church.
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The saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body.
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Please take up the Trinity Hymnal once more and open to hymn 460, Amazing Grace, hymn 460.
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How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
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Please now make preparations for the prayers of the people. Our Lord Jesus Christ said,
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After this manner, therefore, pray ye. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
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Amen. Pray that we may glorify God in all that we do, as we live and work in the creation that displays his power.
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And be pleased to dispose all things to his glory. Pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed, and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced.
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Ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it, and the kingdom of glory hastened.
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Pray that God, for Christ's sake, would freely pardon all our sins.
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And we are encouraged to ask this, because by his grace we are able, from the heart, to forgive others.
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Pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.
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Our Father, taking encouragement and prayer from you alone, in our prayers we praise you, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to you.
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And to testify of our desire and assurance to be heard, we say together,
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Amen. Please stand, and take up the insert once again, for the last time.
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Our Psalm of the month, Psalm 148. From heaven, O praise the
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Lord. Psalm 148. Amen.
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Please open your Bibles with me, and turn to Paul's letter to the
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Ephesians. Paul's letter to the Ephesians. We are going to be looking at chapter 2, and specifically the first 10 verses.
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Ephesians chapter 2. These are the words of God. And 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 the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
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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.
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By grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
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For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
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For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which
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God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
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Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Father, as we come to our consideration of this passage, one that is extremely important to us to understand, the radical nature of those who are in Adam, that you would fill us with your spirit, so that we may be able to discern what is right, see the way that you see, that we may think your thoughts after you, and incline our wills to yours.
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And we ask this in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
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Well, please be seated. There are a few times when you come into a
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Sunday service, or come to what we call Sunday school or the teaching hour, where everything just seems to align.
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Today is one of those things. Providentially, the things which we have talked about in the teaching hour in Sunday school, the things which we have sang about, prayed about already, are all encompassed in what we're talking about today.
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Providentially, we shouldn't be surprised, right? Because it's all of God, right?
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And we would expect these things to hold together. This sermon is a bookend to a sermon
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I preached last fall regarding the Christian identity. And you may recall that at that particular time, we looked at Ephesians 1, 1 -14.
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That that particular section of scripture is absolutely breathtaking. And I encourage you, perhaps later today, to re -familiarize yourself with that section.
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It describes our condition as Christians, that condition of our new nature and our new identity.
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At that time, we talked about the identity craze, which seems to be everywhere in our culture.
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And we noted that it is not unimportant, and that it is not crazy, but it is vitally important.
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Yet the unbelieving world is looking at the situation completely wrong.
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And that really should not surprise us. When you start from the wrong spot, how could you possibly end up in the right spot?
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But they are correct that identity is important. They know in some way that identity is the most important thing.
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But they are looking for answers to their identity problem in all the wrong places.
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They are looking to sexual desires, or gender, or skin color, or tribal relationships.
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And just about everywhere they look, they are looking in the wrong place.
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Because our identity, and theirs, is not tied to anything physical, but spiritual.
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And we concluded, by noting at that time, that in the end, there are really only two identities.
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Those people who are in Adam, or those who are in Christ.
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And while Ephesians 1 looks at that glorious state of our identity in Christ, our passage today, in Ephesians 2, gives a glimpse of the nature of those who are in Adam.
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And it is very important for us to fully grasp the spiritual condition of those who are in Adam.
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There has been quite a bit of bad doctrine that has been spread about those who are in Adam.
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About those who are not Christ's. And as we endeavor to establish this local congregation, as we look to have an impact in our community, we must know what we are up against.
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We must realize the situation clearly. We must see it as God sees it.
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And the Apostle Paul gives us a clear description of those who are in Adam in our text today.
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So let us take a bit closer look at that text. The opening verse of this chapter may be the most important text that deals with the question of the sinful nature.
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The nature of those who are in Adam. The nature of those who are outside of Christ.
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The unbelieving community. Paul is addressing this letter to believers.
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We know that from the beginning. He writes in the very first Paul, an apostle of the
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Lord Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints that are in Ephesus.
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But those saints, he says, were once in Adam. They are now in Christ, but they were once in Adam.
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And he draws immediately a stark and dramatic comparison between the difference of their two natures.
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Between those who are in Christ and those who are in Adam. And this difference is the difference between life and death.
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This is an absolute difference. It is a dramatic difference. It explains the depths of human corruption.
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It describes the radical nature of the spiritual condition in Adam.
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The term radical comes from the Latin word that means root. This is not a surface problem.
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It is a root problem. The radical condition underscores the absolute dependence upon the grace of God.
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The work of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to life in Christ.
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Paul writes, And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins.
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As I mentioned, this opening statement by Paul is a stark description of the natural persons.
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Those who are in Adam, their condition due to original sin.
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Sometimes there is confusion by the term original sin.
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Some people believe original sin points to the first sin.
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That sin that was committed by Adam and Eve in the garden. But the doctrine of original sin does not refer to that actual sin, but rather the consequences of it.
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Original sin describes the fallen and sinful condition out of which every actual sin comes from.
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Remember that the Bible does not tell us that we are sinners because we sin.
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It tells us we sin because we are sinners. Original sin describes the fallen condition of sinful man.
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And Paul uses the term dead. This is what he is telling us of the spiritual condition of those outside of Christ.
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That they are spiritually dead. A Christian song written by Bob Dylan opens with these verses.
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I was blinded by the devil. Born already ruined. Stone cold dead as I stepped out of the womb.
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This is the nature of those who are in Adam. And there is much controversy about this in the
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Christian community. And it is a very old controversy. It stretches back to the early days of the
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Christian church. It is a controversy that is maybe cast for the first time in history.
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Between two theological positions. One commonly called
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Augustinianism or reform theology or Calvinism.
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And semi -Pelagian or semi -Pelagianism.
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This controversy started with a debate between Augustine. Who many of you know was one of the great theologians of the early church.
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Perhaps second only to the apostle Paul in the church at that time.
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Who had a debate so to speak with a man named Pelagius. A monk from Great Britain or what is now
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Great Britain from the English Isles. And this debate was about the nature of man before Christ.
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And it centered really around one question. Does man have the moral, spiritual ability to accept
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Christ? To see Christ as he truly is. To understand the things of God.
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To see his sinful nature and the perfections of Christ.
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To see his absolute need for a savior or not. Augustine said that the
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Bible says that the unbelieving man. Cannot and does not have the moral or spiritual ability.
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Why? Because he is dead. Spiritually dead. Pelagius on the other hand said.
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This is not his words but it sums it up. That there is an isle of righteousness within man.
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That there is a part of man that hasn't been touched. By the radical nature of original sin.
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In a way I guess we might be able to understand this point of view. After all unbelievers are biologically alive.
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They walk around. They have minds that function. Hearts that beat.
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Wills that choose. They have affections and emotions. And all the rest.
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But what does the Bible say about their spiritual life? You or they were dead.
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In trespasses and sins. Brothers and sisters in Christ.
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Dead is dead. It is not mostly dead. It is not somewhat alive.
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It is dead. We can think. Many of you may know this. Some of the goofy ways that modern semi -Pelagians put it.
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Man is not dead. Or dead means he is sick. Like really sick. Like desperately sick.
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Or he is drowning. He is going down for the third time. Or whatever else they may give you.
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In order to give man an itsy bitsy way. To choose
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Christ. Simply put. They cannot. They are dead.
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Spiritually. Paul puts this differently. In other places.
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In Romans 8 .7 he says. But the carnal mind. Is enmity against God.
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For it is not subject to the law of God. Nor indeed can be.
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The carnal mind. The mind of the unregenerate man. Is not blind.
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To the things of God. Only. He is an enemy. Of the things of God.
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Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2 .14. But the natural man.
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That is the unregenerate man. Does not receive the things of the spirit. Of God.
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For they are foolishness to him. Nor can he know them. Because they are spiritually discerned.
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The carnal mind. The natural man. Cannot see. The things of God.
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In effect. He hates the things of God. He thinks they are foolishness. Because he is spiritually dead.
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Man is unable to. In his natural state. Unregenerated by the spirit of God.
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Unable. To cooperate with the grace of God. But it gets worse.
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The situation that exists. Now. Is stacked against him.
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Paul continues to tell us. That the world. The flesh and the devil.
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Are all working. Against him. He puts it this way.
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In which you once walked. According to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air.
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The spirit that now works. In the sons of disobedience. According to the course of this world.
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That's the world. But notice what Paul is not saying here.
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He's not referring to the things. The material things. In this world.
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So many make this mistake. You will hear sermon after sermon. After sermon. Who says that if you want a nice house.
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Or material things. You're walking in the course of this world. Well you may be.
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If that's your orientation. But having material goods. Those good things that God said. In the creation account.
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That he created all things and they were good. And pietistic movements.
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That we've seen throughout church history. Keep pointing and saying. We can just get away from the material things.
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Everything will be alright. But Paul doesn't say that. He says.
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The course of this world. What he means is. The world system.
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It's culture. It's values. The unbelieving man takes.
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It's counsels. Follows it's passions and fashions. It watches it's shows.
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And movies. They talk about. What we or we may.
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Talk about what they talk about. And we may imbibe what they imbibe. That is what
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Paul. Is talking about. They're all swept up in it. It's like a giant river.
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And it just sweeps. Everything along. And we have to admit. That even though we're in Christ.
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It's tough not to be. We're very much.
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Swimming against the current. And from time to time. We may even be swept downstream.
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By the course of this world. But Paul goes on. As he mentioned as I already read.
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According to the prince of the power of the air. The spirit that now works. In the sons of disobedience.
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That's the devil. John describes him. In Revelation 12 9.
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The great dragon that was cast out. The serpent of old. Called the devil. And Satan.
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Who deceives the whole world. The great enemy. Of mankind.
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In the Lord's prayer. There are some versions that say. To deliver us.
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From the evil one. The devil. The deceiver.
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Who tempted our first parents. In the garden. And through his enticements. They disobeyed
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God. And plunged the entire human race. The world.
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And the universe. Into darkness. Sin. And death.
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The unbelieving man. The natural man. The man who is in Adam. They follow the devil.
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And not only some of them. All of them. Augustine put it this way.
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Man is like a horse. He'll either be ridden by the devil.
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Or he'll be ridden by God. Remember we've talked about this before.
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When Paul calls himself a slave. He opens a lot of his letters. Paul. A doulos.
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To the Lord Jesus Christ. A slave. He's saying. It's not whether you'll be a slave or not.
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But to whom you will be a slave to. Either to God. Or to the devil.
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And nothing is more natural. To fallen man. Than to adopt.
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Embrace. And walk. According to the course of this world. In direct contrast.
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To the things of God. Under the supervision. And direction of the devil. Paul puts it this way.
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In 2 Corinthians 4. 3 -4. But even if our gospel is veiled.
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It is veiled to those who are perishing. Whose minds. The God of this age.
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That's the devil. Has blinded. Who do not believe. Lest the light of the gospel.
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Of the glory of Christ. Who is the image of God. Should shine on them.
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The devil. Blinds the minds. Of those who do not believe.
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Why? So that they won't believe. Lest they believe.
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In the light of the gospel. Shining to his heart. But Paul goes on. Among whom.
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We also once conducted our lives. In the lust of the flesh. Following the desires of the flesh.
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And of the mind. And were by nature. Children of wrath. That's the flesh.
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Not only. Does the whole world. The course of this world. The world system.
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Drag us along. Not only are we under the power of the devil. When we are fallen in an atom.
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But everything inside us. Is conspiring against it too. He is saying.
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That this is the mode of behavior. Of every man woman and child. Outside of Christ.
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This is the behavior. This is the lifestyle. Of everyone who is spiritually dead.
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Those in Adam. And that's pretty grim. It shows.
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The complete fallenness. Of man. There's a theological term for this.
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As there almost always is. In this case it's total depravity. And you may remember.
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This term that has come up. It started in the 17th century. In the reformation movement.
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Where those who were in the Netherlands. Were responding. To a teacher.
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By the name of Arminius. And they came up with. A response to him.
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And we remember that response. In the acronym TULIP. To which we are to remember.
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That it came from the Netherlands. Because that's where TULIPs. Primarily come from. But TULIP stands for total depravity.
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Unconditional election. Limited atonement. Irresistible grace. And preservation of the saints.
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Many people confuse. Total depravity. To mean that we are as wicked.
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As we can be. We are not when we're in Adam. Pharaoh was not as wicked.
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As he could have been. He was mighty wicked. But he wasn't as wicked as he could be. Neither was
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Adolf Hitler. Or Joseph Stalin. Or anyone else who was in Adam. But it does mean.
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That every aspect of their being. Was impacted by sin. For the unregenerate man.
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His nature is completely tied. To the course of this world. It is under the direct control of the devil.
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And is in complete agreement. With every lust of his flesh. And of his mind. And there's controversy here too.
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You may have heard this. Isn't the unbelieving man. Basically good?
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You ever hear that? After all. No one's perfect.
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My good deeds will outweigh. My bad deeds in the end. Paul here is saying that the situation.
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As I've mentioned. Is not a surface situation. We can't change our habits. Or our actions.
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Or our activities. No. It is a root issue. It is a core matter. It is at the very heart.
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The problem is not that we lack the will. Or the desire. To do it. The problem is our wills.
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Or those wills of those who are in Adam. And unregenerate. Are only evil.
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Continually. But Paul goes on. And he says that we were by nature.
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Children of wrath. Just as the other. And Paul is saying. This and he's not referring.
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To our created nature. But the nature of fallen man. Man is not born.
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In a state of innocence. As humanism would tell you. We're not a blank slate. Not knowing good from evil.
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But we are born opposed to God. Back to that Dylan tune. Born already ruined.
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Stone cold dead. When we stepped out of the womb. That is our nature in Adam.
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That was our nature in Adam. That is the nature. Of those who are still in Adam. Justly being children.
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Of wrath. You know some people will say. We're all children of God. That is simply not true.
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Those who are in Adam. Are sons of disobedience. And children of wrath. That's what we're up against.
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It's not that they just have. The wrong information. It's not that just they have.
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Unbridled appetites. Or affections. It's not that they just don't have the. Or they have an incorrect view.
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Of the world system. Although they all do. In some ways they're like real zombies.
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The walking dead. Spiritually dead. Blinded by the devil. Given to the course of this world.
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Trapped. In the lust of the flesh and of the mind. And all willingly so.
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That's a pretty. Desperate situation. Pretty grim. But notice the next verse.
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Verse four. Verse four. Is at the very heart.
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Of Christian theology. But God. Who is rich in mercy.
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Grace, mercy, loving kindness. This is part of what the.
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Reformers said in that soundbite. That they came up in the. Reformation. Grace alone.
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But God and not man. Man is unable to do. Anything for himself.
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Paul here is telling us. That man is not capable of anything. Spiritually but God is.
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God out of the depths. And riches of his divine grace. Because of his great love.
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With which he loved us. There was nothing. To commend ourselves to him.
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We were totally. Unlovable. But yet he loved us.
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Even when we were dead. In trespasses he made us alive. In Christ. As we've noted many people.
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Including many Christians. Believe that man must take. The first step to God. But no man seeks after God.
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Paul puts it this way. In Romans 3 .10. As it is written. There is none righteous.
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No not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside.
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They have all together become unprofitable. There is none who does good.
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No not one. It took and it takes. Divine action. This work is.
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A spiritual resurrection. Those who were in Adam.
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Were dead. And he makes us alive. He made us alive.
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And all this took place. While we were dead. This is something
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I want you to grasp. And I want you to hold on to. We worship a God. Who raises the dead.
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I don't know. Think about where you may find yourself today. What situations you may be facing.
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What difficulties you are. Are they as dead as Jesus. In the tomb for three days.
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If so. Be of good cheer. We worship a God. Who raises the dead.
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We can't raise ourselves. Think back to that account of Lazarus. Lazarus was in the tomb.
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For four days. And not only that. He started to decompose. Remember what his sister said.
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When they were opening the tomb. He is going to stink. He does stink.
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He is rotting away. He was totally unable to raise himself. The power of God.
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And regeneration comes before faith. That's another controversial statement. But it is absolutely.
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Biblically true. The new birth comes before faith. And it comes before we do anything.
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Yes we believe. Absolutely. We respond. 100%. We choose
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God. We call that our conversion. But it is not until God.
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Has worked through his spirit. And radically changed. Our nature. He gives us spiritual life.
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He raises us from a spiritual grave. So that we may be able. To do something.
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Particularly. Things which we will talk about. In just a moment. Then we have this parenthetical thing.
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Perhaps the greatest thing written in parenthesis. In all human history. By grace.
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You have been saved. How could it be anything else. But grace.
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We are utterly dependent. Upon a supernatural work. We were dead.
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Dead people don't earn gifts. Grace is unmerited favor. We are not saved because we deserve it.
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Or earned it. We have not worked for it. We are saved by grace.
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But Paul continues. And he raised us up together. And made us sit in the heavenly places.
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In Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come. He might show the exceeding riches. Of his grace.
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And his kindness towards us. In Jesus Christ. We are sitting right now.
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Remember this. We are sitting right now. In the place where Christ sits.
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In the heavenly places. Where is Christ sitting now? On his throne.
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He has dominion over all things. And we. Who are spiritually resurrected.
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Have been given. Dominion over the world. With Christ. Remember he said.
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That we were adopted as his children. And then later in chapter 1. He says we are co -heirs with Christ.
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That we're going to get. This inheritance and the down payment. On that inheritance was the Holy Spirit. We are co -heirs.
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With Christ. And we're not to do our own thing. We're to do what he tells us to do. Do what he does.
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We have dominion through Christ. Establishing his kingdom. Through us.
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The church. And it's not just these four walls. When we go out here.
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That's Jesus's tomb. When you go down the street. That belongs to Jesus. When you go across the country.
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That belongs to Jesus. And you get the idea. Christ who at present.
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Is in the heavenly places. Is extending his kingdom today. Through the church.
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In the here and now. But he says in the coming ages. Right? In the verse here.
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In the coming ages. He's going to show this. In a way.
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The show is exceeding riches. Of his grace. In his kindness towards us.
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In Christ. That's the kingdom. The kingdom will be gloriously manifested. Before the world.
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His inheritance. His kingdom. His people. Will be extended. To the ends of his domains.
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These are his lands. This is his universe. And it will become more.
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And more evident. Throughout history. The manifold wisdom of God. Will be made manifest.
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So everybody can see it. And this work. Has already begun.
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And will continue. One spiritual resurrection at a time. Until the second coming.
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When he will consummate the kingdom. But now we continue. Paul writes.
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In verse eight. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.
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Another controversial verse. Many of you may know this. What is the gift?
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That is. At the heart of this controversy. What's the gift that is given?
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Is it salvation? Or is it faith? And much ink. Has been spilled.
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We might say. In writing on this. And many words have been exhausted. In debate.
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But in the end it doesn't really matter. Certainly theologically it doesn't matter. Why? Because you were dead.
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Everything. That you get. After being raised to life. Is a gift from God. All of it.
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And Paul writes his next verses. In case there are those who are really slow. It's not of works.
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Lest anyone should boast. Your faith is a gift. Your salvation is a gift.
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And it's not by works. Get it? Get it? That's almost what Paul is saying.
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And that should have solved this problem. But sadly it has not solved this problem. We are reminded.
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Of that verse from Rock of Ages. Nothing in my hand I bring.
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Only to thy cross I cling. The only merit. The only work.
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That will save us. Is that of Jesus Christ. We can talk. All day long.
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About salvation by works. And I'm here to tell you. Brothers and sisters.
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It is absolutely true. We are saved by works. Just not yours.
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The works of Jesus Christ. His active obedience. His passive obedience.
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His work on the cross. That was gloriously ratified. In the resurrection. Underscoring what he said from the cross.
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It is finished. There's nothing more for you to do. But then
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Paul concludes. For we are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus.
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For good works. Which God prepared beforehand. That we should walk in them. And we understand.
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Obviously that biologically. We are all created by God. This universe.
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Is all the work of God's. Well words. Not hands. But that's not what
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Paul is talking about here. But lest we forget. Man didn't create himself.
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Any more than he made himself alive. Any more than he borned himself. God does all of that.
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But Paul is talking about here. Not creation. But recreation. Just as Christ recreated the heavens and the earth.
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And the three days and the grave. So now he is redeeming. And renewing fallen humanity.
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Paul is talking about our redemption. Our renewal. Just as in creation.
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We are his workmanship. His craftsmanship. So in our recreation. This is not our work.
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But we were created in Christ Jesus. For good works.
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And that word for is extremely important. He doesn't say by good works.
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But for good works. This is one of the goals of our new birth.
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Of our redemption. This is one of the reasons why God saves us from spiritual death and darkness.
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Which we had in a way. We were doing works then.
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In Adam. The unbeliever is doing works. He's doing the works of the world, the devil, and the flesh.
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But now we have new works to do. Remember what
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Jesus said that he had come to give life and that abundantly. That's the life that God gives us.
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That's what he is calling us to do in the works that he has provided for us. We have been reminded recently in a sermon by Pastor Breno that we are saved by faith alone.
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But a faith that is never alone. It is always accompanied by the fruit of that salvation.
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If we are justified. If we are saved. If we are redeemed. If we are the workmanship of Christ.
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If we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. And my brothers and sisters, that's all true about us.
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Then we will most certainly manifest that change that God has wrought in our souls by doing the works that God has prepared for us before.
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Well, you may be thinking, what are those works? This is not an exhaustive list, but this is one of them.
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Worshiping God. Getting married. Having a family.
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Raising children. Being diligent in your labors at work. Sharing the gospel.
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Building relationships. Discipling the nations.
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Those are the works prepared for us by Christ. Well, we have seen what it is like to be in Adam.
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And that there is a radical change which is required to bring us from in Adam to in Christ.
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And we have seen the true nature that we all once had.
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We realized the radical nature of our salvation and our redemption. We could not achieve it by simply fleeing from the world as some of the escapists try.
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Or trying to avoid the devil. Or by changing some of our habits.
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No. The salvation that what we required required the
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Son of Man to come into the world. To live a sinless life. To succeed where Adam failed.
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To give his life on the cross as a propitiation. The payment of our sins.
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And to have this work gloriously ratified in the resurrection. Again, underscoring what he said.
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It is finished. And gloriously inaugurating the kingdom with his ascension.
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It required a new birth. It required a new creation. It required a resurrection.
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And as we traffic in the unbelieving world with our unbelieving family members.
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Our unbelieving co -workers. Our unbelieving friends. Our unbelieving neighbors.
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This is the message that we bring. It's not self -help. It's not habit changing.
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But a radical change. But thanks be to God. We worship a God who raises the dead.
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Who is rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
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For it is by grace that you have been saved. Amen. Let us pray.
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Our gracious God and Father, we thank you O Lord. For these words which you have given us.
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Words of comfort, Lord. When we reflect about who we were. We can praise you
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Lord for the work that you have done in our lives. But Lord, not only that. As we look in the community.
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As we think of the unbelieving world that we labor in. We can rest assured that you who began a good work in us.
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Who spiritually resurrected us and brought us from death to life. Can do and will do the same to them.
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We pray Father that you would remind us of the works that you have given us to do. To go forth and preach the gospel.
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To live the lives that you have given us. According to the gifts and talents that you have bestowed upon us.
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And we ask Lord that you would continue to give us the grace to do these things. In the name of Christ we pray.
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Amen. Let us continue our worship through the presentation of our tithes and offerings.
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Please stand and let us pray. Our gracious God and Father as we were reminded in our prayers of the people that every good and perfect gift comes from you, the
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Father of lights. And we pray dear Lord that as we have received these good gifts from you in providing for our needs that we would also make a priority of the kingdom of God through returning a portion of these gifts that you have given us for that work.
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We pray Father for those who are committed to the care of these funds that they would use them appropriately for your kingdom and that you would bless
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Father that these things would multiply greatly in the years. We ask all these things in Christ's name.
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Amen. Well let us glorify our great God through the singing of the
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Gloria Patria. As it was in the years now and ever shall be
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The Lord be with you.
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Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord.
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It is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you.
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Oh Holy Lord, Father almighty everlasting God because you sent your beloved
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Son to redeem us from sin and death and make us heirs in him of everlasting life that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world that we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.
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Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we praise and magnify your glorious name evermore praising you and singing.
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Please be seated and let us pray. Almighty God, you are the creator and Lord of all things.
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You are the sovereign majesty whom we have offended. You are the most loving and merciful
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Father who has given your son to reconcile us to yourself who has ratified the new testament and covenant of grace with his most precious blood and has instituted this holy sacrament to be celebrated in remembrance of him till his coming again.
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Sanctify these creatures of bread and wine which according to your holy institution and command are set apart to this holy use that they may be sacramentally the body and blood of the
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Son Jesus Christ and we ask in his name. Amen. In the night in which our
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Lord was betrayed he took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to him saying take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you.
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Likewise after supper he took the cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying drink this all of you.
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This is the new covenant in my blood as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the
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Lord's death until he comes. Therefore we proclaim the faith. Let us prepare our hearts by praying together this prayer of approach.
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We do not presume to come to this your table O merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness but in your manifold and great mercies.
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We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs on your table but you are the same
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Lord who always shows mercy. Grant us therefore gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of your dear
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Son Jesus Christ and to drink of his blood that our sinful bodies may be cleaned by his blood and our souls washed through his most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.
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Amen. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the peace.
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The gifts of God for the people of God. Let us pray together.
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In ever living God we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood your
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Son our Savior Jesus Christ and for assuring us of these holy mysteries that we are living members of the body of your
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Son and heirs of your eternal kingdom. And O Lord grant us this other benefit that you will never allow us to forget these things but having them imprinted on our hearts may we grow and increase daily the faith which is at work in every good deed.
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And now Father send us out to do the work you have given us to do to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our
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Lord to him to you and to the Holy Spirit the honor and glory now and forever.
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Amen. Please stand. Receive the blessing.
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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and communion with the Holy Spirit be with you all.