“And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.”

Welcome to week 12 and our final week of our Foundations of Faith devo series. In this last week, we are going to take a closer look at the true lostness of mankind and in so doing, take an appreciative look at the amazing truth of our salvation. See, man was originally created in the image and likeness of God. But we fell through disobedience, choosing to do things our own way and not God’s. This incurred both physical death and spiritual death for every person who would ever live. As such, all humans are born with a sinful nature and are separated from the life of God. We can only be saved through the atoning work of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  

The sad reality is that for those who spend their whole earthly lives rejecting God, they are destined to spend eternity separated from Him. However, if anyone (and that means ANYONE) choses to repent, turn from their sins, accept Jesus as Savior of their lives, and confess Him as Lord- to that person, they are granted eternal life with God in perfect paradise forevermore. The stakes are high, and we must not take this part of our faith lightly.  

Let’s turn to today’s passage and take a closer look. The apostle Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, described separation from God as being “dead in your offenses and sins.” This death is not just a physical death, but more a spiritual death. Apart from Christ, you are in bondage, a slave to the sin that reigns in you. And the consequence of ALL sin is death (Romans 6:23). So those who are slaves to sin are also slaves to death- they cannot escape the inevitable future on their own. And even here on earth, those who are without Christ see the consequences of their spiritual death lived out over and over in their lives.  

This is what Paul refers to in today’s passage. That the effect of the spiritual death that all who are separated from Christ exist in show up in real and tangible ways: walking according to this world, according to Satan (the prince of the power of the air), and according to the spirit of disobedience. He points out that everyone who comes to the faith was once like these- we were ruled by our flesh, seeking to satisfy its lust for control, power, pleasure, comfort, or esteem. We indulged in the desires of our flesh and mind- two things that, without the Holy Spirit to guide them, will always lead us toward death.  

And as such, we were all children of wrath, meaning that apart from the redeeming work of Jesus, the wrath of the Holy God against our sin, our master, remained credited to our eternal account. Without the redemption of Christ, the debt against us was too great and eternally doming. We were dead men walking, doomed to and eternity of perpetual death, separated from the source of all goodness, light, love, and peace. Man, if that doesn’t send chills through you, maybe you should read that again.

But praise God, Jesus is the King who conquers death! Like we talked about last week, He is the King who reigns resurrected and offers resurrected life to each of us. Through His blood and in His name, we are invited to be raised to life! He offers us the payment for our sin, the ransom that frees us from the captivity of the master of darkness and transfers us to the Master of light. He reaches out to each of us to say, “Come, find freedom. Find life. Thirst no more. Live eternal and experience all your soul was created to crave.”

We live in a world that will whisper (and often shout) the message that real life is in doing what you what, pursuing your dreams and desires, and satisfying every last longing of your heart. But for those who have walked that path, who have swallowed that lie, it is clear that the road to self-fulfillment never finds a satisfying end. You never arrive. You are always left wanting, left feeling empty and hollow. You are always left searching for the missing piece that is supposedly just around the next bend.  

Over and over, the human race has tried to accomplish what only God can do. We have sought freedom and joy in the depths of a prison of sin. We have willingly allowed the enemy to put chains on us with the promise of freedom. We have believed that his desire for us is good or that we can accomplish what we want on our own. We have rejected the God who not only made us, but who came to save us.  

I was listening to a video of R.C. Sproul this week and he was responding to someone’s question that if God is so slow to anger and patient, and His love so long suffering, why was the initial punishment for Adam and Eve’s sin so severe and long standing. I loved his response.  

He was dumb founded by the question and responded, “Time out!… This creature from the dirt, defied the everlasting Holy God. After that God had said that ‘on the day you eat of it you shall surely die.’ And instead of dying that day, he lived another day and was clothed in his nakedness by pure grace. And had the consequences of a curse applied for quite some time, but the worst curse would come upon the one who seduced him who’s head would be crushed by the seed of the woman. And the punishment was so severe?! What’s wrong with you people?! I’m serious! This is what’s wrong with the Christian church. We don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are.”

I love that he was brave enough to call this out. Too often we forget who we are, and we forget who God is. If we aren’t careful, we can start to view God as our slave and we, His master. We can start to think of Him as working for us, for our glory, and for our pleasure. But the truth is, we are HIS CREATION, created for HIS GLORY. Not the other way around. He gets to make the rules. He gets to define what is right and wrong. NOT US. HE is Lord, Creator, and Master.

And in His GREAT grace for us, He has not only chosen to make a way for our redemption, but He has bled for it Himself. When we disobeyed and continue to disobey century after century, day after day, HE MADE A WAY! He did not grow weary of us. He did not give up. He did not throw in the towel and turn His face away, writing us off as a lost cause and moving on to something else. HE STUCK WITH US! He endured. He sacrificed of Himself to pay the penalty for our debt. He has given His life so that we can be raised to life. We owe Him our fidelity and our lives, forevermore. He is so very worthy of our praise and even more!

Friends, this week as we look at the true lostness of man, the intention is not to grind you into the ground with shame and condemnation. But the point is for us to truly see what an amazing God we serve and how gracious, loving, longsuffering, and SO, SO, SO GOOD He truly is. All too often we lose sight of this truth. We need a reality check from time to time. We need our pride to die to the truth of what Jesus did for us. We need to see the ultimate need we had before Christ redeemed us. Otherwise, we will always take our salvation for granted and we will never understand the magnitude of the true gift we’ve been given.  

Apart from each of us truly understanding our need for Christ, we cannot experience the abundant life Christ wants for us. It starts with admitting the truth and then walking in the unmerited favor and love of an eternally loving God who did the unthinkable for the unlovable.

God, OH MY LORD! You are so very worthy of all my praise and more. When I contemplate who You are and what You have done for me… I am overwhelmed. I am not worthy of Your love or redemption. Yet, You give it freely. You call me chosen, redeemed, worthy, loved. You call me Your own. OH, WHAT A THING!!! God, write these truths on the tablet of my heart. Teach me to see You with unveiled eyes. Teach me to truly behold Your glory and wonder so that I may walk in truth and love for You all the days of my life.  

I love You Lord, and I give You all of me.  

Amen