Ephesians Chapter 2 - Part 2 — William MacDonald

I'm a little bit worried these days I'm wondering what the folks at McDonald hamburgers are thinking because there aren't many boys and girls from Calvary Bible Chapel coming there anymore. For a while there were when they memorized the books of the Bible.

I tell you they were really giving out a lot of hamburgers and french fries, but Lately, I think Baskin and Robbins might be looking for some. Because they have certificates too. So you boys and girls you better get going, you know memorizing some of these scriptures.

Reviewing Ephesians 2 and the Grandeur of Grace

10 Commandments. 1st Corinthians 13. The Beatitudes. Not hard. Just have to have the will to do it. Okay. Let's just read Ephesians 2 once again, and we're going to review first of all what we went over last week.

It's going to read a few verses here. So well known to us Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 through him 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.

For we are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Now last week we're talking about the grandeur of God's grace. And we mentioned that in devising a plan of salvation There seems to be a conflict between two of God's attributes.

God's love. And God's righteousness. Because God's love wants to see everybody in heaven. But God's righteousness demands that sin must be punished. And How can God reconcile these two things? How can God think up a plan of salvation?

Where his love is shown. And yet his righteousness is shown at the same time. Where he doesn't wink at sin. He doesn't condone sin. He doesn't pass over sin. But all the righteous demands of his Righteousness are met.

And we mentioned that the solution lies in the word substitution. Substitutes if God could somehow Find a substitute. We're all familiar with that idea of substitution if you watch football games or any other sport and in substitutes.

The Universal Offer and Sufficiency of Salvation

So we mentioned last week that in devising a plan of salvation There were seven requirements that God had to Think of since he loves everyone his salvation first of all must be offered to all. And in other words it any plan of salvation must dumb.

Must have a worldwide proclamation so that anyone and everyone can enter in. Paul argues that fact in Romans chapter 10, you know. How can they call him someone if they've never heard him? It presupposes a worldwide proclamation of the gospel.

Then not only that but God's salvation must be sufficient for all it must meet the needs of every person in the world without exception. Hmm. Getting harder all the time, isn't it? And then I like this one too.

It must be something for which everyone is Eligible. There's no use making an offer if there are some people that can't. And get in no amount of evil should be able to bar anybody from Participation and then it must be simple enough for anyone to understand.

I'm glad that there any plan of salvation must be understandable must be comprehensible very very Important that it should be so but that isn't all there's more it must be something which anyone can receive.

And I mentioned here that any religion That offers spiritual blessing for money. Uh-huh can't be the true religion because there are some people that don't have any money and. And So it can't have any conditions that some people can't meet.

And we mentioned last week too that there must be no possibility for human boasting whatever plan of salvation God works out. It must be such that nobody can boast about his own attainment because then heaven wouldn't be heaven.

That's pride. Boasting and pride is a sin and you can't have any sin in heaven. And so in order to exclude boasting this plan of salvation Must have everybody must have the same fitness for heaven. Nobody can be more fit for heaven than anybody else.

And then. Finally the plan must be one which God doesn't force on people again against their will. Must be something that God doesn't force on people against their will. Okay. Then there are certain qualifications that any remember we said that it has to be by substitution.

The Human, Sinless, and Divine Substitute

Well, there must be certain Qualifications that a substitute has to has to meet. He has to pass five Tests. First of all, the substitute must be human. Otherwise the exchange would not be a fair one. It wouldn't do for an angel.

To be a substitute for a person for a man or a woman a boy or a girl has to be human Substitute and that isn't all he must be a sinless person. Because otherwise he would have to die For his own sins.

Remember the wages of sin is death. So whoever the substitute is going to be he has to die For his own sins, but not alone that not alone must he be human and sinless. He must be God. Oh, that's very very important.

Why. Well because His death is his person and his death has to be of such value to cover all the sins of all the world any number of people the value of the substitution must be great enough to cover all the sins of humanity past present and future and.

Then we mentioned last week that they substitute must shed his blood. Because the divine law has decreed that without the shedding of blood. There's no remission of Sins, very very. And there's another one here too.

And that is the substitute must be willing. He must be well, I'm going to be terrible to have an unwilling sacrifice being dragged. To die for the sins of others. Satan would say look that's not fair.

It's not right for God to do that. He would be right too. So the substitute must be willing. But you know, it's a wonderful thing that the Lord Jesus Christ qualifies on all of these Matters, he qualifies perfectly on all of these matters.

I got so many papers here that give you a chance to write down some of those. Does the Lord Jesus meet those qualifications? Well in marvel of marvels, he's the only person in the universe who does meet them all.

First of all, he became man at Bethlehem. He was born of the Virgin Mary. And I think that's really Wonderful. He became perfect man. Not only that he's God. He has the attributes of God. He has the titles of God.

He's equal with God in every respect and He is without sin. The record cannot be denied. He knew no sin. He did no sin and there is no sin in him. Did he shed his blood. Yes, he shed his blood as a substitute for sinners on the cross of Calvary.

But was he willing did he do it reluctantly? No, he did it willingly so that sinners might be saved. He said lo I come in the volume of the book. It is written of me. I delight to do thy will. Oh my god.

Salvation Available to All Through Christ

So you had certain qualifications for any plan of salvation certain qualifications for the substitute and the Lord Jesus met all of those qualifications for the substitute and Now what about God's plan of salvation?

Does that qualify? Yes. Notice that God's salvation is available to all. That's wonderful, isn't it? No one. To whom it's not available. No matter how primitive a man is or how illiterate a person is.

Might not even be able to read doesn't make any difference. You'll still be saved and it's sufficient for all the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and John says that he's a propitiation not for our sins only but for the sins of the Whole world.

That's what my Bible says and this is wonderful. Everyone is eligible because everyone is the center. It's our sins that make us eligible for the wonderful work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

I really think that's thrilling don't you. It's simple enough for anyone to understand. The Lord Jesus words like the Lord Jesus uses words like come Come unto me all you that labor and a heavy laden believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

Nothing difficult about that is there and anyone. Can receive it. Anybody can believe. Not anybody can walk. Not anybody can see. Not anybody can hear but anybody can believe. Anybody can repent. Might not be able to do a lot of other things they can repent.

That's what it takes repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Excludes bugging. Grace excludes both things. Are you saying well yes, but not through anything in me and saved through the work of Christ.

No boasting there is there? See the opposite as are you say well? Yes? I've always lived a good life boasting. That's not God's way of salvation. God's way of salvation excludes boasting because Christ did the work of salvation.

And we just reach out our empty hand and receive it as a free gift and man is not coerced into accepting God's Salvation. That's marvelous that God has made us free moral agents and the choice is up to us.

God doesn't force anybody into the kingdom of God. Okay, all of that by way of Review of what we went over last week. Grace is really wonderful. What is grace anyway? We can begin by saying grace is favor.

Grace as Undeserved Favor and Free Gift

But that's not enough. Grace is more than that. Grace is undeserved favor, but even that is not enough. It's more than that. Grace is undeserved favor to those who deserve the very opposite. In other words we deserved hell.

The grace offers us heaven instead of Hell. The words grace and gift are close relatives. I don't know that I'd call them brothers or sisters or cousins, but they're close relatives. Grace and gift. Grace is a gift and for that reason it can neither be earned or Deserved the minute you add any thought of earning or deserving grace.

It's no longer grace. You put it out the window. The gift of God's grace is. It's a such enormous proportions that no thought of ever Doing anything for it of ever repaying it is. Or permissible at all and as we said last week the true gospel is salvation by grace.

Alone boy how important it is to drill this into the minds of people. Grace means you don't deserve it. Faith means you must receive it by an act of your will and nobody ever Really understands the gospel.

Until he understands grace there's an awful lot of confusion in the church world about today. But nobody ever really understands the gospel. Unless he understands grace. The grace of God is really wonderful.

It can take our repentant prostitute and forgive her and Make her a companion of Jesus Christ in eternal glory. That's wonderful, isn't it? It can take the most repulsive Dirty man that you can possibly think of the very scum of the earth.

It can convert him Make him a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Destiny him for eternal glory. It can take a thief in the dying moments of his life. I mean his whole life has been a life of shame and Wickedness and evil and it can take him and and save him in the very closing moment of his life and Take him to paradise that very day.

Can't beat that can you I? Think it's wonderful grace populates heaven with converted murderers. Sex fiend Alcoholics drug addicts Liars no one is beyond the saving power of Grace, I want to tell you grace has lifted millions of people out of a horrible pit.

Set their feet upon a rock. Establish their going put a new song in their mouths. Even praise to the Lord and then just taking them home to the Father's house in Heaven. I always liked that statement that Oxford professor CS Lewis made he he told he told how the Lord Converted him when he was kicking and screaming.

The most reluctant convert in all of England and he said who can duly adore that grace. Which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking. Struggling resentful and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape.

Tell you grace is wonderful, isn't it? I love it. I Really love it. There was a hymn writer named Haldor Lewis, and I think he said it very well. He was right on key. Not only musically, but in every other way doctrinally.

When he wrote that the wonderful grace of Jesus is broader than the scope of our transgressions. Greater far than all our sin and shame we sing that don't we? Broader than the scope of our transgressions.

Greater far than all our sin and shame. My that's wonderful and I think every true believer sooner or later. It's going to happen. I don't know why the Lord ever saved me. It's just passes my Imagination why he'd ever saved me.

I often think of that people in Stanley and with better personalities in mind. And yet he saved me. The price he paid for me was definitely too high. I think we want to mention that grace Transcends human reason, but it doesn't violate it when I say that I mean grace is greater than human reason if if we got a group of people in a think-tank and Got them thinking about this whole subject on a reasonable basis.

You never would have come to Calvary. Would you? Reason would never have had the Son of God come down from the palace of glory and die on a criminal's cross. Not reasonable. It transcends reason that doesn't violate it.

The grace of God transcends logic. It doesn't violate it. You know as you trace through all the steps of logic you never would have come To the cross you never would have God. Dying for his creatures dying a terrible death for his creatures 1900 years ago.

This is logical. It's greater than logic. It passes it Surpasses reason it surpasses logic. It surpasses knowledge. Someone has described grace in this way, and I really like it. I think it's one of the best things I've read of grace is not looking for good people.

Whom it may approve. It's not grace to approve good people. That's justice, but it's looking for condemned guilty speechless and helpless people whom it may save sanctify and glorify that Marvelous Grace is not looking for good people.

Whom it may approve for it's not grace, but justice to approve goodness. It's looking for guilty Condemned speechless and helpless people whom it may save sanctify and Grace is greater than mercy. I mean they're close, but they're not the same.

Mercy withholds the judgment that a person could should receive. Person. Here's a man and he's condemned to die in the gas chamber and in an act of Mercy the governor commutes his sentence to life in prison.

It's mercy. He should have died. But he gets a lighter sentence than that he gets a sense of life. Imprisonment it's an act of mercy. He doesn't get the death retribution that he deserved but Grace is better than that.

Hmm it takes that guilty sinner and acquits him so there's no charge in the books against him. It's better than that. That's better than mercy. In other words positive righteousness is imputed to that man.

When he believes in Jesus, there's a guilty sinner before God. He repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and God Imputes to him all his own righteousness. God has made Christ to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hmm. So that we stand before God now in all the righteousness of God himself. That's better than mercy. Mercy would never do that for you. Mercy would give you a lighter sentence, maybe. But it wouldn't acquit you for a moment.

Grace says I'm guilty. But I believe Jesus died to pay the penalty of my sins and I receive him as my Lord and Savior. I don't deserve eternal life, but I receive it the free gift. From God, you know, the Lord Jesus gave a good parable that illustrates the difference between justice and grace.

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers: Justice and Grace

There was a farmer and he owned a lot of grape vines and Time came to pick the grapes and he went out in the morning and at the front gate. There are a group of men looking for work and they made a bargain with him.

They said We will work all day for you for a denarius. Which was a day's work a day's wage. That's what they said. They made an Agreement with him. They would work all day for a denarius. And so he said, okay, I'll give you a denarius work all day.

So they started early in the morning and they worked till five o 'clock at night. He went out during the day and he saw the men looking for work and he said you want work and they said yes he said Go into the vineyard and I'll pay you whatever I should.

No word about a denarius. This said and they went no agreement at all. No labor contract. They just went and worked and at the end of the day, he gave them all a denarius. Now the first people Got justice.

Those who agreed to work for a denarius. They got justice. The rest of the people got great. See they got more per hour When they left it To the farmer to decide what they should get. They all got a denarius, but when they work less hours, and so they got more per hour.

That was pure Grace, and I want to tell you grace is better than justice and Grace is a better principle in law, too. And these two are contrasted all the time in the Bible grace is a better principle than law.

Law and Grace: Condemnation Versus Liberty

The law tells a person what he must do to obtain a righteous standard. Grace puts him in that righteous standard and then tells him to live in harmony with it. That's tremendous. Let me say that again the law Tells a person what he must do like the Ten Commandments to obtain a righteous position.

Grace says I'm gonna put you in that righteous position. Now you go and walk worthy of it. That's wonderful. Isn't it. The law says do and you will live. Grace says live, and you will do. The law says try and obey.

Grace says trust and obey. Huh quite a different. The law tells you what to do doesn't give you the power to do it and It curses you if you don't do it. Just think of that. The law tells you what to do doesn't give you the power to do it and Curses you if you don't do it.

Grace teaches you what to do. Gives you the power to do it. And what power. Power of the Holy Spirit. When dwells every believer? Grace teaches you what to do gives you the power to do it and rewards you when you do it.

Rewards you when you do it. So law carries the threat of punishment and Grace carries the promise of reward. I Think that's beautiful. Law condemns the very best. Because nobody's ever kept the law. Law condemns the very best.

Grace justifies the very worst. You know even if Hitler had trusted the Lord Jesus in the closing minute of his life God would have saved him and taken home to heaven. That's how wonderful the grace of God is.

Or Staline a mouth a boom. The law reveals sin. Grace takes away sin. I Rather have my sin taken away than have it revealed wouldn't you? Any day of the week and twice on Sunday the law encourages boasting.

You when you find people on the law platform you say well, how you doing? I'm doing better than a lot of people. I know you know. The law encourages boasting. Grace excludes boasting. The law says you must.

You shall you shall not. Grace as you should. You are one tells what I have to do. The other tells what my new nature really wants to do. I've used that illustration here before. I know it's like Grace is like telling um a mother now you take good care of that, baby.

Because that's what she loves to do and that's why the Lord Teaching to those who are truly safe is Really very welcome because that he's telling me to do what my new nature just loves to do. Under law the work is never finished never finished.

But grace tells of one who finished the work for us of the cross of Calvary. The law says thou shalt love. Grace says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. The law lays heavy burdens on people To bear and you know the burdens of grace are light.

Jesus is my yoke is easy and my burden. It's like law is a system of bondage. Grace is a system of liberty. It's a difference between pressure and privilege. Law and grace is the difference between pressure and Privilege and incidentally, there's no mercy in the law.

The law doesn't ever that's okay. You were a nice boy and you did your best in that. No, the law never does. It's cold hard and inflexible. But you know grace tells us of a God who's rich in mercy. These in Shepherd who God who is rich in mercy.

Four Truths Needed to Appreciate Grace

First great love where with he loves how to appreciate grace. You'll never appreciate grace Until you recognize four things. And I think these things are basic you'll never appreciate grace. Until you recognize four things first of all Who the substitute is?

Second what he did. Third the kind of people for whom he did it and for The things that come to those who receive him never appreciate grace until you think of those things and Recognizement and you'll never plumb the depths of them, but get down there anyone.

The Glory and Mystery of Christ's Substitution

Who? Jesus is. First of all, he's not just a mere human like ourselves. He's human, but he's not a mere human like ourselves. He's the God who filled J. Oswald Sanders wrote the most astute intellect of all time have delved into the inner meaning of Christ's death on the cross.

But all have failed to plumb its infinite depth like Paul they have withdrawn with the cried of bafflement all the depths of The riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways.

And I know I've quoted Harold Stinson before he said the grace of God as seen in the cross of Christ Will mean nothing to you until it takes your breath away. And becomes the most important thing in your life.

Spurgeon calls on us to behold the wonder of it. He says Jesus has borne the death penalty on our behalf there. He hangs up on the cross. This is the greatest sight you will ever see. Son of God and son of man there.

He hangs bearing pains. Unutterable the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. Oh the glory of that sight says virgin the innocent suffering the Holy One. Condemned the ever blessed made a curse.

The infinite glorious put to a shameful. Yes, you'll never understand the grace of God until you understand in some measure what he did for us. I'm going to tell you the Savior didn't deserve such vile treatment and we're not worth the Stupendous price he paid.

It was too much if we could if we could take it in. Our eyes would melt in thankfulness and our hearts would dissolve in tears. As the hymn writer says dissolve my eyes in thankfulness. Or dissolve my heart in thankfulness and melt my eyes.

Human Depravity and the Recipients of Grace

For whom did he do it? Who Jesus is what he did for us. For whom did he do it? We were ungodly sinners. Ungrateful wretches. Undeserving worms, this is not popular nowadays, but this is the truth. We were lost.

Helpless and hopeless. We richly deserve hell. I think any well-saved soul will say that I deserve to go to hell not the language of the ordinary Person today. It's true. There was absolutely nothing lovable about us.

Plenty lovable about the Lord Jesus. Nothing lovable about us. We didn't want to have anything to do with the with the Lord. We it says in the scripture we desired not a knowledge of the Lord. And we didn't want any cosmic big brother interfering with our lives just like that at our best our righteousness.

Bonds as they were as filthy rags not a pretty picture in the original language of the Old Testament. Not a pretty picture. All the best we had to offer to God was just like filthy filthy rag. Prophet Jeremiah was right when he said the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things who can know it.

No one. I don't think no one can ever know the depth of Depravity of the human heart if you're anything like me. Sometimes you're just amazed when you look within yourself and see what's there see what you're capable of.

That's our best. At our worst we were capable of murdering our God. At our worst we were capable of murdering our God. Of course here we have to stop and we have to distinguish between the way we see ourselves in the way God sees us when you talk to people in the world.

They see themselves as very good. You know I say well a lot of people worse than I am. I Do my best. I try to be a good neighbor. I pay a hundred cents on the dollar. I do this and I do that it's true.

There are people and you have some neighbors too and Who are kind amiable dispositions, isn't it? Right kind give you a thing and they're amiable and and they're good neighbors and some of them attend church Regularly, they reach out to the poor and to the sick and to the disabled.

You know people like that and I do too decent law abiding citizens who are friendly and outwardly respectable, but We have to distinguish between that and the way God sees them. God says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

There's not one of us who doesn't sin and None of us would want our thought life to be made public. I think that was one of the beautiful things about the Lord Jesus when he was here on earth and Accompanying with people he could have exposed them.

He had just exposed what they were thinking and they would have shriveled up and died. He didn't do it. He never did it. He never needlessly exposed anybody. I'm so glad that you are not omniscient today.

But I have to live with you. Jesus is wonderful. What we are and this is why God sees is what we are is a lot worse than anything we've ever done and Some may be better than others. But God sees us all as desperate sinners in perilous and urgent need of Salvation.

Season two says we were dead in trespasses and incense. We 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 children of disobedience.

Like with a ring in our nose and led about by the devil. Unsaved as we were. Difference, we're the kind of people for whom Jesus died. You wouldn't have done it. Neither would I. We're the kind of people for whom the Lord Jesus died and you know, what makes it all the more remarkable to me is That we're so nothing we look big now.

I mean six foot, you know 200 pounds. I'm not telling you the real weight. But if you saw me from 10 ,000 feet, I'm not very big. You saw me from a hundred thousand feet. I'm about an amoeba. And if you saw me from the heights of glory.

Forget it. Nothing nothing. Jesus died for me. I mean, that's the grace of God. You'll never appreciate grace until you're to realize we're Infinitesimal. I cannot find words to describe how we're less than zero.

The Believer's Inheritance in Christ

If God loved us and what it means for the believer, huh, that's the fourth thing. You know grace could have done less for us than it has done. Grace could have just Saved us from going to hell and then.

Then we die and that's it period. But it's great one satisfied to do that could have given us any unending life on earth. I'm glad it didn't. When I go out to Bethesda and see people at a hundred years old, I'm glad you know I don't want to lift up the a hundred could have done less for us than it did the infirmities of age.

God wasn't satisfied with any halfway measures. Having given his best in the gift of his son. He was determined not to withhold any good. From his from those who loved him. He decided not just think of it.

He decided not to withhold the richest inheritance that his mind could conceive of. The richest inheritance that his mind couldn't conceive of. Just think about the moment Sinners received the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are some of the things that we receive. We won't finish them today. All right, we won't finish them in eternity. Recipients of eternal life. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. This priceless gift and I went when we think of eternal life we think about life that will never end.

It's not that Unbelievers have life that will never end. This is a quality of life, isn't it? It's the life of Christ in Bill McDonald. Incredible. That's what eternal life is. It's a more abundant life, which the Lord Jesus promised to those who would trust him.

I'd say even the unsaved have endless existence. But only believers have Christ within them. The hope of glory. Natural life is received by birth and is subject to death. Eternal life is Received by the new birth and is deathless.

Eternal life is nothing less than union with God and I'm going to tell you that's astonishing. We don't think of it. We don't think about it how rich we are Recipients of eternal life forgiven. By a miracle of grace God forgives and removes the sins of the believer as far as the East is from the West.

He's never going to remember them again all. All the charges against the penitent were nailed to the cross of Calvary and they're gone. That's why a hymn writer could write those words. I Hear the accuser roar of ills that I have done.

I Know them well and thousands more Jehovah findeth none. They like that. I hear the accuser roar of ills that I have done. I know them. Well thousands more Jehovah findeth none. That's great dear friend.

I Think I just want to stop there. Let's pray father we realize today how inadequate Vocabulary is to to describe the wonderful grace that you've shown to us. Oh That we might never forget every moment of every day that we might be conscious Of your presence with us the God of all grace who has called us to his eternal glory.

Lord for those who do not know the Savior.