EPHESIANS 2:1\u201310<\/b><\/p>\n
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins<\/i><\/p>\n
(Ephesians 2:1)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Some people become Christians by way of a dramatic conversion. Others gradually come to salvation by being nurtured in the faith or through quiet consideration later in life. For some people the occasion of new birth can\u2019t be pinpointed, while for other people the new birth is a great crisis. Though experience may vary, in every case there was a moment when the person underwent a new birth.<\/p>\n
Paul in Ephesians 2 tells us what matters is not whether or not we have an experience but whether or not we walk a new walk. He says we once walked one way but have learned to walk a new way. In the past, we were pushed by the \u201cwind\u201d of the evil spirit of the air, but now we are pushed by the sanctifying wind of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
Paul goes on in verse 3 to say we once had one set of values, \u201cthe cravings of our sinful nature,\u201d but now have a new one. We now enjoy the things of God, rejoicing in His glory, preferring His people, affirming His laws, and seeking His counsel. Thus, the question is not, Have you had a great experience? but, What do you value?<\/p>\n
Perhaps a deeper question is: Why do you prefer these new values? The answer is given by Paul in verse 5: because you have been raised from the deadness of sin to a new life in union with Christ. You may not know when or how it happened, but the evidence from your life and your loves is that it indeed has happened.<\/p>\n
What changes the direction of a person\u2019s life and starts him or her on a new path of living is the work of God Himself. Paul says that apart from God\u2019s work, each of us is dead. Dead people cannot do anything to help themselves. Dead people are dead, and thus are not aware of anything. Just as a person has nothing to do with his own conception and birth, so a person has nothing to do with his new birth. It results from the divine initiative in a person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Isaiah 62\u201364<\/p>\n
1 Thessalonians 5<\/p>\n
What kind of conversion experience did you have? Reflect for a moment on the way you respond to those who entered the kingdom in a different way. Based on today\u2019s lesson, reorient your thinking about what it means to \u201cbecome\u201d a Christian.<\/p>\n
For further study: Philippians 3:12\u201321;<\/i> Born Again series<\/i><\/p>\n
thursday<\/p>\n
october<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EPHESIANS 2:1\u201310 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Some people become Christians by way of a dramatic conversion. Others gradually come to salvation by being nurtured in the faith or through quiet consideration later in life. For some people the occasion of new birth can\u2019t be pinpointed, while … Continue reading “BEGINNING THE NEW LIFE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11297\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}