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From Darkness to Light (Ephesians 2:11-13)
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From Darkness to Light (Ephesians 2:11-13)
Ephesians: Growing in Christ
Sunday Message recorded 08 January 2023
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Introduction to Spiritual Journey through Ephesians
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, good morning. Hope your new year is getting off to a good start. I know the other day I went to the gym and I was so amazed how many people were there. I thought, where's everybody been? It has just packed out in the gym. And then I knew why I was there. And I thought, maybe it's the same thing.
00:00:25
Speaker
But anyway, I'm so glad you're here today. We're going to have a good time in God's word. I would like to invite you to take your Bibles or look at the screen. We're going to be in Ephesians. We're going through the book of Ephesians. We're asking the Lord to speak to us. His word is living. It's active. He still speaks through his word. And so I know he's got something that he would like to say to us today.
Identity and Stability in Christ
00:00:51
Speaker
I want us to think in terms of
00:00:53
Speaker
you know, where we were before we received Christ. If you're here today and you're a believer, you're a disciple, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, think about, run the tape back and think about what it was like before.
00:01:09
Speaker
Think about the darkness and what your life was like and think about how the Lord has changed everything. You know, that's the way I want us to go out as we go through this year together, to go out into the community, to go to our jobs, our schools, to our families and all the different connections we have with other people, to go out with compassion in our hearts for those that still do not know our Savior.
00:01:35
Speaker
The theme of Ephesians is in Christ. That little phrase in Christ is mentioned so often as you go not only through Ephesians, but through all of the New Testament. But whenever we refer to being in Christ, what we're talking about is our spiritual position. Do you know that this morning you are in Christ?
New Beginnings and the Body of Christ
00:01:58
Speaker
and also know that your identity is all wrapped up in who we are in Christ. It makes a big difference whenever you lose your job, whenever your health is not as strong as it once was, whenever your kids like mine are beginning to go out and move away and all these kind of things, all of those kind of things bring great change. But you know the thing that is consistent
00:02:23
Speaker
If Jesus is the center and the core of your life, then nothing's changed. He is still there. He loves you. He accepts you in Christ. And he's got a great plan for your life. And so that's what we're looking at as we go through this letter to the Ephesians. Now later, when we get all the way to chapter 4, chapters 4, 5, and 6 move from talking about our position in Christ to our personal walk.
00:02:52
Speaker
with Christ. I hope you're enjoying that as you started a new year, that you're actually walking with the Lord. Now, last week, Josh, who is on vacation, he's with his family, I told him on behalf of our church, I said, please tell your family in Warner Robins, Georgia, that we sincerely appreciate them sharing you guys with us because I know it would be more comfortable for them to be right there, right down the street and so forth.
00:03:20
Speaker
But Josh, when he was preaching last week, preached from chapter 2 verses 1 through 10 about new beginnings.
Being Christ's Workmanship
00:03:27
Speaker
And it was a very personal relationship that he was talking about in Christ. But now I want us to look a little bit broader as we move from verse 11 all the way down through verse 22
00:03:41
Speaker
We're just going to take the first three of those verses this morning, but that section, verse 11, down through verse 22, is all about the body of Christ. It's all about the body of Christ and how the Lord brought a church out of great conflict. Because back then, when you had the Jews and you had the Gentiles, there was great animosity and great conflict, great separation between the two. But in Christ, it's amazing.
00:04:09
Speaker
how the Lord brings us together. And so we're going to be looking at these verses in the next two or three Sundays, but this morning we're just going to look at verse 11 and 12 and 13.
The Church as God's Masterpiece
00:04:23
Speaker
You know, it starts out in verse 11 using that word, therefore. Therefore.
00:04:30
Speaker
You know, therefore is a term of conclusion. There's something he's just said that Josh unpacked for us last Sunday that all he's about to say is built on that foundation, therefore. And so it links what he was just talking about. One thing just to make sure we're on the same page, if you look in verse 10, it says, for we are his workmanship.
00:04:55
Speaker
Do you know that you are Christ's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them?
Paul's Transformation and Calling
00:05:06
Speaker
The word workmanship there is the Greek term poema, poema. Does it sound like an English word we use, poem, poema? Do you know that you are a work of art? You're like a masterpiece.
00:05:21
Speaker
And that's great on an individual basis, right? But here's what's exciting. When we come together as a church family, the canvas is even larger. And so what God is painting, what he's doing in each of our lives where we're together, it connects. And it's another type of masterpiece or work of art that the Lord is making.
00:05:47
Speaker
But I ran across John Phillips' comment on this. He said, each of our lives is the canvas on which the master is producing a work of art that will fill the everlasting ages with his praise.
00:06:02
Speaker
So all through the ages to come, the Lord is going to be pointing to you, to me, to us, to others like us that are born again, that have a personal relationship with Christ. And He's going to be saying, look what I did, look what I did in each of their individual lives, but also look what I did in bringing them all together in one body. It's something only the Lord can do.
Biblical Transformations in Christ
00:06:26
Speaker
You know, the Apostle Paul, he painted for us a picture of what his life was like before he came to know the Lord. If you read through the book of Acts, you'll see that he actually didn't like Christians. He was arresting them. He was killing them. He was bringing them back in chains and so forth. But he was intercepted by Christ.
00:06:48
Speaker
on that road to Damascus, and it's amazing how the Lord cleansed him of all those things that he had done. I mean, he must have had bold strokes painted in red for intensity, or in black for that darkness that covers our hearts whenever we are not cleansed in Christ. But it's amazing how the Lord Jesus Christ called a man like Paul
00:07:14
Speaker
out of darkness into light. Not only did he call him out of darkness into light, but he called him to share that message, that gospel message that can bring others out of darkness into light. And it wasn't just Paul. I mean, it's Peter. It's all across the New Testament. Peter wasn't an Old Testament scholar like Paul. He was just a fisherman. Yet,
00:07:41
Speaker
He shared that same calling. Whenever Peter was describing it, he said that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You see, that's something only God can do. Only the Lord can take us out of spiritual darkness and bring us into this marvelous light.
Spiritual Cleansing through Jesus's Sacrifice
00:08:01
Speaker
The New Testament records different transformed lives, if you think about it. Think about it just for a moment. Who are those biblical characters that come to mind? Remember, there was a thief. Well, what was his life like before he met Christ on that cross? The thief on the cross. There was a tax collector among the disciples. His name was Matthew.
00:08:24
Speaker
Think about him. Think about the woman who was called an adultery, and he said, go and sin no more. He was not there to condemn her sins. He was there to forgive her sins. Think about a lady like Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven demons were cast out. Isn't it amazing what Jesus can do in a life?
00:08:46
Speaker
You know, if we were to compare some of our before and after photos, what would yours look like? I'm not sure that you would even recognize me if you were to go back when I didn't know Christ and you think about the person that Christ has made me to be now. No, I'm not perfect.
00:09:05
Speaker
But if you could only see what it was like, I saw a picture this week that kind of reminded me of what my life was like. What was yours like? I think that spiritually, I was a lot like what Versova Beach looked like in October of 2015.
00:09:22
Speaker
It was just trashed out. It's just outside of Mumbai, India. Mumbai is the home to 22 million people. And so over time, they just got to where they would just bring their trash, and they'd just dump it out there on that beach. But there was one man, an attorney,
00:09:38
Speaker
And he was 33 years of age. His name was Afraz Shah. Still is. I think he goes around speaking now about how things changed. But he had something on his heart. Instead of looking on that beach and saying, look how filthy that beach is, it motivated him. And he said, you know what? I believe that beach can be different. And so he began to ask people to help him clean up the beach.
00:10:04
Speaker
You won't believe it. There's a before and there's an after photo that you can see to substantiate it. It took them 85 weeks. It took 1,000 volunteers working together to remove, get this, 11,684,500 pounds of trash. How much trash did Jesus take out of my life?
00:10:30
Speaker
he forgave me of my sins. How much did he pull out of your life when he forgave you of your sins? I think there was a greater cleanup movement started by a man named Jesus when he was 33 years of age.
Magnitude of Jesus' Sacrifice
00:10:45
Speaker
He went to a cross, and when he went to the cross, you won't believe what he did. 1 John chapter 2 verse 2 says that he took
00:10:55
Speaker
the sins of the whole world upon Himself. He took the whole world's sins and He said, I will die in their place. I will pay the punishment, the penalty that their sins deserve. I just think it's amazing, especially when you consider today, how many do we have across the world? Well, the latest estimate is 7.8 billion.
00:11:19
Speaker
7.8 billion people. How many times do you sin per day? How many do I sin per day? Think about all of that multiplied out time of lifetime. And the Lord says, I went to the cross to take away the sins of the world. Wow. You know why I don't think we share much about Jesus? I think we don't share about Jesus because here we are now in the light.
00:11:47
Speaker
And we've forgotten what it was like to be in the darkness. We don't think about it anymore. We've kind of shut down that wall there, and we don't want to think about what that was like. But there are some passages that are written to remind us
00:12:02
Speaker
of how desperate we were without Christ, because quite honestly, if you're here without Christ, it's delightful.
Reflecting on Life Before and After Christ
00:12:10
Speaker
It is delightful being in Christ. I want you to experience it. So I want to invite you to stand with me. I want to read these three verses, Ephesians 2, 11, 12, and 13. And I want you to think about your life before you came to know Christ.
00:12:27
Speaker
I want you to think about where your life is now if you don't know Him, because this is a biblical portrait of spiritually where you are. I'm not saying you're not a nice person. Columbus is filled with nice people. But it's not about being nice. It's about being perfect. It's about all of us being broken and fallen. We've all sinned. We've all been selfish, prideful, and so forth. And so here's the biblical portrait of what we look like without Christ.
00:12:56
Speaker
Verse 11 says, therefore, remember that at one time you, Gentiles in the flesh, call the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope.
00:13:25
Speaker
And without God in the world, oh, but now, but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Let's go to the Father in prayer. Lord, all week, this passage has just fired up my heart.
00:13:46
Speaker
I'm so excited to share with your people what you have shared with me. Please help me to just be faithful to the Word of God, to just simply give it to your flock, just truth by truth.
Remembrance in Scripture
00:14:00
Speaker
Help me to just unpack this in such a way that your people would be so motivated to share the gospel with those who are still in darkness.
00:14:09
Speaker
Help me to share it in such a way with the help of your Holy Spirit that those who are here this morning without Christ would run toward Christ to say, get me out of this darkness and let me be in the light. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated.
00:14:28
Speaker
I only have three points from these three verses. Some of you are saying, I've heard it before. Don't trust him. Don't trust him. His sub points could get us. Anyway, let me give you the three points from this passage. Let's take it one verse at a time. Verse 11 says, therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands.
00:14:58
Speaker
I want you to remember life before Christ. You know what I think is interesting? I didn't realize this until I really dug in and began to see what does it say in the original language.
00:15:13
Speaker
When it uses the word remember, do you realize that this is not only a command, this is the first command in the whole letter of Ephesians. Remember, we started in chapter one, verse one. We've already gone through chapter one. We have gone through half of chapter two. And now we're at the midpoint in chapter two. And this is the very first thing that God says. And what does he say? Remember.
00:15:40
Speaker
Remember, remember, you know, 21 times that word remember is used in the New Testament. As a matter of fact, he's just giving us so many truths about who we are in Christ, it will not be until chapter four and verse 17 before the next command comes. So hang on to these commands. You've heard of the 10 commandments. This is two commandments that I'm talking about. This one and one that we won't even get to for a while.
00:16:10
Speaker
So God is just trying to explain to us who we are. He's trying to say, this is what I've done. I'm not asking you to do anything. I'm asking you to realize what I've done in you, what I want to do through you. You know, even in the Old Testament, Psalm 103 verse 2 says, forget none of his benefits. Forget none of his benefits. You ever forget the goodness of God?
00:16:37
Speaker
Why did they have so many Old Testament feasts and festivals? It seemed like if you read through the Old Testament, you'll run across all these feasts and festivals. Why were they gathering together? What was it really all about? You know what I think it was about? This word, remember.
00:16:54
Speaker
I think God was saying, don't forget what I did, the Exodus. Don't forget how I blessed you throughout this year. And so there was all of this remembering that God commanded his people.
Gentiles and God's Promises
00:17:09
Speaker
But I saw another word here that is called verse 11. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles, so he's talking to the Gentiles right now.
00:17:22
Speaker
Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision. Did you get that? Called the uncircumcision. That wasn't a flattering term if it was spoken by a Jew whenever they said, you are the uncircumcised over there by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands.
00:17:45
Speaker
You see, do you get the picture that he's reminding them, all of us, because unless you come from Jewish lineage and descent, hey, we also are Gentiles, right? So he's talking to us. And he's saying to us at one time, all of us were on the outside looking in. We were not on the inside like the Jewish people. They were the called and they were the chosen.
00:18:10
Speaker
But how interesting is it that he's saying it's not about religion. It's not about traditions and circumcision and all of these other things. It's about a personal relationship with the Savior. It's about knowing God through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it's about. That's the only way that we could ever even measure up.
00:18:36
Speaker
And that's what he's trying to tell them. Don't strut around like you're somebody so special that you worked your way into God's family because we didn't. We didn't. None of us did. No Gentile did. No Jew did. It was all by grace. And that's why I think it's amazing. You know, it's no wonder
00:18:57
Speaker
that John Newton kept a plaque on his desk. You remember John Newton? He's the one who wrote down the words to Amazing Grace. Well, John Newton on his desk kept a plaque, and it had Deuteronomy 15, 15. And on that plaque it said, you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you.
00:19:23
Speaker
So in other words, God was reminding him, don't forget at one time in your life who you were.
Life Without Christ
00:19:31
Speaker
You were not living for me.
00:19:33
Speaker
Psalm 130 verses three and four says this about all of us, everybody in the room. So please don't leave and say, well, at First Baptist, they think there's so much better than all the rest of us. No, here's what the word of God says about all of us in the whole community. Psalm 130 verses three and four says, if you, oh Lord, should mark iniquities, oh Lord, who could stand?
00:20:03
Speaker
But with you.
00:20:05
Speaker
There's forgiveness. You see, that's what it means to remember, to remember life before Jesus forgave you, life before you came to know the Father through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want us to go to a second thing, and that is reviewing the barrenness without Christ. What is it like over there in darkness? Perhaps it's been so long. You've been a Christian for so many years, you may have forgotten.
00:20:35
Speaker
So this verse wakes us up, and this verse says, this is what it was like when you didn't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Remember, there it is again, right? Second time, remember. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.
00:21:03
Speaker
It's a pretty dark picture, really. It makes me think of Isaiah 35. In Isaiah 35, it describes people who are out in a desert. It's dry, it's sandy.
00:21:16
Speaker
There's no life, there's nothing green. It's just all parks and so forth. And yet Isaiah 35 describes what the Lord can do, even in the desert. He can make there be streams in the desert. He can make things bloom in the desert. And so maybe you would say, that's the story of my life. That's exactly what he did. That's right. But what I want you to just let it settle, okay, for just a few minutes here, I want us to review.
00:21:46
Speaker
What was it like, though, when you were back there in the barrenness without Christ? He wasn't in your life. I can tell you what my life was like, and it was barren. And it was so sad, but now I thank the Lord so much for who I am in Christ, but I can't forget where I was without Him.
Spiritual Emptiness Without Christ
00:22:05
Speaker
So let me just give you five things that describe everybody that is without Christ.
00:22:11
Speaker
The first one is, without Christ, we're helpless spiritually. Without Christ, we're helpless spiritually. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ. The word separated, that's a tough word, isn't it? Separated. Some use the term alienated. But what it means is we're not together. We're not on the same side. You know, Isaiah,
00:22:37
Speaker
has another passage that I wanted to share with you. You can stay where you are, but if you want to follow me, you're welcome to do so. But Isaiah 59, verses 1 and 2, Isaiah 59, verses 1 and 2 describes the separation. What causes the separation? Why are we not born with Christ?
00:22:58
Speaker
Okay, we're born here in America, but why are we not born with Christ? Here's the reason. Isaiah 59, 1, and 2 says, Behold the Lord's hand? It's not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation.
00:23:19
Speaker
between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. It's not that he cannot hear. It's that he chooses not to hear whenever there's so much sin in our lives because God is holy. But that just describes the separation that we're experiencing right now. What God is most burdened over
00:23:46
Speaker
is not just the separation that's going on in our life right now. It's the separation that's ahead. He doesn't want it to be there. And so that's why he gives us the word of God. That's why second Thessalonians chapter one, verse nine says, they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, get this, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.
00:24:15
Speaker
Can you just imagine what it would be like for eternity, on and on, forever and ever, to God say, you know what? You are not with me. You're over there. I'm over here. Wouldn't that be such a staggering thing to let that sink into your mind?
00:24:34
Speaker
such helplessness without Christ, because only He can bring us to the Father.
Hope and Reconciliation in Christ
00:24:40
Speaker
But then there's also this other description that is given to us. It's like another facet of the biblical portrait says, well, you're not only separated from Christ, you're alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel. You're alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel. You know what I thought about
00:24:58
Speaker
homeless. I'm not only helpless without Christ, I'm homeless without Christ. You know what Jesus said in John 14 verses 1 through 3? In John 14 verses 1 through 3, Jesus said, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to the Father's house. Catch that word, house. I'm going to the Father's house and I'm going to prepare a place for you.
00:25:24
Speaker
And someday I'm going to come back to receive you, that where I am, there you also may be. And so I'm thinking, thank you, Lord, for that. But you see, that's only for those who have put their faith and their trust, those who have turned in repentance and surrender and said, I want to follow you, Lord. That's who that is. We have a heavenly home we're headed toward.
00:25:48
Speaker
But at this point, he's reminding them what it was like before Christ, without Christ. What is it like? Well, it's like homeless. But see, once again, it's not the homelessness that is now, it's the homelessness that's coming in the future. One time I was reading in a small letter right almost at the end of the New Testament. It's called Jude. Jude.
00:26:15
Speaker
It's hard to understand some things written in Jude, but this one, I understood exactly what God was trying to say about those who die and they never trusted Christ. Those who said, you know what? I'm not gonna become a Christian. I'm not gonna receive Christ. Here's what it says about those in the future. They will be like wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
00:26:45
Speaker
I thought to myself, there's nothing sadder than to be out there in just unending darkness forever and ever. And there you are. There you are, just like a wandering star.
00:26:57
Speaker
You have no home, there's no place. You said no to God's offer to heaven to go and be with his Son and him throughout all eternity and with all those that are redeemed. But when we reject that, just know what you're saying yes to. You're saying yes to that future of just being like a wandering star in that blackness of darkness forever. But then he goes on to say,
00:27:25
Speaker
We're like strangers to the covenants of promise. You know, God makes a lot of promises, but God's promises are to His people. God's promises are saying, here's what I'm going to do to those who are in Christ. For those of us in Christ, we have heaven to look forward to. But for those who are without Christ, it's not just homelessness and helplessness, it's hapless.
00:27:53
Speaker
We're hapless without the Lord. It's like there's no direction. There's nothing to look forward to. And as we look backward, all we see are those sins that we were never forgiven for because we never brought them to the Lord. He said, I'll forgive you of all that. I can cleanse it, make you white as snow if you will just come to me. But whenever we reject it, it's like it just goes on and on.
00:28:20
Speaker
I read where one commentator described it this way. He said, for those that reject Christ, they are like sailors on a captainless ship. Nobody's at the helm. On unchartered seas with no anchor.
00:28:38
Speaker
It's like a ship, and it's never going to have a place to pull into the harbor. It's just sort of hapless. It has no one directing it, no one saying, this is the way, walk in it. So when we reject Christ, that's what we're like. And all of those promises that could be ours in Christ, they're not ours, because we said, no, no thanks. I've got this. I'm good on my own.
00:29:04
Speaker
He also describes us as having no hope, so we're hopeless without Christ.
00:29:10
Speaker
hopeless without Christ. You know, I'm so glad we find hope in Christ. There's so much hope available. You know, if you were to go back into chapter 1 and verse 18, the Apostle Paul was praying for those who had come to know Christ. And one of the things he prays for, he says, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope.
00:29:34
Speaker
to which he is called you. What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? If you were to go over into chapter four,
00:29:44
Speaker
And you were to look at verse 4, there's one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. There's just one hope. There's just one way to find hope. And that is through Christ. And that's why it's so vital that you not push him away.
00:30:07
Speaker
You know, in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13, here's what it begins like this. It says, but we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
00:30:35
Speaker
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we were alive and left until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of a command, with the voice of an archangel.
00:30:51
Speaker
And with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we are alive, who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. They are encouraging because they remind us of where our hope is. Our hope is found in Christ. It's a hope that goes beyond this life, beyond this body.
00:31:19
Speaker
Even beyond the grave, there's so much hope. And even into the future, what's the future hold for your life, for your family's life, for our country? Well, all I know is for those of us in Christ, future's glorious because Jesus is coming back. So just think about the hope that we have in Christ, but before we were hopeless. And of course, without the Lord, we're heedless.
00:31:46
Speaker
heedless without Christ. Psalm 14 says, the one that says there is no God, the one that says there is no God. You know what the Bible says? I'm not calling them this. The Bible calls them this. It says he's a fool. It's foolish to say there is no God. You know, there's so much evidence all around us when you look at creation. Did all of it just happen? No, it didn't just happen. God created it. But whenever we are saying,
00:32:15
Speaker
You know what? I don't mind being godless. I don't mind being in this world without God. Think about what that means. Who are you following then? So if you say, I'm not going to follow God, then who are you going to follow? How are you going to navigate through life? I prefer to say, Lord, whatever you say, I'm going to heed it. I'm going to follow it. I'm going to obey it. That's what I encourage you to do as we start a new year.
Reconciliation and Salvation through Christ's Blood
00:32:43
Speaker
But that's who we were. I want to close with the third point of reviewing not only the barrenness, but now let's move to the blood, the blood of Christ. We're reconciled through the blood of Christ. A long time ago, I learned this really simple diagram of the gospel message. It's so simple. You could do this at a coffee shop. You could do it on a napkin when you're talking to a friend.
00:33:10
Speaker
But you draw, one side has mankind, and we are so sinful and broken. If you don't see it, you're not looking, you're not paying attention to the sinfulness, the brokenness, all the hurt and the pain. But on the other side, there's a great gulf in between them, a great gap. But on the other side is God, and He's holy. He is merciful, He's loving, He's gracious. But make no mistake, He's holy.
00:33:39
Speaker
without fault, with no sin. And so how will we ever get together? It's like we're separated. Well, in the diagram, in the gap, you draw the cross. The cross is the only way that bridges a holy God and sinful mankind. It's the only way for us to get connected. So when I read verse 13, I thought, that right there is the good news. It's the best news.
00:34:09
Speaker
When it says, all of those things are true where we were, but now, he says, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. If you only have one verse to share with somebody this year, how about that one?
00:34:26
Speaker
When I looked at that one verse, I thought, it's got the basics of the gospel. It doesn't say everything by no means, but it does have the basics. For example, what is the problem? What is the problem before salvation? The problem is simple. We're far off. It says it right there in verse 13, doesn't it? He said, you once were far off. One time we were over there on the other side. We were not connected to God.
00:34:53
Speaker
But you see, the person of salvation is Christ. Then it says, but now in Christ. He fills the gap, right?
00:35:02
Speaker
What's the plan of salvation? Well, it's the blood. The blood by the blood of Christ when he died on the cross. You see, that's what cleanses our sins. He was perfect. He was sinless. That's why his death on the cross can atone for your sins and my sins. If I were to die for you, it wouldn't make any difference because I'm so sinful. I'm still broken.
00:35:26
Speaker
But you know what? When Jesus died on the cross, He was sinless. He came from heaven. He went back to heaven. He's coming back again to receive us someday. But the plan of salvation is simple. It took the blood of Christ. But then the other thing is the product of salvation. What is the product of salvation? What does salvation do? What does it accomplish? I'll tell you what it accomplishes. It brings us near. We once were far off.
00:35:54
Speaker
But when we come across the blood of Christ, we walk across the cross and we bow to Jesus Christ and say, I wanna follow you. I trust you. I believe what you did on the cross was for me. Guess what happens? We are brought near. So now let me read verse 13 again. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far off have been brought near, how? By the blood of Christ. So simple. It's so simple.
00:36:25
Speaker
He was a man named William Cowper. He had a nervous breakdown over the bar exam. He wanted to be an attorney. But whenever he got there, he just fell apart. And because his dreams were gone, he attempted suicide. After that, he was unsuccessful. They admitted him to an insane asylum. He was in there for 18 months. But while he was in there, someone gave him a copy of the scriptures. And he read Romans 3, 25.
00:36:53
Speaker
So at 33 years of age, William Calper said, yes, I believe that Jesus died on the cross as this sacrifice, a substitute for my sins so that I could be forgiven.
00:37:07
Speaker
And so then after he becomes a Christian, he moves to this place in England called Olney. Olney. To Olney, England. And there was a pastor there in Olney, England. And his name was John Newton, the guy that wrote Amazing Grace. So he and John Newton became great friends. And out of 20 years, they both were songwriters, right? John Newton writes Amazing Grace. Well, Calper also wrote a few songs. I think it was like 67.
00:37:37
Speaker
songs. But he wrote about Christ's blood, and he got it from Zechariah 13.1 in this one particular song. And here's what he said. There is a fountain drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that blood lose all their guilty stains.
00:38:00
Speaker
Have you still got stains that are on your soul, your spirit? Is it still against you, all that guilt? You know, the message of Ephesians is the same message across the New Testament. Really, if you count the prophecies across all of the Bible, Old Testament as well. And what it's saying over and over again, the same thing. You can go to Colossians, see it in Ephesians, see it everywhere. We were stuck in the domain of darkness and we couldn't get out.
00:38:29
Speaker
But Jesus came to deliver us and to transfer us into his kingdom of light.
A Call to Action: Share the Gospel
00:38:36
Speaker
At one time we were hostile, but the Lord changed that and he reconciled us. You know, each of us are traveling one of three roads this morning.
00:38:48
Speaker
And those three roads are taking you in to the heart of what God laid on my heart to share with you this morning. One possible road that you're traveling is, as you read verse 11, you remembered your life before Christ.
00:39:03
Speaker
And my guess is, if you're like me, you began to sense gratitude. Thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you for saving me through a personal relationship with Christ. Or maybe you're on a second road, verse 12, as we review the barrenness that we once experienced without Christ, you realized, I'm still there. I'm still there. I'm without Christ. And so I would call your road
00:39:31
Speaker
a road of grace, whereas our road is a road of gratitude. We've already traveled the road of grace, and so we stand back and we look at where we were, and we look at all the Lord's done for us, and we think, Lord, I'm so grateful that you saved me by your grace.
00:39:50
Speaker
But you, you were going into the message and you're looking at a road that leads to the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, and that road is called grace. And it will get you there if you will just travel that road of grace. Many of us in this room would say to you, you can trust Him. You can trust Him. He changed my life. Or it could be a third road as we went into verse 13.
00:40:20
Speaker
As you think about the grace, and you're so grateful for it, and then you read verse 13, and you think, oh my goodness, the gospel is so simple. It changed everything for me. Something so simple changed it all. Because you recognize the simplicity of the reconciliation that comes only through the blood of Christ. And you know what's happening? You're beginning to feel compassion. I'm praying that God would,
00:40:50
Speaker
Squeeze your heart to where you would say, you know what? That's not that hard. I could tell somebody over there in the darkness. I could help them get out of darkness. And maybe you've never tried to even share with one person. But 2023 could be a different beginning in your life, where you say, I'm going to travel a new road. And this road is called the road of the gospel, sharing the gospel, presenting the gospel.
00:41:17
Speaker
You'll hear this year about mission trips to Japan and to Nicaragua. You'll hear about opportunities across the street at the closed closet or in Awana or in the student ministry or in Vacation Bible School or many other things. But all I'm saying is, why don't you travel that road, the gospel road, and say, I know the truth. Others don't know it. They're still in the darkness. And here I am delighting in the Lord over here in the light.
00:41:47
Speaker
But they're still trapped. They're stuck in darkness. All it takes is them just hearing that message, just hearing that simple message of Christ and how He took their place on the cross. Let's stand together. There could be someone here today and you would say, man, I need to receive Christ today. I would love to help you to get connected to the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. It's not as complicated as you might think.
00:42:15
Speaker
So if that's the case, then I'll be standing down here to talk with you, to pray with you, but it could be you'd say, no, I just need to talk to the Lord myself. So you could stand there praying. You could come and kneel to pray. Whatever the Lord places on your heart, you just reconnect with him if you're a believer. If you're not a believer, why don't you get connected through Christ today? Lord, thank you so much.
00:42:41
Speaker
for sending your son so that we could move from the domain of darkness into the marvelous light of the kingdom of your son.
00:42:51
Speaker
What a joy. What peace. It's so exciting to be here in your presence, to start a new year together with you. But there could be some here, and they're not there yet. They're still where we were. And we're not looking down on them. We're actually wanting to assist them. And so, Father, please, I just pray that if there's anyone here today, and life is still so dark and gloomy, it's kind of that barren place, desert,
00:43:22
Speaker
It's been a long time since they've seen anything bloom in their life. I pray they would realize that it comes only through the blood of Christ as they trust you. Thank you for loving us enough that you lay down your life for us. So bless this time that we share together of invitation. Help us to pray together as a congregation for what you wanna do, not only today, but throughout 2023. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:43:53
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.