Thoughts from Camp - Day 10 - By Grace, through Faith

"Seek God until He breaks your heart, and then preach from the bottom of your broken heart." This 

is what I often say to those I mentor. So with seven weeks of speaking, writing devotions and heading up ministry at a summer camp, I anticipate being challenged, stretched and broken as the weeks roll on. Each day I will post some lessons to be learned from the devotions and messages we have studied as a camp.

Today we will be studying the first 9 verses of Ephesians 2. The passage will begin with a description of man's depravity, but it will shift suddenly to highlight God's grace.

“And you were dead”

This ultimately, sums up our position before God. What was God's threat to Adam if he ate the fruit? He would surely die. And although Adam did not die physically, his relationship with God became as dead as it possibly could be. Adam was dead spiritually, and so his children for all remaining generations would be. How much can dead men move? Can thy speak? Can they come when they are called? Dead men can do nothing, and so we are born spiritually. Unable to talk to God, or to come to Him. We are dead.

“in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,”

We are rule-breakers, is all he means. Adam broke a law, and we've been doing the same thing ever since.

“ following the course of this world,”

Humanity – all of humanity – was born as a descendant of Adam. So all of humanity is naturally inclined to disobey and disregard God. Not that people are as wicked as they could be, but even when they try to be good they still disregard God as Adam did. People may naturally believe in a deity, but the god they describe tends to be very much like them only a little bigger and a little more loving. People naturally believe in a god created in their image, not that they were created in the image of God. This is how the whole world is, and so to follow the course of the world, is to simply have the same level of regard to wards God as is common to man.

“ following the prince of the power of the air,”

This speaks of Satan. Again, humanity's distance from God is emphasized.

“the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience”

The sons of disobedience are us. Somebody taught you to say 'please' and 'thank you.' Someone taught you to obey. But no one taught you how to lie. Or how to disobey. This comes naturally to us, for we are 'sons of disobedience.'

“among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,”

And here we are in our sinful state, trapped – enslaved. A slave may not work day in and day out, but works only when his master calls. And yet he is a slave 24/7 though he may not be working 24/7. So it is with sin. We are slaves 24/7, although our passions may only beckon to us from time to time. And when they beckon, we come crawling, desperate for the sinful desire our passionate flesh demands.

“and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

And what else would we deserve? We certainly don't deserve God's love or kindness. Our fallen, sinful, disobedient state has left us deserving nothing less than the wrath of God.

“But God,”

And in this prase lies all our hope. For we, being dead, can do nothing but wait for His judgement. 'But' tells us there is hope, 'God' shows us that it does not lie in ourselves.

“being rich in mercy,”

That is, He is willing to hold back what we deserve – to hold back the death, judgement and wrath we have earned.

“because of the great love with which he loved us,”

For it was God that loved us, before we could ever love Him. While we were still sinners, God showed love towards us, before we would ever have a desire to love Him back.

“even when we were dead in our trespasses,”

Again, our hopeless state.

“made us alive together with Christ”

That is, now revived those dead bodies. Dead men – who can neither speak nor come when called, are now awakened. Sinful men, who were once dead in their relationship with God have now been enabled to respond to Him.

“by grace you have been saved”

The salvation he offers is free of charge and absolutely undeserved. God's overwhelming goodness allows Him to extend to us this offer which should rightfully not be ours.

“and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

The sin of mankind was laid on Christ, and He died the punishment that that sin deserved. But more than that, the perfection of Christ was put on man. So a transaction was made – He took our sin, and we took on His perfection. So the Father views us as perfect in Christ and He punished Christ for our wrongdoing. So in this verse, we celebrate the riches we now inherit. For we will enter heaven clothed in the perfection of Jesus, and enjoy a spot in the heavenly places only Jesus should be allowed to enter.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

What is faith? To trust is the undeserved gift of God to undo the sin that Adam brought in the world. The Christian is the one that believes in the finished work of what Jesus did on the cross.

“And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

So what is left for you to do? Absolutely nothing at all. No prayer, no church, no good work will make you any more perfect than Jesus can make you. Simply trust in Him. And when you trust Him, and He changes your heart – prayer, church and good deeds will flow out of you.

The free gift of God to undo man's depraved condition. What a marvellous message!