The Good News of Salvation

Very good, brothers and sisters. As I said, our focus is there on verse four, where the apostle says, By God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace, you have been saved. I want us to consider this good news of salvation by grace. There is a message of good news here, which is, of course, the gospel. And that message of good news is for salvation, and that salvation is given to us by grace, the grace of the Lord.

Let us read together the first 10 verses of chapter two. May the Lord help us even speaking to us as we read these verses. This is the word of the Lord. Ephesians chapter two verse one and you And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind, but God Being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. so that in the coming ages He may show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Amen. This is the reading of God's Word. And as I said, I want us to consider this afternoon the good news of salvation by grace. And from the very onset of this message, I'm going to submit to you, brethren, that the greatest salvation or the better, the greatest blessing that a person can receive in this life is salvation that comes from above. As Brother Joshua was praying and explaining there, salvation is the greatest blessing that a person can receive in this life.

Nothing compares with salvation. You may have You may have lots of money. You may have lots of power. You may have lots of reputation. You may have many people around you.

You may have properties and different things to your name. But if you do not have salvation that comes from above by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have nothing. nothing. Salvation is the greatest blessing that a person can receive. And when I say salvation, I mean that we are all dead in our sins and our trespasses by nature.

I mean that we are all sinners. I mean that we are all of God's commandments, but in His mercy, God sent His Son to die upon the cross so that those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ, they can not only be forgiven of their sins, but they can be adopted into the family of God. They can be saved from their sins. They can be saved from the judgment that is to come. They can be saved from the wrath of God that falls upon the unrepentant sinner.

and they can be saved from eternal death. Nothing compares to salvation that is received by grace as a gift that comes from above. As I said, you can have much money in your bank account. If your name is not written in the Book of the Lamb of God that gives eternal life, then you have nothing. that day will come in which all of your possessions will pass away and you will have to give an account before the Lord and the books will be open and none of the millions of hundreds of thousands or thousands of dollars that you may have in your bank account will do anything to make you accepted in heaven because salvation is not by what you do but because of what God has done, not even power or reputation of people around you, even if you give your life entirely to accumulate friendships and networks and connections of such a people that are praised in the eyes of the world, that have some level of reputation in the eyes of the world.

And if you arrive to that day, being a friend of all the powerful people in this world, but not being a friend of God by grace through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone, then none of those people will be able to make a case for you so that you will be accepted into the heavenly places. Only the grace of God is the one that makes a person accepted in the eyes of God. None of your power, none of your friends, none of the things that we have accumulated in this world can actually buy our way into the presence of God. And that's why salvation by grace is the greatest blessing that a person can receive. Because even If you do not have any of the worldly pursuits of this planet, of this world, money and power and reputation of accolades, even if you have zero dollars to your name, even if you have zero people that will give and support you, even if we have zero reputation or zero power, even if you have zero to your name, but If your name is written in the book of life, and if you're friends with God through the grace of God, then you have it all.

And the sufferings of this present time will never compare with the glory that is going to be revealed for those who have received the good news of salvation that comes by grace alone. And then, of course, someone then might ask, how can I obtain that salvation? Where is that salvation found? Where is that glorious blessing? Where is that that can be found that is greater than possessions and greater than power and greater than friendship?

Well, that is found only in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this world to die upon the cross, that we can be forgiven and irrespectively of the things that happen to us in this present world, that we may have the certainty and the assurance that we belong to the Creator of this world, to the Redeemer of this world, purely by grace. And you may say, well, brother, well, You know, Nelson, I've heard many different people saying that salvation is obtained in many different ways. I've heard people that say that salvation is just simply to pray this prayer. And if you pray this sinner's prayer, that everything is all good. Everything has been fixed.

Everything is all good. And now I am a Christian because I pray this prayer. And now I have just put my name in the back of my Bible. After praying this prayer, I know that now I have this greatest gift that God gives. You may say, perhaps, well, I've heard that some people say that the way that you obtain these good news of this salvation by grace is just by being attending a church and just belonging to a Christian community.

And I've heard that if you just simply go to church and you do these things and you belong to a group of people, then you can call yourself a Christian. And that would be even though maybe present in the experience of salvation. Let me submit to you that salvation is much more greater or much greater than something that we do or something that is seen in our lives. Salvation is primarily something that God does to us by His grace and by His power. And when He does so to us, then there is a dramatic change.

And that is the message that Paul explained to us here in these six verses of Ephesians chapter two. He gives us an insight into what it is, this true salvation that is by grace, this greatest blessing. that a person can have of salvation by grace. And the words that we have before us will be just simply words if we do not ask ourselves that question or this question, and that is, do you have this great blessing of salvation by grace? As you're seated there in your chair, can you testify before the Lord, not before men, not before me, not before the person that is seated next to you?

Can you confirm and testify that you have been a recipient of this good news of salvation by grace? Is your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life? That when you die, whether tonight, in five years, in 10 or 20, and you have an encounter with God, none of your possessions will matter. None of the things that you've done will matter. None of your accomplishment will matter.

But the only thing that will matter is if your name is written in that book. Can we say, can you say now before the Lord, not before men, that you have been a recipient of that salvation by grace? Because the exposition of God's Word is nothing other than feeding the brain and feet, or just the anger, or better, the desire to receive information, if the Word of God is not a reality in the heart of that person. person. We don't only want to understand God and his ways, but we also want those ways to be true in our heart.

And this is what apostle addresses here, as I said, in verses one through six, this great blessing of the good news of salvation by grace. And there's a couple of things that we learn even from the onset there in verse four. In verse four, we can see three important characteristics of this salvation that is by grace. The first one, if you pay attention to verse four, is that this Good news of salvation by grace is an act of God, and it is not an act of men. It says very clearly there in verse 4, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead during our trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ.

Biblical salvation is something that God does And not something that we do, it's the act of God in bringing this salvation to the person. The apostle makes it even more clear in that famous verse, in verse 8, he says, for by grace, in verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. Biblical salvation is the act of God in which His grace is applied to the sinner so that the sinner will be forgiven, redeemed, and made the child of God. This means, very clearly, that salvation cannot be obtained by man him or herself.

There's nothing that we can do in and of ourselves to save us. We are dead in our sins and our trespasses. This is verse one. And hence we do not have the power to save ourselves. Why?

Because salvation is of the Lord. The church, even though the church is a good community for us to come and to learn the things of God and to receive the word of God and to leave those things one with another. The church does not have the power to save a person. Only God is the only one who has the power to bring salvation to a person. Religion or tradition or history does not have the power in and of itself to bring salvation to a person.

Why? Because salvation is primarily the act of God in which, because of what Jesus Christ has done upon the cross, His grace comes to the sinner, and this sinner that was dead in his sins and trespasses now is made alive together with the person of Jesus Christ. And if this work is not the work of men, and it's not the work of the church, but is the work of God, then we know that this is spiritual. in nature. Is your mindset and worldview going to change when it comes to the things of God?

Of course, it's going to change. But biblical salvation is much more than a change of mind or a change of opinion in relation to the things of the Lord, because God is the one who saves. God is the one who transforms. And that's why we find in the scriptures that once a person has been saved, that person becomes a new creature. All things have passed away.

Behold, all things have been made new. Why? Because biblical salvation, the good news of this gift that is by grace, is that God is the one who does this unto us. Second thing that we learned there from verse 2 is not only that God is the one that does salvation, that initiates salvation, or the one who saves, but we also know there from verse 4 that salvation is an act of mercy. If you see there in verse 4, it says, but God, the one who saves, being rich in mercy.

Salvation is not only God's doing, but salvation is also an act of mercy. And mercy, generally speaking, of course, is to give a person or not to give a person what they actually deserve. If there's a person who has broken or committed a crime, then that person deserves to be punished because of that crime. Mercy is not to give that person what they deserve. And while mercy tells us here a lot about the character of God, that He's loving, that He's gracious, of course, that he's merciful.

This verse here tells us also about the nature of salvation. That salvation is the act of God in which God, by his grace, deals with the sin that we have committed. Because God can be merciful towards us only if we are in need of mercy. And in this case, if we are sinners. So while mercy tells us a lot about the glorious character of God, His mercy also tells us about the focus of salvation, and that is that salvation deals with the problem of sin.

And that is very important to say and to affirm and to uphold, because we live in times in which people say that to be a Christian, it is to come to church, to have a good life, and then just to improve your financial life, and then to improve your relationships, and that things will fall into place, or that you become a friend of God, and that God now is on your side, and that you can speak to God as your best friend, and that he's going to give you advice and counsel in difficult moments. But the focus of the gospel is the sin that we have committed. Yes, it is true that Jesus Christ is our friend. Yes, it is true that he is our Lord and guides us, the center of the gospel and of salvation. Brethren, it is that we are saved from our sins, that we have broken God's commandments, that we have broken God's law.

And because of that, we are sinners. And because we are sinners, salvation is an act of mercy in which God does not give us what we deserve, eternal hell, but he gives us his mercy because the scriptures very clearly says that mercy triumphs over judgment. In the gospel, we see the triumphant work of mercy over judgment. This mercy tells me that the center of the gospel is that I am a sinner and that God has sent his son to die upon the cross to solve the problem of my sin. So when I come to Christ, I do not come to Christ in pursuit or seeking a friend.

I do not come to Christ in pursuit of someone that might fulfill the emptiness that other people have not filled. When I come to Christ, I do not come to Christ seeking someone that is going to be there because everyone has failed, or seeking someone that might give me advice, or that might speak the things that I want to hear. When I come to Christ, I come as a sinner who has realized of his and her sin because of the Spirit of God. And now we know that because of this sin, I deserve hell. I deserve the wrath of God upon myself.

But the mercy of God has been so good and sweet. and perfect, that He sent His Son to die upon the cross, to take my place, so that I will not receive what I deserve, that is God's judgment upon me, but I will be a recipient of God's mercy. Biblical salvation, it is the act of God. in which his mercy is given to the sinner instead of the judgment that he or she deserves. This is an act not only of the sovereign will of God and the eternal mercy of God, but also as we have there in verse four, this is an act of the love of God.

He says there in verse four, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Salvation, biblical salvation, the salvation of the Christian is an act of God that is an act of his mercy, but it's also an act of his love. And just as mercy informs us about the character of God and the needs of the sinner, also the love of God informs us of the character of God, whom we know is love, 1 John chapter 4, but also informs us of the nature of salvation. What does the love of God mean? in my salvation?"

Of course, it means that for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. But what does this manifestation of God's love mean? Or what is the application of that to me? The word or the answer to that is reconciliation. The love of God, the one that he has had for his people in the person of Jesus Christ, it speaks, yes, of his character and disposition towards the sinner, but also speaks about very important matter, the matter of reconciliation, love, is the necessity or the component that is required for God to be reconciled with the sinner who is a recipient of his mercy, who has broken his commandments.

Paul makes this very clear in Romans chapter five. If you come with me in which love is drastically, very strongly connected with this idea of reconciliation, it says in Romans chapter five from verse six through verse 11. Romans chapter five from verse six through 11. For a while, we were still weak. For a while, we were still weak.

At the right time, Romans 5, 6. For a while, we were still weak. At the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For no one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God chose to demonstrate his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Once again, verse 8. But God shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The love of God manifested in the gospel. It is the component of God's character that shows me not only that I was a sinner, but by being a sinner, I was an enemy of God. And by being an enemy of God, I was not in terms of peace with God. But rather, I was under the wrath of God. And while the wrath of God might not be displayed outside with thunders and things that are falling from heaven towards my sinful corruption, the wrath of God is clearly manifested that if he does not come, And if He does not save me by His grace, and if He gives me over to the passions of this heart, then I will accumulate enough crime and sin that on that day I will be shut, my mouth will be closed, and I will not have any excuse before God who has revealed Himself entirely In all things that I see, and in the proclamation of the gospel, the love of God shows the intention of God in reconciling the one who was an enemy and making that person a friend of God.

Why? Because in this type of reconciliation, the greatest measure of love is revealed. Who would be so crazy to go and take a person who is their enemy and not only forgive them but make them part of their life when there is no merit in them? Who will dare to take a person who has broken all commandments and who has broken all the statutes and who has been a clear rebel against you, who will be so crazy to come and bestow upon that person not only the blessing of forgiveness, but also reconciling to that person? Well, no human being will do that for sure.

The only one who will do that is God by his grace in the person of Jesus Christ, because in that reconciliation, we see the greatest manifestation of love, that the one that is holy and perfect and abides in the highest places has come down to visit the one that is in the lowest places, the sinner who deserves the fullness of his wrath. And instead of giving them the judgment that they deserve, He comes and not only comes to rescue them, but He gives His most precious possession, His Son, whom He loves. And eternally, He gives His Son, the object of His love, so that this Son, whom He loves, the Father, will be put into the cross, on the cross, to die for this person that abides in the lowest places, sold down by this son, dying on behalf of that person who deserves punishment, this person will be receiving not only a forgiveness, brethren, but also the blessing of salvation and acceptance and reconciliation. Love is the greatest, love is manifested in the greatest way in the reconciliation that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason, we can say that there is no greater love that a person can have than the love that God has had for His people in sending His Son to die for them.

Biblical salvation, Ephesians 2, verse 4, is the act of God in which In His grace, He manifests and gives mercy to the sinner instead of the judgment that they deserve. And this is a manifestation of the love that He has for them in the person of Jesus Christ with the purpose of reconciling the sinners to Him so that He will be known the justifier of the sinner, but that He will receive all the praise and all the glory when all things and all books are going to be opened. Biblical salvation! It is not only to enter through the doors of a church, brethren. Salvation is not only to say that I'm a Christian from time to time.

Biblical salvation is not just remember Jesus before I eat and then just give a 10 seconds prayer. Biblical salvation is not to say that I'm a Christian when my friends ask me, I haven't done or anything that is Christian, but I'm going to say that I'm a Christian. Biblical salvation is not having been born into a Christian family through certain traditions and not just because my parents were these, and my family were these, I'm also part of that. Biblical salvation. He's the divine work of God, in which by His grace, He gives the mercy to the sinner instead of the judgment that they deserve.

And this is a manifestation of the reconciling love of God that is seen in the person of Jesus Christ. Someone may ask, how do I know if I have this? I agree with what you say. I agree with the description that has been given. But how do I know if I have such a salvation with me?

How do I know if I'm not one of those people that fill their mouths with information and things about Christ? but they don't have the substance, the spiritual substance in their hearts. How do I know? Someone may ask. Well, the apostle in a brilliant way has given us the answer with three important things in Ephesians chapter two, verses one through six.

If you see, and if you pay attention there to the text, you will see verse 4 is positioned in a very interesting way, not only obviously between 1 and 3 and 5 and 6, but also here what the apostle is doing is that he's telling us from verses 1 through 3, three realities of who we are by nature, And how those realities that we are by nature versus one through three change when we receive this grace of salvation that comes from God. He gives us the three realities that changes. They're a little bit difficult to see, but let us just see them there together. The first one is that by nature or before Christ Jesus, the person is spiritually dead. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.

You were dead. Speaking about the spiritual life, that is, that before Christ Jesus, we were spiritually dead. But this is going to change from spiritually dead to spiritually alive. Pay attention to verse 4. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, which we have already expounded, verse 5, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

Reality number one, how do I know if I'm a recipient of this biblical grace? How do I know if I'm a recipient of this act of God? How do I know if I'm a recipient of this mercy of God? How do I know if I'm the object of God's reconciling love? I know that because before Christ, I was dead in my sins and our trespasses.

And now, when God came and saved me, now he has made me alive together with Christ. Second, he says not only that we were spiritually dead, which we are going to expound together, I hope, with time, but second, also, not only that we were spiritually dead, but that we were in a spiritual bondage. It says in verse 2, in which, speaking of trespasses and sins, in which you once walked following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the earth, and he continues and expounds. He says Now, not only were we spiritually dead in sins or trespasses, but in those sins and in those trespasses we walked, that we lived, that our type of life was characterized by those sins and those trespasses. We were in a spiritual bondage, not only a spiritual bondage to the passions of our sin, number one.

but also we were in bondage to this world, he says, following the course of this world, and third, following the prince of the power of the earth. Before Jesus Christ, the person is in a spiritual bondage to their sin, to this world, and to Satan, in a spiritual bondage. But when the grace of God, salvation, the act of God, by which in his grace he gives us his mercy instead of judgment as an act of his reconciling love, When that happens to the Christian, he or she is not only made spiritually alive, but second, that person is liberated from that bondage that the person has. And the language that the apostle uses for this spiritual freedom is to be raised us up, to be raised up. It says there in verse six, and you see there's all of these three clauses are going to be connected with and, and raised us up.

with Him. In other words, we were resurrected with Him. In the mind of Paul, to be resurrected with Christ is to be liberated from the bondage of sin, from the bondage of the world, and from the bondage of Satan, so that we have been resurrected with Jesus Christ. And thirdly, the third thing is that before Jesus Christ, we were not only spiritually dead, and under spiritual bondage, but also that we were under spiritual judgment. We are given here this expression of the children of wrath, if you pay attention to verse 3, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, speaking of our bondage to sin, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

I know that those are difficult words here, but the apostle is using Old Testament wording to speak of the spiritual condition of the person without Christ, not only spiritually dead, not only spiritually in bondage, but under spiritual judgment. They are children of wrath. When the grace of God has visited a person, this person is not only made alive together with Christ, he's raised up with the Savior, but we're also told there in verse 6 once again, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So we were taken from being under the wrath of God, children of wrath, being under judgment. Once we have been made alive with Christ and liberated with Christ, we are exalted into the heavenly places.

So the Christian, or better the person, changes from being under the wrath and the judgment of God purely by the act of God. Now, to be exalted in Christ Jesus and be recipient of the heavenly blessings. These are the three things that Paul is going to give us in this text that tells me and informs me of the application of salvation or the reality of salvation. Biblical salvation is not only the act of God in which his mercy is given to the sinner instead of the judgment that they deserve as an act of God's love, but also is going to be manifested in the life. of that person.

First, that person was spiritually dead, and now this person has been made spiritually alive. Once again, verse 1, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins, verse 5, even when we were dead in the trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ. What is the meaning of being a spiritually death. What is the meaning of being dead in veterans, passes and sins? If there was going to be one single word that helps us understand that being spiritually dead is separation to be separated from God.

We see that even from the Old Testament. You remember when Adam and Eve, they were in communion with God in the garden And when sin entered into the world upon the promise that the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die. On that day, the spiritual death of Adam and Eve was manifested in what? Separation. Adam and Eve were taken away from the garden that God had planted himself to have communion and fellowship with Adam and Eve.

From that point onwards, everyone that is in Adam will be born in a spiritual separation from God, no longer recipients of the spiritual life that comes from him. separation. And the problem is that a spiritual separation is not something that disconnect us in a sense from God. The person that is spiritually disconnected or dead in God or from away from God is a person that is going to manifest that in rebellion. If you come to Ephesians chapter 4 in verse 17, here the apostle is going to explain very clearly this idea of being spiritually dead with the idea of separation from God or alienated from the life of God.

It says in 417, Now this I say and testify for 17. Now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. Speaking of Gentiles, spiritually speaking here, right? Those who are not in Christ, verse 18. They are those who are not in Christ.

They are darkened in their understanding. Pay attention to this, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of the heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity, and so on and so on. We're told in verse 18 that those who are Gentiles, those who are not in Christ, they are alienated, separated from the life of God. What it is to be spiritually dead, To be spiritually dead is to be separated from the life of God.

As Adam and Eve were separated from the spiritual fountain of the life of God, were they alive in a physical, biological way? They continue to be alive in a physical, biological way. But in a spiritual sense, they experienced death, and that was manifested in the separation that comes from the person and God. We all are by nature, brother and sister and friend, dead in our sins and our trespasses, and we are born in separation from the life of God. And if we live our lives in separation from the life of God, That is a matter of time on God's providence.

Of course, he's ruling sovereign providence that we will be given over to the scenes that are in our minds and in our hearts and in our passions. Why? Because separation from God leads always to rebellion. The one who separates from God is always led into rebellion. That is what happened with humanity in the garden.

They were living in peace with God, but when they were from the garden because of their sin, then we see the story of a history of rebellion of humankind that is fallen, spiritually speaking, against God. And progressively and ongoingly, and without us being able to stop that, the process of corruption and unrighteousness in the world progresses and advances in rebellion. The more the There are more of us, and the more that we know things, and the more that we're able to do things, the more that unrighteousness will increase. Not that the heart of men has changed, but the more ability that we have, the more power that we have to do unrighteous, rebellious things in the things of the Lord. Is it because we're not smart enough?

No, it is because we're spiritually separated from the Lord. But when the grace of God comes upon a person, then what happens to that person is that person is giving birth, spiritually speaking, and that person that receives the grace of God, that as Paul says, if we return there to chapter two, that person is made alive, not only with life that comes from above, but the life of Jesus Christ. He says in verse five, even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. How do I know that I have been a recipient of this heavenly blessing of genuine salvation? Not one that is religious, not one that is just simply the professing of my lips, but rather that is the reality of my heart.

One that is true in every single aspect. brother, one that is true in every single aspect of my life, one that is spiritual in nature. How do I know if it's not only something that comes from my mouth? Because I have made being alive together with the person of Jesus Christ. And if separate or better, if being dead in my trespasses meant separation and rebellion, then being alive in Christ means that now I have come humbly to the presence of God.

And instead of wanting to rebel again, the one who created me and say, now I have a genuine desire in my heart to be submissive to the one who has loved me. So Jesus Christ is not only my Savior, but he's also my Lord. He's the one that is keen. He's the one that is ruler. He's the one that defines what I want and I desire for my life before Christ.

I wanted to do what it was good for me in my own eyes. I wanted to follow the passions of my heart. I wanted to follow the intentions of my flesh. I wanted just to simply walk in those ways. But when Christ arrives, the eyes of the person are open.

And now this person knows that the things of this world are passing away, and that they are nothing compared to the glories that are going to be revealed in Christ Jesus. So then this Jesus becomes not only an appendix to our religious life that makes us feel okay with our conscience, but this Jesus becomes Savior, King, and Lord. And He is the one that speaks and we follow the marching orders of the Savior. He becomes the precious thing of our heart that we desire. He becomes this Jesus, not only the one who died, but also the one who governs and is King of kings and Lord of lords.

He's the one whose voice we want to hear. and whose commandments we want to follow. Why? Because once it was spiritually dead, separated, and in rebellion to this God. But now I have been made alive together with Christ Jesus.

And that is eternal life, that we know Jesus, that we know God in whom he sent Jesus Christ. In other words, that the life that we have is not only endless days into eternity, but the life that we have is the resurrected, victorious life of Jesus Christ that is given to us. And God himself becomes the object of our passions, our affections. That's why this is going to be manifested in the second aspect. If we return to Ephesians chapter two, not only that we were spiritually dead, and made spiritually alive.

But second, that we were in a spiritual bondage to our sins and to our passions. And once we receive the glorious grace of the gospel, we are raised up with Jesus. It says there in verse two, in which sins and trespasses in which we once walked. following the curse of this world, following the prince of the power of the earth, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom, these are sons of disobedience, we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath. When we were spiritually dead, brethren, the experience of the person is that they're in bondage to their passions, to their affections, and the inclinations of their hearts.

Who is the ruler and king in the life of the person that is not in Christ? Him or herself, his or her mind, his or her affections, his or her passions, his or her desires. Who is the one that rules and governs the path that this person is going to take? the affections of the heart of the person, and she or he will call them good, she or he will call them righteous, but he or she is the one that is seated in the throne of their hearts. And every step that is taken, every word that is uttered, every intention that is pursued, it is through the lenses of what is the best for me.

Because I'm my king, I'm the queen of my life, I'm the ruler of my life, and everything and everyone is at the service of my purposes. I want to accomplish, I want to advance, I want to do according to what is in my heart. That is the heart of the person that is not in Christ Jesus. In some people, that will be manifested in outrageous sins that are sin, homosexuality, and darkness, and killing one another, and blasphemous words, and corruption. And other people will be manifested in those sins that are reputable in the eyes of men.

Pride. secret pride, or secret sexual immorality, very pure externally, but with the eyes, committing sexual immorality in the thoughts, in the mind, in the heart. Those things that have tie and that have trousers like mine, but in their heart they're corrupt and they're dark. Those things are in the eyes of God. are the same as these other sins that are outwardly manifested in the eyes of men.

Why? Because the man or the woman without Christ is in a spiritual bondage to his or her passions. And the only way that a person can be liberated from the course of his heart and his passions is when this person has been resurrected with Christ Jesus. That's why Paul says there in chapter in verse five, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace, you have been saved. And second, raised us up with Him, resurrected with Christ.

And to be resurrected with Christ in the language of Paul, it is to no longer work under the bondage of the dominating power of my sin, my corruption, but to be liberated into newness of life, which Paul explains in Romans chapter six. If you come with me there to Romans chapter six, Romans chapter six, Romans chapter six. Verse one. What shall we say then? So that just as Christ Jesus died and he was resurrected into a new life that is not under the power of death.

Also those who are in Christ will die to their old self and they will be resurrected into the newness of life. was vulnerable to death, not because of his sin. He was perfect, and he had no sin, but he was vulnerable, willing to sin. But when he went to the cross, he experienced death. And when he was resurrected, the resurrected life of Christ is different to the life that he had before the cross, because the resurrected life of Christ now is victorious over death.

He is no longer vulnerable to death as he was before the cross. Now he's victorious over death, and death no longer has dominion over the Son, And that resurrected life of the Son is the life that the Christian receives. Because the Christian receives the power of the resurrected life, then sin shall no longer have dominion over that person. Why? Because that person is good, iperitano.

moralistic in these rituals and in the statues? No, but because the life of Christ is in him or in her, because the victorious Son of God has come to dwell upon that person. And by dwelling upon that person, the act of God is being brought to completion by heaven, The life comes down from the life-giving spirit, the second Adam, to come now we shall bear the image of the heavenly man that comes from above and that is not from dust like the first man. This is the glories of the gospel that the one who receives Salvation, true salvation that comes from above, receives the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. That's why Paul says in verse 5, for if, in Romans chapter 6, for if we have been united with him in a death like this, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like this.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin may be brought to nothing so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin. For no one who has died has been set free. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion over him. because of his resurrected life. Verse 10. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, verse 12, let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. The person was spiritually dead. And because of the spiritual deathness, that person was in a spiritual bondage to sin, to this world and to the prince of the power of the earth. When biblical salvation arrives by the grace that comes from above, this person is made spiritually alive in the person of Christ Jesus. And this person is no longer under the bondage to sin and the passions that are within the system of this world that is in alignment with my passions and Satan.

that is the one under whom the power of the world lays, 1 John 5, verse 19. The whole system of darkness of this world is one and interconnected. Satan rules the power of this world, 1 John 5, verse 19. Then the course of this world is ruled by the intrinsic lies of the father of lies, and that is connected with my broken and fallen heart. The ambassador of Satan in me It's not demons speaking around me, but it's the sin that abides in my heart that is in alignment with the will of Satan.

That's why I have no hope in and of myself. I know how I have no hope in this world. I have no hope in the things that man builds. My only hope is in the one who rules over all. whose name is Christ Jesus, and the one who came to die upon the cross.

My hope is only in him, that he will come and rescue me out of the darkness of the wilderness of this world, and that I with me be made alive with him, together with Christ Jesus, resurrected in his power, so that even though I still live and dwell in this world, there will be one day in which he comes and takes the corruption of my flesh, puts it away, gives me a new body, takes away the corruption of this world, new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells, not only in the new creation, but in the new creation of my heart to be with Christ once for all. Because biblical salvation, it is the encounter of God's divine grace with a broken sinner in which mercy is given instead of judgment as an act of God's loving reconciliation. And that is seen in that person that was spiritually dead. Now he's made spiritually alive, and this spiritual life is evidence in that this person is no longer a slave to his or her passions, but now is a follower of the things of Christ. How am I going to submit to you, O Lord?

Where are your commandments? They are sweet to my ears, not burdensome in the flesh to be accomplished by obligation, but they are sweet in my ears because you're the one who loved me. You're the one who died upon the cross. Where are you, Lord? I will follow you.

I will take up my cross. I will follow thee. I will take my steps to follow you, Lord, even at the expense of this world. That can only be done by the power of God in the heart of the sinner. This can only be done by the power of the gospel.

And that's why the outcome of it is third, that before Christ, we were children of wrath. If we return to Romans chapter two, we were children of wrath. We were under the spiritual judgment of God. And the Lord does not only gives us mercy and takes away the judgment that we deserve, but he explodes us with Christ. Why?

Because God is not a transactional God that says, you give me and I give you in proportion. God is a gracious God that gives according to his character, that gives according to who he is. It says there in verse three, among whom we were once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Everyone, under spiritual judgment, whether we like it or we don't, whether we accept it or we don't, whether just simply walk away from the words that express that reality, or we stay to try to understand what they mean, whether we walk away from God or we remain at His feet, the words remain truth. Children of wrath, not by choice, but it says, by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The sinner without Christ is under the spiritual judgment that we rightfully deserve. Our forefather, Adam, broke the commandments there in the garden, and because he did so, sin entered into the world through the disobedience of one man, and sin is spread to all people, and all people sin. Just as the sin of the forefather the sin that abides in me, because I cannot do any other than sin because of my own will and my own volition and my own desires. Who is going to come and rescue me? Only the last and better Adam, Jesus Christ, because as the gift or as the transgression was with the first man that brought condemnation, the free gift is much greater with the second Adam, through whom will come not only justification, but also the reign of grace and the reign of life.

Romans chapter 5 verses 16 and 17. The grace of God comes through the person of Jesus Christ, and in that grace, this reigning of life, this reigning of righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus, the place of judgment in which I was is changed and transformed to a place of exaltation in the person of Jesus Christ. That's why it says there in verse 6, "...and not only raised us up with him," and third aspect, "...and seated us with him in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus."

the sinner who was spiritually dead in a spiritual bondage to sin, the world, and the prince of the power of the earth, and who was under a spiritual judgment. When the grace of God comes from above to give to this person mercy and not judgment as an act of the love of God of reconciliation, then this person is taken from the depths of being under the wrath of God and being seated at the right hand of the Father in the person of Jesus Christ. Not because you have been a very good Christian are not because you have all the answers to all the questions that were asked, or not because every time that was expected of you, you acted in righteousness. Even I say Christian, but because of Jesus Christ, who is the first one that ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father, who is the first one that entered through the tabernacle of heaven, to whom the doors were opened, and he entered into the glory of God, to sit at the right hand of the Father. He is the one and the foremost that entered into that place, and in him all those who repent of their sins.

and place their faith in the Savior, they enter also there with boldness, not ashamed for the sins that we have committed, not in fear for the things and the shortcomings of our lives, not in an expectation of wrath to be appeared because of the things that I've done that I haven't done or the things that I said that I should have not said, but with boldness, because the one that is entering into that tabernacle of glory is Jesus Christ, the son of God. And when Christ sat or sits at the right hand of the father, there we are seated with him. We are in Christ Jesus, recipients of the heavenly blessings. That's why the apostle says in chapter one, verse three, blessed be the God and father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless. Blessed be the God and Father, he says.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, not with most of them, but with every spiritual blessing, where? In the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, even as he chose us before the foundation of the world. Blessed is the man whose sins have been forgiven. Blessed is the woman whose sins have been forgiven. Blessed is the man whose inequities have been covered.

Blessed is the woman whose inequities have been covered. Blessed is the man who all these wrongdoings have been put away. Blessed is the woman whose all her wrongdoings have been put away. Blessed are those whose Lord is the Lord of heaven. Blessed are those whose King is the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

Blessed are those who can say genuinely in their hearts that they have received the goodness of salvation by grace. Blessed are those who can say that they were spiritually dead, but now they are spiritually alive in Christ Jesus. Blessed are those who can say that they were in a spiritual bondage to their passions, to this world and to Satan. and now they have been resurrected in the newness of life of Christ Jesus. Blessed are those who can say, even though I was under the judgment of God, under the wrath of God, is now purely by his grace that I have been exalted and seated with Christ and been a recipient of the blessings that come from above.

Because it does not matter how much money you have in this world. It does not matter how many people you have around you. It does not matter how many properties you have to your name. It doesn't matter how healthy or good looking you are in this world, all of those things are going to pass away. And in the end, the only thing that matters is if you have been a recipient of the good news, of the salvation that comes from above, that is given by grace.

So the question here is not so much, did you understand what I said, which I hope that you do. The most important question is, are you a recipient of that grace that comes from above? There where you're seated, on the testimony of your conscience and who you are before God, are you a recipient of that sovereign, transforming, powerful grace that changes the life of the one who is dead, spiritually speaking, in bondage and under spiritual judgment? And can you say that you're recipient of all these blessings, not because you gave some money or prayed a prayer or signed a document 5 or 10 years ago, or just because you go to church? But rather because this day, or this time, or this season of your life, you heard the gospel of Christ.

You heard the good news of salvation. And then you knew that you were a sinner, and that apart from this Christ, there was no hope. And then your hope was only placed in Him. Everyone faded away in your mind. It doesn't matter who it is there, only Christ is the one that is able to save your soul.

Is Christ your Lord? Is Christ your Savior? Is Christ your King? Because if the answer is no, then what I said is that today is the day of your salvation. Why would you wait?

Why would you take just some time just to think and consider that perhaps in 10 or 20 minutes or tomorrow or the week after that you may give your life to Christ? Why would you do so? Why would you? You simply bet your life into dying in your sins, and you have to give an account before the Lord. Why would you do so if the gospel is that you come to Him in repentance and faith, and He's never there just to say, walk away.

You have sinned so much that your life is too corrupt, or your life is too unrighteous. Walk away. This sin that you have committed is just too much. I cannot pay for it. It is too much of an unrighteousness.

I have never seen a sin like that before. Christ has seen it all. His eyes has witnessed it all, and yet He came to die upon the cross for sinners like you and me. So today is the day in which Christ is our Lord and our Savior and our Redeemer, because to Him is all the glory. And He is the one that is seated at the right hand of the Father, brethren.

And in Him we can have certainty that even though this world pass away, will pass away, you will pass away. If our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, there will be one day in which we hear the voice of the Savior, that voice that we have not heard. Welcome! Welcome, faithful servant! It's been 70, 80, 85, 90, or perhaps 50, or 10, or 15 years of your endeavor, so you're alive in the wilderness of this world, you're walking in the darkness of this world.

It's been all of this year, but now come, faithful servant, and enter into the presence of your Lord. Enter into the presence of your Savior, brethren, and that's the day that we await and that we hope. And when we see the temporality of these days, in that is what we gain hope and strength that is for our Savior, that is for our Redeemer, whom one day we will see, and we will hear his voice, because he is the one who saved us, redeemed us, came to this world to die for our sins, and it is in him that we have the fullness of everything that we have received, and to his name alone is all the glory. May God grant us the grace that is needed, not only to be hearers of the words, but also to be doers of the words that we hear with the word of the Lord, that Christ may be king and ruler in all of our lives, so that we can see the good news of this glorious salvation that we have purely by grace, not by works or by deeds, but the work of God in manifesting his mercy towards us instead of judgment. Shall we pray?

Father, you're exalted about everyone. There's no one like you, Lord. We praise you, Lord, for who you are and what you've done. I praise you, Lord, for the work of Christ upon the cross for each one of these people within the sound of my voice. If there is anyone among us who even at the reading of these words, who are the utterance of the words that aim to explain these words, someone that knows that they are not in Christ.

If there is anyone that knows that they're dead in their sins and their trespasses, Someone who has been just simply playing with the days to think that everything is fine. Living in rebellion, secret rebellion in their hearts. Slaves to bondage and the bondage of sin and the passions of this world. If there's anyone within the sound of my voice in that condition under the wrath of God, children of wrath. Even if by appearance, or just by simply words, something different may want to be portrayed.

I pray, O Lord, that it will not be the words of this prayer, but that it will be Your Holiest Spirit, the one that brings the genuine conviction that salvation is not by the things that we do or how we can manage to fix ourselves, but that forgiveness and salvation is found in Christ alone, purely by His mercy. by his favor. So we praise you, Lord, for what you've done for us when we did not deserve. We praise you, Lord, for the salvation of my brothers, my sister. We praise you, Lord, for the salvation of Brett, even as we're going to see his testimony and what you've done in him.

We praise you, Lord, for the times of difficulty and of darkness and the times of tribulations and difficult trials. that you allowed him to leave and to walk through Lord. But we praise you even more Lord for the day and that you visited him and his eyes were open to Christ and to the Lord. We praise you Lord for your grace and your mercy Lord. I pray O Lord that you will help us to desire to abide in your presence.

Help us O Lord please. to live our lives for you alone, whether we study or worry husbands and wives and children and whatever duties that we have in this earth, that you will be our Lord, that you will be our Savior, that you will be our King, that we will desire to love one another because you loved us, that we will desire to live according to your commandments because you have loved us and given yourself for us, O Lord, I pray. The Holy Spirit will empower us in these ways that your words will be not only written in our minds, but will be powerfully and mightily inked with your finger in our hearts, Lord. So we pray, Lord, that as we behold the testimony of this brother, and he's coming into and out of the watery grave, and as we see the testimony of salvation, Lord, that we will rejoice in what you've done for him, and that we will remember the day of our salvation. Lord, we praise you.

We give you thanks for everything that you are and you've done for us. And we praise you. It's in Jesus' name that we have prayed. Amen.