EPHESIANS 2:1\u201310<\/b><\/p>\n
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins<\/i><\/p>\n
(Eph. 2:1)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Before completing our study of John 3, let us explore what it means to be born again in more detail. We will be basing our next five studies on R. C. Sproul\u2019s series Born Again<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the doctrine of regeneration has become distorted beyond biblical recognition in many Christian circles. Like the Pharisees of Jesus\u2019 day, many in the church have failed to understand the profound implications of being born again because they have lost a biblical understanding of the condition of man. They no longer see people as dead in sin, and therefore unable to choose Christ on their own. Yet, to understand Jesus\u2019 teaching in John 3, we must understand the doctrine of man\u2014that he has lost all ability to be holy. Today we will examine this doctrine as a foundation for understanding regeneration.<\/p>\n
Before the fall, Adam and Eve were able to love God, to follow His laws, to live in purity and innocence. But since they sinned, all mankind has lost this original righteousness. In Romans 3, Paul affirms the Old Testament teaching that no person is good, that no one seeks God, that all are wicked and have gone astray.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 2 puts this especially graphically: \u201cAnd you \u2026 were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you walked according to the course of this world, \u2026 and were by nature children of wrath.\u201d (v. 1\u20133). This is the condition of man, and man will remain that way until God takes the initiative to make us alive. This is Paul\u2019s emphasis in Ephesians 2:1, that \u201cHe made alive\u201d those who were dead in trespasses and sins.<\/p>\n
We were not sick in need of some help, we were not floating on top of the water waiting to grab hold of a life preserver, but we were dead. And only by the power of Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, can we be made alive again. Until that happens, we love our sin, we follow the desires of our hearts, and we hide from God. Because this is our condition, we cannot save ourselves. We cannot even put our faith in Christ unless that faith is graciously given to us: \u201cFor by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God\u201d (Eph. 2:8).<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Leviticus 14<\/p>\n
Matthew 26:55\u201375<\/p>\n
Can a corpse take any action to save himself? Before God changed your heart, you were spiritually dead. Meditate on this truth for a few minutes. Sinners are totally dependent upon God for their salvation. Unless He chooses to change their hearts, they will remain dead. Praise God for the mercy and grace He has shown you.<\/p>\n
For further study: Ps. 51 \u2022 Rom. 3:9\u201320 \u2022 Col. 2:11\u201323<\/i><\/p>\n
thursday<\/p>\n
february<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EPHESIANS 2:1\u201310 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). Before completing our study of John 3, let us explore what it means to be born again in more detail. We will be basing our next five studies on R. C. Sproul\u2019s series Born Again. Unfortunately, the doctrine of … Continue reading “OUR NEED OF GOD\u2019S GRACE”<\/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-12912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12912","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=12912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}