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[0:00] Good evening. Being the New Testament this evening, the book of Ephesians.

[0:14] ! Ephesians chapter 2, probably the most popular chapter in the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians is, of course, one of Paul's epistles, and its layout is very peculiar.

[0:41] You've got the first three chapters basically talking about doctrine, the doctrine of the church. And, you know, that may or may not be how Paul intended for it to be, but that's exactly what is included in the first three chapters of Ephesians.

[0:57] The last three chapters of Ephesians is the application of said doctrine. So it's a very interesting book to read when you look at it in that perspective.

[1:09] But in Ephesians chapter 1, we read, of course, Paul's greeting to the church at Ephesus. We read about our adoptions as sons and daughters.

[1:20] We read why and how we were adopted as sons and daughters of God. Through the blood of Jesus Christ. In chapter 1, we also read about the Holy Spirit and what He has to do with that.

[1:34] And towards the end of chapter 1, we read about God's power. And how He used that power to raise Jesus Christ from the dead. Which leads us into chapter 2.

[1:45] And I said all that for a reason. Because the first verse of chapter 2 begins with the word and. So we need to know where we're coming from. What's leading up to that and.

[1:57] So before we begin, I'm going to read the first 10 verses of chapter 2 here in just a moment. But we're going to read the last few verses of chapter 1. So that we know how we got to chapter 2.

[2:09] And why Paul says what he does. So Ephesians chapter 1 beginning in verse 19 says, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward?

[2:21] Who believe according to the working of His mighty power. Which He wrought in Christ. When He raised Him from the dead. And set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.

[2:32] Far above all principality and power. And might and dominion. And every name that is named. Not only in this world. But also in that which is to come.

[2:43] And hath put all things under His feet. And gave to Him. Gave to Him to be head. Over all things the church. Which is His body. The fullness of Him.

[2:55] That filleth in all. And then we begin chapter 2. So that's where we're coming from. It's Paul speaking directly about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[3:06] And how it was God's power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now folks I understand that the Holy Spirit had His part in that. And scripture backs that up.

[3:16] And I also understand that Jesus Christ said Himself. If you destroy this temple in three days. I will raise it up. That's the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

[3:26] So it was a collaborative effort between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That Jesus Christ raised from the dead. And that is as per the scripture. But Paul just came out of chapter 1.

[3:39] Describing the power of God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. So we begin Ephesians chapter 2. Beginning at verse 1 it says, And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin.

[3:51] Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past.

[4:05] In the lusts of our flesh. Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And were by nature the children of wrath. Even as others. But God who is rich in mercy.

[4:17] For His great love wherewith He loved us. Even when we were dead in sins. Hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. And hath raised us up together.

[4:29] And made us sit together in heavenly places. In Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come. He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace. And His kindness toward us.

[4:40] Through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works. Lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship.

[4:52] Created in Christ Jesus. Unto good works. Which God hath before ordained. That we should walk in them. Back to verse 1 in Ephesians chapter 2.

[5:03] Says and you hath he quickened. Who were dead in trespasses and sins. So here again. Paul coming out of chapter 1. Talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[5:15] By the power of Almighty God. He says and you hath he quickened. Who were dead in trespasses and sins. So Paul is kind of making a comparison and a contrast.

[5:25] All at the same time folks. Jesus Christ was not dead in sin. Jesus Christ was not dead in trespasses. Jesus Christ wasn't dead because of any of these things.

[5:36] Jesus Christ was dead. Because He had willingly given up Himself. On behalf of sinners. He had come here to this earth. He had lived a perfect sinless life.

[5:48] He had laid down His life in your stead. And in my stead. But He was still raised from the dead. By Almighty God. And the scripture again says.

[5:58] And you hath he quickened. Who were dead in trespasses and sins. Folks I want you to grasp a hold of this. It's not that we were sick. And it's not that we were struggling.

[6:09] We weren't there on top of the pond. Or on top of the lake. Or on top of the ocean. Screaming out for help. Saying that we were drowning. We weren't out there waving our arms. Folks we were dead.

[6:20] At the bottom of the pool. We were dead. There was no life in us. There was no spiritual life in us. The Bible says. We were dead in our trespasses. In our sin.

[6:30] Therefore it took God. To raise us up from the dead. A dead person cannot save themselves. A dead person cannot resuscitate themselves. A dead person can do nothing for themselves.

[6:42] Or anyone else. It took almighty God to come. To where I was. It took God to reach down. It took God to grab hold of me. It took God to breathe spiritual life.

[6:53] Into me. It took God to save me. It will take God to keep me safe. And it will take God to get me home. One of these days. Hallelujah. He came to me.

[7:04] Folks I was dead. You were dead in your trespasses and sin. We weren't sitting there injured. We weren't haught. We weren't maimed. We were dead.

[7:14] In our trespasses and sin. And it took God. To resurrect us. And what a resurrection he gave. Folks. It was as glorious as the resurrection. Of Jesus Christ was.

[7:25] Folks. It was foretold. In the Old Testament. That it would be that way. Jesus foretold it. While he walked here on this earth. He foretold that he would be killed. He'd be handed over. Into the hands of sinful men.

[7:37] He would be crucified. But on the third appointed day. He would resurrect. But folks. How much more glorious. Hallelujah. That God would come. To a wretched sinner. God would come to one.

[7:48] Who was undeserving. God would come to one. Who was inherently evil. As the Bible says here. In Ephesians 2. I was naturally. A child. Of wrath.

[7:58] How much more glorious. That God would save my soul. And how much more glorious. That he would resurrect your soul. From it's dead. And lifeless state. Folks. We have got to understand that.

[8:09] That without Christ. We are dead. Without Christ. We are without hope. Without Christ. We can do nothing for ourselves. But God. Hallelujah. We read it there in verse 4.

[8:20] We'll get there here in just a moment. Wherein. In time past. Ye walked according to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air. The spirit.

[8:32] That now worketh in the children. Of disobedience. Folks. And whether you admit it or not. The Bible says. This is the state that you were in. The Bible says. That this is what you were doing.

[8:42] You were walking. By the. According to the course. Of the world. You were wrapped up in the world system. You were wrapped up in what the world wanted. You were wrapped up in everything. That was worldly.

[8:53] And is worldly. You were wrapped up. In all of these things. That not only did the world have dominion over you. But Satan himself. Had dominion over you. According to what I read.

[9:03] Here in the scriptures. He is the prince of the power of the air. Folks. The scripture refers to him. As a prince here. Meaning he has some authority. But his authority is limited.

[9:14] And his authority is granted. By almighty God. Who has all authority. Praise God. His power is limited. Praise God. The prince of the power of the air. Can only do that.

[9:25] Which God allows him. To do. But folks. We were all. Wrapped up in the world. And we were all. Commanded by Satan. Whether we'll admit it or not. Whether we even realize it or not.

[9:35] Folks. This is thus saith the word of God. And if the word of God. Says we were in this state. We were in this state. But praise God. It's word. I was in this state. It's past tense.

[9:45] That I was in this state. It's past tense. That I was wrapped up in the world. It's past tense. That Satan had dominion over me. But now. Presently. Christ Jesus. Has dominion over me.

[9:57] He guides my steps. He orders my steps. Hallelujah. And if you're born again. He does the same for you. But not only in the world. And the prince of the power of the air.

[10:08] The spirit that now worketh. In the children of disobedience. That now worketh. Oh. He's still out here. Working in the children of disobedience. I preached a sermon. It's been several years ago.

[10:19] About the Syrophoenician woman. That came to Jesus Christ. Begging that he would heal her daughter. Said she's. She's vexed with the devil. She's vexed with the devil. Folks.

[10:29] It would do us good as parents. And as grandparents. And as aunts and uncles. To not say. Well he's got this going on. Or she's got that going on. Or it's not really her fault. It would do us good to realize.

[10:40] What the real problem is. That child is vexed with the devil. That child has got an evil spirit. That child has got this going on. He's got that going on. Hey folks. That don't cut it. If the child has never been born again.

[10:51] That child has a demon. That child has a devil. And the only cure. For that disease. Is Jesus Christ. And his gospel. It would do us good to realize that.

[11:03] And it would do us good to practice that. Instead of making excuses. Right. For our children. Instead of making excuses. For our grandchildren. Among whom also. We all had our conversation.

[11:15] In times. Times past. In the lusts of our flesh. We all had our conversation. Folks. Paul's leveling the ground here. He says. We all. Paul. Being a Jew.

[11:27] Being a chieftain of the Jew. Being a Jew of the Jews. Being a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul knew the law. Paul knew what the Old Testament Scripture said. Paul.

[11:38] Was the Jews Jew. Was he not? Right. That includes him in this. He includes himself in this. Among whom. Also. We all. Had our conversation.

[11:49] This conversation we're talking about here. Is the life. That they. That we all lived. We all had our conversation. In times past. And the lusts of our flesh. That's all we were doing folks.

[11:59] Was fulfilling the lusts of our flesh. And I understand that lust. More times than not. When we think about lust. We're talking about. Sexual cravings. Or whatever the case is. But folks. This is lusting over anything.

[12:11] Anything that has to do with the world. This is lusting over anything. This is craving anything. This is wanting anything. It is covetousness. That we're talking about here. It's us wanting the things.

[12:21] That are not of God. Us wanting worldly things. And all of us were guilty of it. And some of us. Even being born again. Children of God. Right now. Are still guilty.

[12:31] Of the exact same thing. God help us. In that. In times past. In the lusts of our flesh. Fulfilling the desires. Of the flesh. And of the mind.

[12:42] And were by nature. The children of wrath. Even as others. Folks. That's all we spend our time doing. Before I was saved. I spent my day sinning. I went to bed at night.

[12:53] Thinking about how I was going to sin. The next day. And I woke up the next morning. Thinking about how I was going to sin. And you did the same thing. Folks. Everything that we ate. Everything that we breathed.

[13:04] Every path that we walked. Was nothing more than sin. That's all it was. When we were the children of disobedience. That's all it was. Folks. That was our nature.

[13:16] That was our nature. As Brother Mike just said. That was our nature. Everything that we done. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. You might be here tonight. And realize.

[13:26] That's exactly what you're doing. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Sin. Folks. We all sin. Even after we're born again. Even after. Almighty God. Washes us of our sins.

[13:37] And makes us whole. We still sin. Every day of our lives. But we don't live our lives in sin. And we don't try to sin. And we don't. We don't. Wonder about the next sin. That we're going to commit.

[13:47] We don't do those things. Folks. It's no longer. In the present perfect tense. We're no longer continually sinning. But folks. When a born again child of God sins. The Holy Spirit.

[13:58] That dwelleth on the inside. It will drive him to conviction. And it will drive him. To the throne of God. And it will drive him to beg for mercy. And forgiveness. Of his father.

[14:09] Hallelujah. I'm glad I got a father that will forgive. I'm glad I got a father that will forgive. And I'm not saying that. That salvation gives you a license to sin. Far from it.

[14:20] Far from it. Paul addresses that. He says. We're sin abound. The grace did much more abound. He says. But he goes on. The Bible goes on to teach there. Amen.

[14:31] Should sin abound. That grace may much more abound. God forbid. Is what Paul said. God forbid. Is what thus saith the word. Word of God. But folks.

[14:42] We've established where we were. We've established where every one of us were. There's two words here. It's got the gospel all in it. But God. And verse 4.

[14:53] It begins with. But God. Even though we were children of disobedience. Even though we lived to please our flesh. And we lived to fulfill the desires of our flesh.

[15:04] Even though we walked in darkness. And we loved the darkness that we were in. And we didn't want the light to shed in that darkness. Because it would expose us. We wanted to keep it hidden.

[15:15] That we could keep. That we could continue on in our sin. But God. Even though we were like that. But God. But God. Who is rich in mercy. For His great love.

[15:26] Wherewith He loved us. But God. Who is rich in mercy. This God. Who created me. This God. Who created me. Knowing. That I would become a rebel.

[15:37] Against Him. Knowing that I would go against His law. Knowing that I would be nothing more. Than a sinful creature. This God. In His great love. It's not just love.

[15:48] That Paul says it was here. It was great love. That Almighty God had for us. But God. Who is rich in mercy. For His great love. Wherewith He loved us.

[15:58] He had great love for you. Child of God. Amen. He had great love for you. And He is rich in mercy. Folks. He doesn't have just enough mercy.

[16:09] For a hundred people. Or for a hundred thousand people. Or for a hundred million people. My God's mercy is all abundant. It's an ever flowing well. It is inexhaustible.

[16:19] Exhaustible. The mercy of God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. His mercy. Is it from everlasting to everlasting. Just as He is. But God. Who is rich in mercy.

[16:29] For His great love. Worth He loved us. Even when we were dead in sins. Folks. Even when you were dead in sin. Even when I was dead in sin. God had great love for us.

[16:40] It reminds me of what Paul says in Romans chapter 5. But God commendeth His love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. Back up two verses in Romans chapter 5.

[16:52] And 6 you'll learn that He died for the ungodly. He died for me. He died for you. He died for sinners. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

[17:03] He came to die for these that we read about in the first three verses of this. Those that were dead in their trespasses and sin. Those that were fulfilling the wants of the flesh. Those that were children of disobedience.

[17:14] That's who Christ died for. Hallelujah. Came not to call the righteous. But sinners to repentance. He came to save sinners.

[17:25] He came to save me. He came to save you. Even when we were dead in sins. Hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved. Even while we were sinners.

[17:36] Even when we were dead in sin. Hath quickened us together with Christ. God hath quickened us. He has made us alive. But not just made us alive folks.

[17:47] This goes far beyond just forgiveness of sin. Folks He has made us new creatures. He has given us life where there was death. Hallelujah. That's resurrection folks.

[18:00] That is resurrection. He has brought life to where there was death. Hallelujah. Even when we were dead in sins. Hath quickened us. He has made us alive. With Christ.

[18:11] That's the key in this whole thing. Is with Christ. And in Christ. Without Christ. None of this is possible. But with Christ and in Christ. Every bit of it is possible.

[18:22] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. That gave His life for me. Hallelujah. For the salvation that we have. In Jesus Christ. He has raised us up together. And made us to sit together.

[18:33] In heavenly places. In Christ Jesus. We have with Christ Jesus. We have in Christ Jesus. And what are we doing in Christ? God has raised us up together. And made us sit together.

[18:47] In heavenly places. In Christ Jesus. Folks. Again. At the end of chapter 1. We are talking about the resurrection. Of Jesus Christ. By the power of God.

[18:58] Here in Ephesians chapter 2. We are talking about our own resurrection. By the power of God. Through Jesus Christ. Hallelujah folks. We were crucified with Christ.

[19:08] Does that know what Paul says? In Galatians chapter 2. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I. But Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live. I live by faith of the Son of God.

[19:19] Who loved me. And gave Himself for me. We are crucified with Christ. We are raised with Christ. We are sat in heavenly places. With Christ. And we walk with Christ.

[19:31] Along this way. First we were once walking in disobedience. You read in the scriptures. Many times. Especially in the KJV Bible.

[19:41] Many times when you read the word walk. It's talking about somebody's lifestyle. That they were partaking in. At that time. Enoch walked with God. Talking about the lifestyle that Enoch had with God.

[19:54] The Bible goes on to say over in the New Testament. It says if you live in the Spirit. Let us also walk in the Spirit. Meaning walk in a godly life. Walk on a godly path.

[20:06] Walk in a godly way. Here. Folks we are raised a new life. He has raised us up together. And made us to sit together. In heavenly places. In Christ Jesus.

[20:19] Folks where Christ is. Is where we are. He has raised us up. I understand we are still here on this earth. I understand these bodies are here. But folks.

[20:30] What did Jesus say himself. In the Sermon on the Mount. Lay not up for yourselves treasures here on earth. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Why? For where your heart is there will your treasure be also.

[20:42] Hallelujah. Folks we are a treasure to Jesus Christ. And he is certainly a treasure to us. He is certainly a treasure to me. Maybe he is not to you. Because you have never been born again. Maybe he is not quite the treasure to you.

[20:53] That he is to me. But folks. There is nothing that is more valuable to me. Than the salvation that I have in Jesus Christ. He has saved me. I have been saved through Jesus Christ. I am walking with Jesus Christ.

[21:04] And I have been raised up. To sit in heavenly places. With Jesus Christ. And in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. We read there at the end of chapter 1. Just a little while ago. That this is where Christ is.

[21:16] He is sitting at the right hand folks. And we are sitting there. Right now is born again. Children of God. Hallelujah. Where Christ is. There are we.

[21:27] Verse 7. That in ages to come. He might show the exceeding riches of his grace. And his kindness toward us. Through Christ Jesus. With Christ Jesus.

[21:39] In Christ Jesus. And through Christ Jesus. It is all dependent upon Jesus Christ. Christ. I had nothing to do with being saved. And nor did you.

[21:51] Folks. My faith. Was not. Was not. The way. That I was saved. I understand. That we are saved by. By grace. Through faith. We will get to that here. In just a moment. Folks.

[22:01] My faith. Is not what saved me. Cross blood. Is what saved me. Cross blood. His death. His burial. His resurrection. Is what saved me. Faith. Faith. Is the channel. With which grace is received.

[22:13] Don't you ever forget that. Your faith. Is not the root. Of it. The grace of almighty God. Is the root of salvation. And only the grace of God. Is that. But we will get there here.

[22:24] In just a moment. That in ages to come. He might show us. The exceeding riches. Of his grace. In ages to come. Folks. He is talking about forever. And forever. And forever.

[22:35] And forever. In the ages to come. He might show us. His exceeding. Rich. The exceeding riches. Of his grace. And his kindness. Toward us. Through Christ Jesus.

[22:46] Folks. I can't wait to get to heaven. I'm sure you all. Cannot wait to get to heaven. I'm not. I'm not looking to go tonight. But if it happens. So be it. But folks. When I get there.

[22:56] The golden streets. Are going to be great. The jasper walls. Will be beautiful. The foundations. Will be wonderful. The angels. Loved ones. That have gone on before me. All of that. Is fine and well.

[23:07] But it won't be heaven. Without Christ. It's by him. That I'm going. It's through him. That I'm going. It is by the power of God. Through Christ Jesus. That I'm going.

[23:19] But even more so folks. As beautiful as those things are. What's the beauty that God sees? Read this again. That in the ages to come.

[23:30] In the ages to come. He might show you. The exceeding riches. Of his grace. He might show you. The exceeding riches. Of his grace. Who were the recipients. Of the grace. That was me.

[23:41] And that's you. Folks. We are showcases. Of the grace. Of almighty God. I mentioned all these other things. That we read about in the scriptures. To do with heaven.

[23:52] They're going to be marvelous. But God. God might be walking around. Saying. You see this one. I saved that one from prostitution. I saved this pill head. I saved this drunk.

[24:04] I saved this one. I saved that one. They're all showcases. Of my grace. And they're bringing me glory right now. And they will be. For the ages to come.

[24:15] But folks. It is not us. We are not the reason we are saved. It is because of God. And whom he is. And whom Jesus Christ is. That is why. We are saved. Amen. In Revelation 5.

[24:26] They're not saying. They're not saying. Worthy are those that have been saved. It's worthy is the lamb. Right. Worthy is the lamb. I'm unworthy of salvation. And you are unworthy of salvation. You've done nothing to merit it.

[24:37] You've done nothing to deserve it. And nor have I. But worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb. That was slain before the foundation of the world. Hallelujah. And in the ages to come.

[24:48] He must view. The exceeding riches of his grace. In his kindness. Toward us. Through. Christ Jesus. Folks. If it weren't for Christ Jesus. There would be no kindness of God.

[24:59] Toward us. Why? Because without Christ Jesus. There would be no opportunity for us to be saved. There would be no opportunity for us to be redeemed. And we would still be in our rebellious state against God.

[25:13] Therefore we would receive no kindness from him. We might receive air for a little while in this life. We might receive food for a little while in this life. That's kindness. If you want to phrase it like that.

[25:24] But folks. Eternal kindness. We'd all be still on our way to hell. If it wasn't for Jesus Christ. If it weren't for Jesus Christ. We would still be on our way. To a devil's hell.

[25:35] Verse 8. For by grace. Are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It. Is the gift. Of God. Remember this Christian. If you ever start to get self righteous.

[25:47] You remember this. If you ever think it's because you are a good woman. Or a good man. Or a good boy. Or a good girl. You remember this. It is by grace. You are saved. For by grace.

[25:59] Are you saved. Folks. And this is important. For by grace. Are you saved. Yeah. That. Is perfect tense. Yes. For grace. Are you saved.

[26:10] That is perfect tense. Yes. That's a continual thing. That gives implication. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's ongoing results. In other words, if you have no results of it, you ain't saved.

[26:25] If you ain't got works to back up your faith, you ain't saved. It's that simple. James makes that plain and clear. Shoot me thy faith without thy works. I'll shoot thee my faith by my works.

[26:36] It is impossible to have faith. It is impossible to be saved and not have works to back it up. It is impossible as per the Scripture. For by grace are you saved through faith.

[26:48] And that not of yourselves. It's nothing that you've done or could do. Nothing that I've done or could do. It's not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. What is the gift of God?

[27:00] Faith is the gift of God. And grace is the gift of God. Folks, it would be impossible for you to have faith if God did not allow you to think. If God did not give you the capacity to process things.

[27:13] If God didn't give you the ability to do these things. It would be impossible for you to have faith. And grace is certainly a gift of God. Folks, we don't produce grace ourselves. We receive grace from God.

[27:25] And after we've received grace from God, then we can show it unto others. But not before then. Not before then. We might be able to show a little mercy to someone even before we're saved.

[27:36] We might be able to buy a hungry person a hamburger. We might be able to clothe a naked person. We might be able to do any number of things in a show of mercy towards people. But to give true, biblical, godly grace, you must be a true, biblical, godly Christian.

[27:50] You cannot have anything which is godly if you're an ungodly person. It's impossible. It is an impossible thing to do. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

[28:01] It is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. The only person that can boast of grace, and the only person that can boast of salvation, the only person that can boast of any of this, is Almighty God.

[28:16] Because He's the one that gives the grace. I didn't work to obtain salvation. I've done nothing. I wasn't looking for it. Didn't even want it. I wasn't looking for it.

[28:28] I wasn't looking for God. But God came to me. God came to me and offered His free gift of salvation. And unto me, it's not of works, lest any man should boast.

[28:39] If anybody can boast of salvation, it is God. And as we read just a couple of verses ago, in the ages to come, He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

[28:54] God has every right to boast. God has every right to boast. He's the one that put this whole thing into gear. He's the one that got the gears turning on it. He's the one that put the world into motion knowing what we would become.

[29:09] And in His kindness, and in His compassion, and in His grace, and in His mercy, and through His Son, He made a way that we could be reconciled back to Him.

[29:19] After being cast off in the garden, I've said it many times, and I'll say it again. Missy probably grows tired of hearing me say it. But it took God to make me. It took God to condemn me, which He did in the garden.

[29:30] It took God to save me. It'll take God to keep me saved. It'll take God to get me to heaven one of these days. After a while, it takes God to do it all. I could not make myself.

[29:41] I couldn't condemn myself. I certainly couldn't save myself. And I certainly can't take me to heaven one of these days. Verse 10 will be done. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.

[30:01] For we are His workmanship. Now what did we just come out of? Verses 8 and 9. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

[30:11] It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.

[30:21] There's in Christ Jesus another time. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Folks, it is not that works are irrelevant in the life of a child of God.

[30:33] But as I've already said, that is not the root of salvation, and our works is not where salvation comes from. You've got all kinds of people out there that depend upon their moralism.

[30:46] Well, I'm not as bad as this one is, or I'm not as bad as that one is. You're still a sinner in need of a Savior. Right. We've got all kinds of people out there depending upon religion.

[30:57] Yeah. Well, I go to church. Yeah. I go to church three times a week, sometimes four or five. I lead singing. I teach Sunday school. I throw money in the coffer. I do this. I do that. I scrub the toilets.

[31:08] I sweep the floors. I run the vacuum. I help out at the bake sales. I do all this. Surely to goodness, my good works is going to outweigh my bed. You'll land yourself right in hell with that thought pattern.

[31:19] Right. Amen. That will take you straight to hell. It is not your works. It's not anything that you can do. It is what Christ has already accomplished on a hill called Calvary.

[31:33] Amen. That's what you must depend upon. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

[31:44] Christ, or God, has foreordained these works. The good works that born-again children of God have. God has foreordained that we should walk in those works.

[31:55] And folks, walk in them we should. Live in them we should. Sleep and breathe and eat in them we should. For it's all to the glory of God. God has saved us, folks.

[32:06] Think about what we read in the first three verses of this chapter. Think about what depraved wretches that we were. And God reached down and redeemed us.

[32:17] He saved us. He got us into His own family through adoption and by the blood of Jesus Christ. Why should we not want to work for Him? Why should we not have plenty of good works on His behalf?

[32:31] And for the glory of the kingdom that He has promised to come. That kingdom that we will all be part of. Hallelujah, folks. We're promised all kinds of things in Scripture. We are promised to be a part of a kingdom that has no end.

[32:47] And it will have a king that the scepter will never depart from His hand. He is all-powerful. He always has been all-powerful. And He ever will be all-powerful.

[33:00] Now again, we've talked about sinners tonight. We've talked about the redeemed tonight. We talked about both sides of this.

[33:10] The first three verses again of this chapter give a horrible description of what every one of us who were born again was. And it might be giving a description of who you are right now, folks.

[33:21] That's the beauty of the Gospel. The beauty of the Gospel is that the ungodly don't have to remain ungodly. The ungodly don't have to remain in that state.

[33:34] Sinners don't have to remain condemned. They don't have to remain underneath the judgment of Almighty God. God has made a way in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, that you can be forgiven, that you can be washed clean, that you can be made whole and pure in His eyes.

[33:53] Why would you pass that up? Why would you pass that up? Reading these three verses here. Reading who you are. Who you are. Billy Sunday said one time, years ago before I was born, but I've read it.

[34:09] He said, the reason you don't like that Bible, you old sinner, is because it knows all about you. These three verses these three verses know all about every sinner that's ever walked this planet.

[34:20] And if you're here tonight and you're unsaved, these three verses describe you. But you can be raised to life. Just as I was. Just as others here was.

[34:32] You can be raised to spiritual life. But it will only be through Christ Jesus. And it will only be through faith in Him. Grace can be and will be imparted to anyone who comes to God in faith and repentance.

[34:47]  Faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sin. Turn them the other way. God bless you all. That's the message for this evening. I appreciate your attention.