← Back to sermon library

Ephesians chapter 2, this Friday 
October 31st marks the 497th anniversary of when the Protestant 
Reformation actually kicked off. Now I think that we as North 
Americans like a particular date. We can't say the Reformation 
began on October 31st, 1517. Certainly there were many precursors 
to Martin Luther, to John Calvin, to Ulrich Zwingli, But certainly 
that is a date that we can sort of latch our minds onto. It was 
the date that that young monk, Martin Luther, nailed 95 theses 
on the castle wall at Wittenberg. and thus declared his plan, intent, 
and desire to reform the Church of Rome. Protestantism is a protest 
movement. It protests against the abuses 
of Roman Catholicism. The Reformation didn't say, or 
the Protestant reformers didn't say, that Catholicism got everything 
wrong. They certainly got things right. 
There are things that are consistent between Romanism and Protestantism 
today. We still hold to the same early 
church councils and creeds, specifically those concerning the deity of 
our Lord Jesus and the triunity of our God. But certainly what 
the Reformation sought to reform was Rome's view concerning soteriology, 
or the doctrine of salvation. So this morning, by way of exposition, 
we're going to look at Ephesians 2, verses 8 to 10. Well, note 
first the plan of salvation in verses 8 and 9, and then secondly 
the place of good works, because the charge is often made that 
if you affirm justification by faith alone, then that leads 
to licentious living, it leads to an absence of good works, 
it leads to all manner of wickedness. Well, nothing could be further 
from the truth, so it's good for us to see God's plan of salvation 
and the place or role of good works in that saving plan. Beginning 
in chapter 2 at verse 1, we'll read the entirety of the chapter 
and then pray before we look in detail at verses 8 to 10. 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 our flesh, fulfilling the desires 
of the flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature children 
of wrath, just as the others. 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, 
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 in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. 
Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who 
are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision 
made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without 
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers 
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God 
in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you 
who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of 
Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, 
and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished 
in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained 
in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the 
two, thus making peace. and that he might reconcile them 
both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to 
death the enmity. And he came and preached peace 
to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through 
him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Now therefore 
you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens 
with the saints and members of the household of God. having 
been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the 
whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple 
in the Lord. in whom you also are being built 
together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Amen." 
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we ask now for the 
ministry of Your Spirit again. We ask that You would guide us 
and illumine us as we study this plan of salvation. How we thank 
You for the grace that is so conspicuously displayed in this 
book of Ephesians. How we thank You for Your mercy. 
and your kindness, your exceeding riches of grace. We ask that 
you would cause us to reflect upon these things and to return 
worship and praise and adoration and glory unto you, our great 
God. Do forgive us now for all sin 
and anything that would darken our mind and our understanding 
and help us to take every thought captive to the obedience of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his name that we 
pray. Amen. Now, as we opened worship this 
morning, we read, or after we read Psalm 65, we sang, A Mighty 
Fortress is Our God. That's a hymn, obviously, written 
by Martin Luther. Now, on Reformation Day, we don't 
celebrate Martin Luther. Rather, we celebrate the fact 
that God Most High, in His grace, has done wondrous things, at 
a particular time period, in causing men to reflect upon that, 
and renew their vision in the purity of God's Holy Word. As 
I said, we're not here to celebrate Luther, but the grace that he 
discovered, preached, and wrote concerning. When we look at these 
reformers, however, Luther is certainly one of the most colorful 
of them all. Luther certainly is an interesting 
sort. He was not without his sin. He 
was certainly not without his blemishes. He was not without 
any imperfections, but as far as a character in history goes, 
he makes for some very interesting reading and some interesting 
study. When Luther himself heard that 
people were calling themselves Lutherans, he said, the first 
thing I ask is that people should not make use of my name and should 
not call themselves Lutherans, but Christians. What is Luther? The teaching is not mine, nor 
was I crucified for anyone. How did I, poor stinking bag 
of maggots that I am, come to the point where people call the 
children of Christ by my evil name?" So certainly he was not 
down with the fact that people were being called Lutheran. Luther 
explained his perception or his understanding of his role in 
the events of the Reformation. Again, a bit of a colorful explanation, 
but it highlights something that we need to appreciate that was 
central in terms of the Reformation. Luther said, I simply taught, 
preached, wrote God's Word. Otherwise, I did nothing. And 
then while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip and my Amsdorf, 
the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince 
or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing, the Word did 
it all." I think that is what we need 
to observe in terms of these men that God raised up in the 
16th century to call the church to reform, to protest against 
abuses, primarily in the matter of authority. It was adding to 
the Word of God. Rome was adding to it with their 
decrees and with their papal statements and declarations and 
with their authoritative tradition. And then with reference to salvation, 
it becomes so difficult. It becomes so complicated. It 
was founded upon a whole structure, an ecclesiastical structure, 
where money was involved and where all kinds of things took 
place that had nothing to do with the Pauline interpretation 
of salvation and redemption. And certainly one of the passages 
that we ought to consider in conjunction with this day, Reformation 
Day, is Ephesians 2, 8 to 10. So I mentioned we'll look first 
at the plan of salvation. We have three sub points here 
and this is where we're going to focus our energy or attention 
this morning. First, the origin of salvation, 
the triune God. Secondly, the objects of salvation, 
sinful wretches, or to use Luther's description, stinking bags of 
maggots. And thirdly, the instrument used 
in salvation, faith. I realize that when we refer 
to people as stinking bags of maggots, our delicate sensitivities 
are offended. I think in many ways the comparison 
is simply inaccurate. We as sinners are worse than 
stinking bags of maggots. You see, stinking bags of maggots 
as they wriggle around in the bag and as they reek or produce 
their smell or noxious odor, they are doing specifically what 
God made them to do. That is the reality of it. We, however, have rebelled. We, 
however, have transgressed. We have raised our fist at the 
majesty on high. So when we speak of us in comparison 
with a stinking bag of maggots, we ought to recognize that we're 
actually worse than a stinking bag of maggots. So let us proceed 
first, the origin of salvation, the triune God. We cannot miss 
the connection between chapter 2 with chapter 1. Certainly chapter 
1 precedes chapter 2 logically, chronologically, but as well 
in terms of God's theological plan, in terms of God's salvific 
plan in redeeming His people from their sin. If you go back 
to chapter 1 for just a moment, verses 3 to 14 is one long sentence. It is one sentence in Greek. 
The English versions break it up, they put some punctuation 
in there to make it a bit more readable, but 3 to 14 is one 
long sentence that celebrates the triune God of salvation. It affirms God the Father, God 
the Son, God the Spirit in the matter of the redemption of God's 
people. And then in chapter 1, beginning 
in verse 15, Paul lets the people of God in Ephesus in on his prayer 
life. And one of the things that he 
wants the people in Ephesus to recognize with reference to God 
is His exceeding great power. Notice what he says in verse 
19 of chapter 1. And what is the exceeding greatness 
of His power toward us who believe? Isn't that a comfort for the 
believer? Isn't that something that you and I should appropriate? 
Isn't that something that you and I should come to grips with? 
That we should understand something of the exceeding great power 
of God? I'm having troubles at work. I can trust that my God 
will help me. I'm having troubles with sin. 
I can trust that my powerful God will help me. I'm having 
difficulties with reference to a particular situation. I can 
trust in the exceeding power of God to see me through these 
things. Brethren, it is good for us to 
consider theology proper, to consider His omnipotence, His 
power, His majesty, His excellence, because this will fortify the 
soul. We are weak, we are destitute, 
we are feeble, we creep along, but our God certainly doesn't. 
He sees us through by His might, by His strength, by His exceeding 
greatness. And Paul wants the saints in 
Ephesus to know that power. And then Paul gives three illustrations 
of that power. How do we know God's powerful? 
First, because He raised Jesus from the dead. That's chapter 
1, 19 to the end of the chapter. Because God raised Jesus up from 
the dead, and He stationed Him at His right hand, and He gave 
Him a name which is above every name. In chapter 2, verses 1 
to 10, we know that God is powerful because He overcomes our sin. 
In the matter of individual salvation, God's power is such that He takes 
the persons described in verses 1 to 3, and in His grace and 
in His mercy, He seats them and makes them alive together with 
Christ Jesus. That is exceeding great power. If you've ever wondered if God 
is powerful, if you're a believer, look in the mirror. that He overcame 
your sin, that He dealt with your tragic ways, that He dealt 
with your iniquities and wickedness, that demonstrates that He is 
powerful. And then in verses 11 to 22, God's power is demonstrated 
in the fact that God brings together Jews and Gentiles who were formerly 
at enmity with one another, and He makes them one new man under 
Jesus Christ. That's the flow of chapters 1 
and 2. Chapter 1, 3 to 14, is a doctrinal foundation for all 
that follows. Verse 19, Paul in chapter 1 wants 
them to know what is the exceeding greatness of God's power. That 
power seen in the resurrection of Christ, that power seen in 
the salvation of sinners, that power seen in the unification 
of Jew and Gentile under the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, specifically 
back in chapter 1, at verses 3 to 14, the salvation of the 
triune God. Do you love verse 3? Blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. How many times 
have we taken verses out of Ephesians 1 or out of Romans 9 and used 
them polemically. By polemics I mean we engage 
those who are theological enemies. We go out with our texts in hand 
and we bat people over the head. I'm not necessarily against that. 
I don't mean physically bat them over the head or take your Bible. 
That's why I have a big Bible. When I swing it I really want 
to do some damage. No, that's not it. I'm talking 
metaphorically here. You know, for Paul, in chapter 
1 of Ephesians, beginning in verse 3, he's not dealing in 
polemics. He's not arguing with foes. He is not even instructing the 
saints in Ephesus. Rather, he is praising God. He 
is worshipping God. He is speaking well of God. When 
we hear the term blessed, when it's applied by God to us, it 
usually means that He gives us good things or He manifests good 
things in our lives. He makes things better for us. 
We pray for blessing. When the Bible says, blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, this means 
that we ascribe praise to Him. This means that we speak well 
of Him. This means that we worship and 
adore Him. This is a convention that's employed 
throughout the Old Testament. The Hebrew word for blessing 
is barakah. And you see this convention used. 
Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, says, bless it, be 
the Lord. And then he gives specific reasons 
why we ought to bless. David does it in Psalm 103. Bless 
the Lord, O my soul, forget not all his benefits. And then he 
indicates those benefits so that he can bless him and speak well 
of him. Paul uses this convention. Peter 
uses this convention. We ought to adopt this convention. 
In other words, we consider who God is, we consider what God 
has done, and then when we sing to Him or when we praise Him, 
it's in an informed manner. You see, Baal called his worshippers 
to forget. Baal called his worshippers to 
empty-headedness. Baal called his worshippers simply 
to experience The feeling! Yahweh calls His worshippers, 
our God and Father through His Son, the Lord Jesus, calls us 
to consider who He is, to think in terms of His beauty, to think 
in terms of His majesty, to think in terms of His glory, and then 
return praise to Him. This is Paul's emphasis in Ephesians 
1.3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
then he highlights each of the persons of the triune God, though 
he's blessing the Father in each instance. Blessed be the God 
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the work of the Father. 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for 
the work of the Son. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ for the work of the Holy Spirit. 
This is his target. He comes to the Father through 
the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit and primarily with reference 
to the Father. Notice what is ascribed to him. 
Election and predestination. just as He chose us in Him before 
the foundation of the world. You see, when we get to Ephesians 
2.8-10, which is something of a summary, really, of what Paul 
says in 2.4-7, we ought not to forget the eternal foundation 
in Ephesians 1.3-14. Why is it that by grace you have 
been saved? Because the Father elected. Because the Father predestined. Because the Father chose. You 
didn't come into this sphere because of your good deeds. You 
didn't come into this sphere because of your wisdom. You didn't 
come into this place because you made a decision for Jesus. 
You came to this place because before the foundation of the 
world, God set His affection upon you. Before the foundation 
of the world, God determined to save you. You see, this doctrine 
is offensive to some. It ought to be embraced and rejoiced 
in and delighted in. As Pink says, if God had not 
predestined some unto salvation, then every last one of us would 
be lost. That's the reality. As stinking 
bags of maggots, we cannot work our way to heaven. We cannot 
indebt God to us. He owes no man anything. It is 
simply by His sovereign good pleasure. John Gill references 
the doctrine of election, and he makes this perceptive statement 
based on what we see here in verse 4. I don't know if this 
is specifically Gill's context in terms of verse, but it certainly 
has its tap roots here. Notice in verse 4, just as he 
chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame. It doesn't say he chose us because 
we were holy and without blame. Does it? You see, so much of 
Reformed theology is just basic reading comprehension. Just taking 
the words as they stand. You see, if the opponents of 
Reformed theology were right, it would be that God chose us 
because of something He saw. That's not what the text specifies. 
The text doesn't indicate that at all. The text indicates that 
He chose in order that we would be holy and blameless. Gil says, 
election does not find men in Christ, but puts them there. Election does not find men in 
Christ, but puts them there. Praise God. Who doesn't want 
sovereign grace? Who doesn't want predestination? 
Who doesn't want the election of God Most High? You're going 
to have to take a scalpel out and start cutting away a lot 
of the scripture, because it's conspicuous. Gil says, it gives 
them a being in Him and union to Him. So the Father is praised 
primarily for election and predestination. Notice at the end of verse 4, 
we have, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. 
I take the in love going with verse 5. The idea there is in 
love having predestined us. How many times have you spoken 
the truth, the predestination to somebody, and they say, well, 
that sounds like there's just this machine out there that's 
pulling the strings. It almost sounds like the Muslim 
doctrine of fate has this blind personality involved in it. And 
that's not it at all. In love, having predestined. It's love, the foundation upon 
which that we stand. God most high, in his love, did 
these things in order for his people. Truly beautiful, the 
way that the text flows. In love, having predestined us 
to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according 
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of 
his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved. Have 
you ever noticed that if you've met somebody that have adopted 
kids, they're heroes, right? Have you ever met somebody that's 
adopted children and they said, yeah, we adopted two children 
out of that orphanage. I know that orphanages aren't 
out there anymore, but please bear with me for a moment. Do 
we ever yell at them and upbraid them and say, you should have 
adopted all the children that are in that orphanage. No, we 
never do that. They're heroes. That's an act 
of selflessness. That's love. That's kindness. That's mercy. And yet this is 
thrown in the face of God. Well, it's not fair that He didn't 
elect every single human being. No, it's absolutely wondrous 
and glorious that He elected some. Praise Him! Adore Him, say with Paul, Blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has done 
this. Notice he then goes on to praise 
the Father for the work of the Son in verse 7 specifically. He says, "...in Him we have redemption 
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches 
of His grace." You see the progression of the passage, the progression 
of salvation history. God in eternity past, purpose 
to save. God in history sends His Son, 
born in the fullness of the times, born of a woman, born under the 
law to redeem those under the law. Same thing is true in 2 
Timothy 1, verses 9 and 10. God's purpose began before time. but now has been manifested in 
the sending of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have 
that covenant of redemption wherein the Father and the Son compacted 
to save a people by the Son's redemptive activity. We have 
the covenant of works in the Garden of Eden where Adam broke 
and transgressed and because of that all in him died. we have 
the covenant of grace, we're in the Lord Jesus as the second 
Adam. The last Adam comes and does 
everything necessary for the salvation of the elect. And here 
in verse 7, Paul says, in Him we have redemption through His 
blood. You know, if you don't go to Christian churches often, 
well, I'm speaking to people who are at a Christian church. 
Remember a buddy of mine. friend in the Palmdale Church. 
He said, we had people over one day, they were not believers, 
and we sang, there is a fount filled with blood drawn from 
Emmanuel's veins. And these people that weren't 
exposed to the gospel, or that weren't brought up in Christianity, 
or didn't attend church, thought that was a bit odd. I mean, if 
you think about it, if we weren't conditioned to look favorably 
upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we were singing a 
song about a fountain open for sin and uncleanness, and it's 
drawn in Emmanuel's blood, you might think you'd have cause 
to roll your eyes and say, what is with these people? What do 
the New Testament authors emphasize again, and again, and again? It's the blood of Jesus Christ, 
His Son, We need to be cleansed. We need to be washed. We need 
to be purified. We need our sins dealt with and 
we have it in that fountain prophesied by Zechariah and filled with 
the blood of Emmanuel himself. This is what Paul says to God. 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because 
in Jesus Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness 
of sins according to the riches of His grace. See, this is cosmic, 
glorious, wondrous description of praise to our Father. And 
then dropping down in verses 13 and 14, the Holy Spirit is 
specifically referenced. In Him, Christ, you also, after 
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, 
in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy 
Spirit of promise. Isn't that beautiful? We're sealed 
with the Holy Spirit of promise. We bear the mark upon us, spiritually 
speaking. The seal isn't ultimately circumcision. The seal isn't ultimately baptism. The seal, in terms of salvation 
in Christ, is the Holy Spirit himself. And then notice what 
he goes on to say. Verse 14, "...who is the guarantee 
of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." 
How can we fall away when the Spirit who sealed us is the Spirit 
who guarantees for us? The Spirit who secures us, the 
Spirit who keeps us. How could Paul in 2 Timothy 1.12 
say, I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed 
to Him unto that great day. You see, reformed theology is 
not a construct imposed upon the scripture. It is a proper 
reading of the scripture in the plain and simple sense of the 
words given. You can't miss this. I would 
assume that it's an imposition to not see reformed theology 
on the pages of scripture. So that's connection. Notice 
the conspicuous element, or the conspicuous attribute of God 
mentioned. Now you can go specifically to 
chapter 2, verse 8. There's a bit of a sideline there. Notice in 2.8, for by grace You 
see, this is what we need to appreciate. We're not here this 
morning worshipping God Most High because of our good works. 
We're not here worshipping our God Most High because of our 
wisdom. We're here worshipping our God 
Most High because of His grace. This is the determining factor. 
This is the issue. Salvation of God flows from the 
grace of God. The grace of God is conspicuous 
in chapter 1, it is mentioned in verses 6 and 7, but it's certainly 
the backdrop for all of God's dealings in verses 3 to 14. Notice in chapter 2 at verse 
7, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches 
of His grace. Do you understand that? The exceeding 
riches of His grace. This is why we sang 600 this 
morning. It's not till then that we'll 
fully know. It's not till then that we'll 
completely comprehend. I mean, we have an understanding 
in an inkling now, a stinking bag of maggots and now a worshiper 
of God. Certainly the grace of God has 
been manifested and is predominantly on display for us to stand in 
awe of. But we haven't fully embraced 
it. There is in our heart of hearts 
something deep down that thinks, well, he did owe us. I mean, it's us, right? He did 
owe me, because after all, I'm me. Maybe that's not something you 
struggle with. Maybe pride is an enemy that 
you deal with repetitiously. You know, brethren, there are 
some believers out there, some Christians that struggle with 
pride until their dying day. Do you realize? The devil may 
take a day off and not harass you. The world may shut down 
for a day and not harass you. I know you can't conceive of 
that, but think power grid. Think the end of the power grid 
and what would happen to Western civilization. The world shut 
down! What enemy is constantly there? 
When you're swimming that River Jordan, you're getting closer 
to Emmanuel's land, what enemy is still there? It's that on-board 
enemy. It's that resident enemy. It is your own remaining corruption. We do not fully appreciate yet 
the grace of God manifested to us in the Lord Jesus Christ because 
of that remaining corruption. Certainly we sing our hymns, 
certainly we read the scriptures, certainly we theologize and we 
discuss, and in good times we say, man, that grace is amazing. There are times and seasons we 
break out in Newton's song, Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound, that 
saved a wretch like me. But I don't think we fully appreciate 
it, how holy and good and glorious God is, and how wretched and 
bad and evil we really are. This is what Paul's emphasis 
is in verse 7. That in the ages to come, He 
might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness 
toward us in Christ Jesus. Do you see what God is doing 
in the church? What God is going to do subsequent 
in the eschaton? He's going to display that exceeding 
riches of His kindness, of His graciousness to us. We stand 
before that throne and we've been there 10,000 years. We've 
no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. And 
then verses 8 and 9 specifically summarize this whole thing. Four, 
by grace you've been saved. Grace. Unmerited favor. Something you did not work for. 
Something you could not earn. Something you could not demand 
from God. He is no man's debtor. He doesn't 
owe you anything. He's not obliged to give you 
anything. Forgiveness of sins flows out 
of His grace. Forgiveness of sins flows out 
of His mercy. Adoption and predestination unto 
sons by Jesus Christ flows out of His love. We have no demand 
upon God, for by grace you've been saved." This is the Apostle's 
emphasis. The word used is a perfect passive-partisan. I don't want to confuse anybody, 
but this is a great word. It's perfect. That means something 
happened in the past and it has abiding results for us now. And 
it's a passive. That means God saved us. By grace, 
you have been saved. Not by grace, you saved yourselves. Not by grace, you participated 
in your salvation. Not by grace, you contributed 
30% to Jesus, 70%. But for by grace, you have been saved. This idea that our works mingled 
with faith in Jesus in order to get the 100% salvation is 
wrong. It is solely and alone by the 
grace of God. Paul takes pains to explain that 
no works are introduced into the concept. No works come into 
play. This was at the heart of the 
Protestant Reformation in terms of soteriology. Rome taught a 
mingling of faith in Christ and works. You see, Rome does not 
deny grace. Rome does not deny faith. They 
simply do not. There's nobody that I know that's 
a strict legalist that says it's, well, Pelagians, but it's by 
my works that I can gain and garner favor with God. Even the 
Judaizers didn't do that. The Judaizers mingled faith with 
Christ, plus works of the law, in order to be saved. Rome does 
the same thing. Faith in Christ, because of God's 
grace, but our works too, to complete the package. Paul is 
conspicuous. For by grace you have been saved. not for by grace plus a mingling 
of your works, not for by grace plus a little bit of your effort. 
Brethren, if you think for a moment that you stand based on what 
you've done, even to the smallest degree, you've misunderstood 
the Bible. Abraham believed God and it was 
reckoned under righteousness for him. If Abraham did something, 
he'd have cause to boast before God. Romans 4, 1-4. But Paul says, not before God. What's the implication? Abraham 
can't boast. Abraham can't take any credit. 
Brethren, it is grace. This is what brings us together. 
This is what brings commonality to us. This is why old people 
and young people and white people and black people and all kinds 
of people find solidarity. It's not because we stumbled 
onto the way for people to deal with one another, it's because 
Christ was crucified and rose again to bring us together based 
on God's grace. For by grace you have been saved. Now notice, we've looked at the 
origin of salvation, let's look secondly at the objects of salvation. What he says, for by grace you 
have been saved. Who's the you there? Oh, well 
these were the people that grew up in the church. These were 
the people that grew up in the synagogue. These were the people 
that had their pencil in their pocket, and they wore their tie, 
and they had the El Martin tape in their pocket, and they were 
Reformed Baptist poster boys and girls. No. Who's the you 
in our verse? The you in our verse are those 
first in union with Christ. Notice our election is in Christ 
in Ephesians 1. He chose us in Him. Nothing God 
does toward us is apart from the mediation of our Lord Jesus. Secondly, the us is found in 
verses 1 to 3 in chapter 2. Look at what Paul says. Now think, 
stinking bag of maggots. Which is better? The stinking 
bag of maggots are the men described in chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. You 
know, stinking bags of maggots don't commit abortion. Stinking 
bags of maggots don't put on ski masks and take, you know, 
Uzi's and go into liquor stores and gun men down for 20 bucks. Stinking bags of maggots don't 
beat their wives. They don't abuse their children. 
Who's really bad in this world? It's man. What's the problem? Consistently, in every age, it's 
sin. The social engineers want to 
explain it away. No, it's because of money. People 
in an absence of money will do horrible things. I remember years 
ago in LA, Beverly Hills specifically, two men shot their parents' heads 
off. That wasn't because they didn't 
have money. They had nothing but money. Why does a man run 
at the Parliament building? Well, because he was changed 
and became a jihadist. Yeah, that's certainly an event 
or an effect. What's the fundamental cause? 
Sin. Solomon was absolutely right. 
The quicker we appreciate this, the better off we're going to 
be. God made man upright. They sought out many devices. 
You may not run upon the parliament building singing or praising 
Allah. that all of us consistently have 
sinned against God. This is what makes 2.8-10 so 
amazing, so wondrous. This is why we sing with Newton, 
amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I remember hearing that sometimes 
in modern hymnals, you know that hymn that we sing, would he devote 
that sacred head for such a worm as I. That's offensive today. So in modern hymnals, they change 
it from worm to sinner. They've changed it from bad to 
worse. Worms are better than sinners. 
Worms don't rebel against God. Worms don't abort their baby 
worms. Worms don't smoke crack and go 
out and rape people. Sinners do that. You see, if 
you miss total depravity, if you miss 1 to 3, 4 to 8 don't 
dazzle the mind as much. If you see sin as a little bit 
of a problem, then 4 to 8 might be a little bit of a solution. 
But when you feel the impact and the significance of what 
Paul says in verses 1 to 3, and then when he shifts directions 
in verse 4 and says, You say, with Him, yes, but God, He delivered 
us, He freed us, He saved us, He redeemed us, He freed us, 
and the us is described very clearly. Notice in verse 1, and 
you, He made alive His supply, and it's not a bad supply there, 
we'll take it for now. And you, He made alive who were 
dead in trespasses and sins. You see, praise God for Reformed 
Theology, because Reformed Theology teaches that the sovereign God, 
who has almighty power, is able to give life to the dead. We 
don't preach. To near-dead people, rise up 
and take Jesus as your Lord and Savior. We preach the gospel, 
the gospel of the facts relative to the Lord Jesus, His life, 
His death, His resurrection. And we preach those facts and 
we preach that gospel and we urge men to believe, trusting 
not in their power to believe, but trusting in the power of 
God Most High to make them willing in the day of His power and to 
bring them to the Lord Christ. Notice, dead in trespasses and 
sins. You see amazing grace standing 
in this spotlight. Makes sense, doesn't it? We don't 
need amazing grace if we're not dead in our trespasses and sins. 
We need grace, we need help, we need a little bit of assistance, 
but we don't need amazing grace because there's something in 
us that can claw our way out of those graves and start making 
a move to the Lord Jesus. But that's not what the scripture 
says. We're dead. Do you realize that before you 
came to the Lord Jesus Christ you were dead in your trespasses 
and sins? Why are you alive now? Is that because of you? Is that 
goodness in your heart? Was that wisdom on your part? 
Was that your ability? No, it's amazing grace! That 
is secondly, 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. This 
is the way we walked. This was our orientation. This 
is why it's so offensive as Christians, as believers, our walk sort of 
looks like this from time to time. We mustn't imitate this. We mustn't be like this. We mustn't 
walk according to the course of this world. Notice thirdly, 
he says, among whom also we. This is Paul. Paul's not saying, 
you wretches, you stinking bag of maggots. No, Paul says, among 
whom also we. Paul himself includes himself. 
What was Paul doing in his conversion or at the time of his conversion? 
Was he going to Bible study? Was he going to preach the gospel? 
Was he going to a prayer meeting? No, he was going to kill Christians. 
He was going to kill Asia Bibi. He was going to kill Saeed Abedini. He was going to kill people who 
professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Paul was 
doing when he came to Jesus. Or better yet, when Jesus came 
to him. You see, Paul never forgot that. 
James Stocker said, Paul's theology is nothing else but the explication 
of his own conversion. Paul's theology is nothing else 
than the explication or explanation of his conversion. He was a dead 
man seeking to destroy physically those who confess the good faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. On that road to Damascus, Christ 
comes to him. Christ saves him. Christ gives 
him a new heart. Christ gives him faith and repentance. 
Christ enables Paul to close with the Lord Jesus. He knew 
it wasn't his works. He knew it wasn't because he 
was seeking God. He knew it wasn't because he 
was a nice upstanding man. He knew it was because God Most 
High is full of grace, rich in mercy, and abounds in loving 
kindness. among whom also we all once conducted 
ourselves in the lust of our flesh." And notice the completeness 
or the totality of depravity, fulfilling the desires of the 
flesh and of the mind. You might say today, well I've 
never actually committed adultery, but you've probably had the thought 
in your head before. I've never bowed the knee to 
Baal, but in your mind and in your heart you have. I've never 
gone and actually committed murder, but in your heart, or mind, you 
have." You see, didn't Jesus teach us that that's how the 
law works? But I tell you, whoever looks upon a woman to lust has 
broken the commandment. Whoever says, fool, or raka, 
is broken the commandment. I've been musing recently. I know that I share my struggles 
in terms of patience on the road. I often feel like I'm one red 
light from a psychotic episode. I need to get a better handle 
on that. That's not righteous. It's not their fault if they 
cut me off, or it's not that they're against me. My wife says, 
do you think people wake up in the morning and say, Jim Butler's 
driving today. We need to go cut him off. In 
my worse moments, I think that's the case. But no, it's not. So there's evil in there. This 
is Christian. Look at what Paul describes here. 
In Psalm he says we're lifeless. Lifeless. You being dead in your 
trespasses and sins. Helpless. Can a corpse raise 
themselves? Can a man make himself alive 
once he's dead? No. Therefore we are hopeless. Chapter 2, verse 4, But God rings 
so blessedly wonderful because of what precedes it in verses 
1 to 3. Notice thirdly, the instrument 
used in salvation, faith. Verse 8, "...for by grace you 
have been saved through faith." Notice what Paul does not write. Paul does not write, "...for 
by grace you have been saved because of faith." That is simply 
not the way you ought to translate the words. Again, for those who 
are actually tracking in terms of the grammar, it is the preposition 
dia with a genitive. When dia is used with the genitive, 
it is through. If dia was with an accusative, 
it would be because. You see, the idea is not because 
of your faith. I have faith, therefore God showed 
me grace. Doesn't our confession make this 
conspicuous? Chapter 11, paragraph 1, those 
whom God affectionately calls, He also freely justifies, not 
by infusing righteousness unto them, that's Roman Catholicism, 
or into them, but by pardoning their sins and by accounting 
and accepting their persons as righteous, not for anything wrought 
in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone, not 
by imputing faith itself, You see, the confessional authors 
are simply making this distinction. It's not the faith that brings 
the salvation in terms of causal. Faith is the instrument that 
brings us into this blessed sphere. It's not on account of, wow, 
if you just believe, then God will save you. No, God saves 
you, and one of the manifestations of that salvation is that He 
gives you the gift of faith, that instrument by which you 
are joined savingly to the Lord Jesus. The confession goes on 
to say, not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, 
or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness, 
but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law 
and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole 
righteousness by faith, which faith they have not of themselves, 
it is the gift of God. Notice in Ephesians 2 verse 8, 
for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of 
yourselves it is the gift of God. If you read any of the theological 
literature, you look at the debates between reformed people and non-reformed 
people, this is a text that's often debated. They say, well 
wait a minute, that can't refer to faith. That cannot refer to 
faith and the technical reason for that is that the pronoun 
is a neuter and faith is a feminine. You have to have agreement in 
the Greek language. The idea being that if it was 
faith then that would be a feminine pronoun. The way the verse is 
supposed to be understood is that the concept or the complex 
of events are being referred to by that. So let me explain 
it. For by grace you have been saved 
through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift 
of God. That refers to the grace through 
faith salvation. The grace through faith salvation. That is not of yourselves. What does that mean? That is 
not of yourselves. It doesn't originate with you. 
It hasn't become as a result of you It results because of 
God. For by grace you've been saved 
through faith and that, this grace through faith, salvation, 
is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. God gives this gift 
freely and wonderfully to those described in verses 1 to 3 because 
of his predestinating work in chapter 1 verses 3 to 6. That's what that is all about. John Murray says, with reference 
to faith versus works, he says faith is self-renouncing. Works are self-congratulatory. Faith looks to what God does. Works have respect to what we 
are. And Paul makes it clear that 
it's not by works. After making this statement in 
verse 8, it is the gift of God. He further qualifies by giving 
a negative statement in verse 9. Not of works, lest anyone 
should boast. You see, Paul shuts the door 
on anybody or anything or anybody saying, well, wait a minute, 
it was me, or wait a minute, I did contribute, or wait a minute, 
I was a good guy or a good girl. No, it's not of works. Not at 
all. Not in the least. Not to the 
smallest iota. Why? Because if it was, you would 
have wherewithal to boast before God. You see, we are that way. If we can get credit, we'll get 
credit. Again, maybe that's not your 
sin. Maybe you're just the humblest sort in the world, but if somebody 
were to congratulate the person standing next to you for something 
you did, or something you participated in, would you or would you not 
offer that information? Again, you may be holy, and godly, 
and righteous, and you should teach Bible studies on how to 
pursue humility. Most of the people I know, at 
least the guy I know the best, wait a minute, I did that! We want credit! We like credit! We want people to think well 
of us. Paul says, not in the matter 
of salvation, You ever displayed or exhibited your testimony in 
a way that makes you sound good? Yeah, and then I went here and 
I did that and I went, no. It is God's grace, man. The fact 
that I'm not dead in my trespasses and sins wearing hockey masks 
and going out and robbing liquor stores is because God's gracious. 
Wearing hockey masks and robbing liquor stores are no worse than 
being a self-righteous Pharisee boasting in their ability and 
in their state before God based on their own performance. Paul excludes works. Not of works lest anyone should 
boast. The Scripture everywhere highlights 
this. Genesis 15, I've already referred to. Romans 3, 28. Romans 
4, 1-4. Romans 9, 11. Galatians 2, 16. 
We read it in 2 Timothy 1 this morning. Titus chapter 3, verse 
5. That Rome missed this is extremely 
unfortunate because the Apostle Paul himself excludes as a reason 
for salvation any notion or any whiff whatsoever of our works 
or of our contribution. I think it was Luther who said 
the only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin we 
need to be saved from. That's appropriate. That's what 
Paul is asserting. Well, we'll end there, take up 
the good works perhaps this evening. We ought to observe first the 
clarity of what we do call reform doctrine. You've perhaps heard 
those solas of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria, 
Sola Christo, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide. Basically what we have 
in this passage is a clear admission or a clear confirmation or affirmation 
of those very things. It's by grace alone, that's taught 
us by verse 9, not of works. So it's by grace alone, through 
faith alone. He doesn't say through faith 
plus a little bit of your works. In Christ alone, for the glory 
of God alone, as revealed to us in the scripture alone. You 
see, it's not hard to find those sullas in the Bible. They are 
absolutely crystal clear, and we ought to appreciate the reality 
that by the grace of God, we've not only been called out of darkness 
into marvelous light, but we've been called into a rich heritage, 
brethren, a very rich theological heritage. I wonder if we oftentimes 
muse on that or understand that and delight in it as we ought. 
I mean, there is a blessing that we have. We're not wingnuts on 
the pages of history doing some brand new thing. We owe our Christology 
in large part to the early church. We owe our Soteriology and our 
Ecclesiology in large part to the Reformation and Puritan church. 
We stand on the shoulders of giants. We ought to praise God 
for that. It is a blessing. It is good 
to be hedged in. It is good to have a confession 
of faith. We don't look at it on the same terms as Scripture. 
We need to always qualify that, but it is a summary statement 
of those things most surely believed among us. They keep us from excess. They keep us from going astray. 
They keep us from wandering doctrinally away from our Great Shepherd. 
Secondly, We ought to appreciate in this passage, and in many 
passages, the amazing grace of God. But God. Chapter 2, verse 4. Martin Lloyd-Jones 
has a sermon, a whole sermon, on those two words. But God. I'm sure if you do a Google search, 
Martin Lloyd-Jones on Ephesians 2, 4, you can find it. But God. See, when I read that, and I 
understand that, and I hear that, I think about those Old Testament 
passages where we get similar but gods. We get God telling 
Israel that they should be punished, that Israel should be condemned, 
that Israel should suffer as a result of her covenant breaking. 
Nevertheless, God says, I will make a new covenant with the 
house of Israel. God is merciful. God is gracious. God is glorious. And in this 
context, Paul uses this as a means by which to bless Him and to 
praise Him and to honor Him and to worship Him. And we must do 
likewise. Mentioned before, the threefold 
sort of breakdown of the Heidelberg Catechism. You've got guilt, 
grace, and gratitude. We ought to respond in gratitude 
to God. When we come here on Sunday morning, 
as tired as we may be, wipe out all the sleep from your eyes, 
pick up the hymnal, listen to the Word of God, and return praise 
to Him. He has saved us. For by grace 
you've been saved through faith. For by grace you've been saved 
through faith, that not of yourselves, that whole complex of events 
has been given to you by God most high. It's not of works 
lest you should boast. Let's praise God from whom all 
blessings flow. And may these things humble us. 
May these things cause us to be humble before God." I know, 
and in my preaching at times I can be critical, and I apologize 
for that. I mean, we ought to take seriously the desire to 
pursue theological accuracy. You know, I acknowledge, and 
I want to hear embrace and state, people aren't saved for their 
theological accuracy. People outside of our church 
are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus 
alone. Not whether they carry a 1689 Confession. We need to 
be genuinely Catholic. We need to be genuinely loving. 
We need to be genuinely kind, and gracious, and humble before 
God, and humble before men. What do we have that we did not 
receive? We didn't come out of the womb 
clutching our Confession. We didn't come out of the womb 
clutching our New King James Version. We didn't come out of 
the womb clutching Lewis Burkhardt. It simply wasn't the case. God, 
in His grace and in His mercy, has given us those things. My 
hope and prayer, at least for my life, is that this doctrine 
will humble me. I'm way too proud. Way too proud. As well, we need to understand 
that in Christ, in Jesus, is life and immortality. In Christ is salvation. You may be here this morning 
and you may have problems with predestination. You may have 
problems with election. You may not be able to sort it 
all out in your head. You may have curiosities concerning 
the order of decrees, the order of this, the order of that. This 
much you need to hear. This much you need to get crystal 
clear. You need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You need 
to look to Him and live. Kids, young people, children. 
Everything depends upon Christ. The Gospel is about Christ. It's 
about His life, His death, His resurrection. The Scripture is 
very clear. All those who believe in Him 
will have everlasting life. You say, what if I'm not predestined 
or what if I'm not elect? Believe on Him. Come to Christ. Look and live. Do not use the 
doctrines of predestination and election to continue in sin, 
to continue in rebellion, to say, well, I can't sort it all 
out. I can't piece it together. I've looked on my body. I've 
spot the back of my head. There's no elector. There's no 
predestined. I don't bear a tattoo. Just look 
to Christ. Men will hide behind anything 
to try and justify their sin. Beware of hiding behind good, 
solid, reformed theology to justify your sin. Well, I don't know 
about predestination. You don't need to know about 
that right now. You need to know there is a fountain filled. A fountain for sin and uncleanness. And that fountain is filled with 
blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Sinners plunge beneath that flood. lose all their guilty stains. 
That's the bottom line. Believe, look to Christ, and 
you will be saved. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for your word, and we thank you for your grace. We thank 
you for the mercy that is displayed so clearly in passages such as 
these. I ask God that you would help 
us to receive these things with thanksgiving, help us to return 
to you praise and glory and worship and honor and adoration. And 
I pray that you would deal graciously and savingly with any and all 
outside of Christ this morning. I pray they by grace would believe, 
they by grace would know the joy of being found in Jesus Christ. 
And our Father, we pray that wherever the gospel is preached 
today, it would run swiftly and be glorified, that you'd send 
revival to your people and awakening to those who are dead in their 
trespasses and sins. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over us on this Lord's Day, help us to use the 
day profitably, and bring us together tonight that we may 
worship you together. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.