What is the sinner’s true condition as taught in the Bible? The sinner is dead in trespasses and sins, controlled by the world, controlled by the devil, controlled by his flesh, and under the wrath of God. Pretty bleak picture, isn’t it?! The good news is that God is greater than our sin, and can breathe His life into dead sinners!
[powerpress]
Total Inability
Ephesians 2:1-3
This morning we embark on a study of the doctrines of God’s sovereign grace in salvation. In short, this sermon series is going to deal with the question, “How are sinners saved?”
At the outset, I need to warn you. If you have never been exposed to the doctrines of grace, you may have a very hard time with these teachings. Usually, either you will love or hate the truths I’m going to be teaching. Either you will recoil in disbelief and disgust at these doctrines, or you will respond by being overwhelmed with joy. When most believers first hear the doctrines I will be teaching you, they react against them. They might say something like, “I just can’t believe that”; “That’s not my God” or “I could never worship a God like that!” However, often after a period of time, a believer will come to value and cherish these doctrines above all, because they provide such a solid rock for his spiritual footing and an immovable anchor for his soul.
Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian of the First Great Awakening had such an experience. I will let you tell his story in his own words:
“From my childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in choosing whom he would to eternal life, and rejecting whom he pleased; leaving them eternally to perish, and be everlastingly tormented in hell. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me. But I remember the time very well, when I seemed to be convinced, and fully satisfied, as to this sovereignty of God, and his justice in thus eternally disposing of men, according to his sovereign pleasure. But never could give an account of how, or by what means, I was thus convinced, not in the least imagining at the time, nor a long time after, that there was any extraordinary influence of God’s Spirit in it; but only that now I saw further, and my reason apprehended the justice and reasonableness of it. However, my mind rested in it; and it put an end to all those cavils and objections. And there has been a wonderful alteration in my mind, with respect to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty from that day to this; so that I scarce ever have found so much as the rising of an objection against it, in the most absolute sense, in God showing mercy to whom he will show mercy, and hardening whom he will. God’s absolute sovereignty and justice, with respect to salvation and damnation, is what my mind seems to rest assured of, as much as of any thing that I see with my eyes; at least it is so at times. I have often since not only had a conviction, but a delightful conviction. The doctrine has very often appeared exceedingly pleasant, bright, and sweet. Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. But my first conviction was not so.”
I confess that I had a similar experience. So did my wife, Debbie. When we began to study these doctrines, at first we could not believe them. We had been taught our whole Christian lives that salvation ultimately is a matter of the sinner’s free will. When we began to consider whether salvation ultimately was a matter of God’s sovereign will, it was just too much to comprehend or believe.
For me, my journey really began when Debbie bought me a set of volumes of sermons by Charles Spurgeon in the mid 1980’s. I had no idea that Spurgeon believed in the doctrines of grace. But as I began to read his sermons, I became more and more convinced that his preaching on God’s sovereign grace was Biblical. However, it wasn’t until 1991 that the matter was finally settled for me. I was a brand new pastor in a small bible church in Milpitas, California. I was teaching through the book of Romans, and came finally to Romans 8 and 9. I couldn’t evade this issue any longer. There it was, staring me in the face. At the same time a friend had given me a copy of R. C. Sproul’s book, “Chosen by God.” Also, another friend had been encouraging me to begin reading some of the writings of the Puritans. As all of these influences came together in the year of 1991, I became convinced that God is absolutely sovereign in the salvation of sinners. The doctrines of man’s total depravity, God’s unconditional election, sovereign calling, and unfailing perseverance so captivated my mind, that it was what I studied, thought of, and meditated on for at least a solid year. I can remember waking up thinking about these truths, studying them throughout the day, and going to sleep with them on my mind. I studied the Scriptures afresh. I read widely. And the impact that these truths made on my life was life changing. That was 25 years ago, and I am still a convinced believer in these truths. They have given me a much bigger vision of God, and a smaller vision of man. These truths have also affected my approach to evangelism. Instead of trying to get a lost person to make a quick decision for Christ, I find myself now witnessing and preaching about Christ, but looking for the work of the Spirit of God upon the person’s life. The emphasis has shifted from trying to get the sinner to do something, to looking for what God is doing in them as a result of hearing the gospel.
So, folks, this sermon series is a little dangerous. I hope and pray that no one will get angry and leave the church over these sermons. We should not divide over these doctrines. I readily admit that good and godly men have differed on their opinion of these doctrines. The controversy over whether man or God has the final say in a person’s salvation has been going on for 2,000 years. I don’t pretend that I will be able to solve that controversy once and for all. However, I can point you to the Word of God, and ask that you wrestle with what this Book says about how the sinner is saved.
In this sermon series we are going to deal with five major doctrines found in Scripture which are these:
Total Inability
Unconditional Election
Definite Atonement
Effectual Calling
Invincible Preservation
The first doctrine (Total Inability) speaks about the condition of fallen man. The last four doctrines speak about the sovereign work of our Triune God in electing, redeeming, calling, and preserving. This morning I am going to speak about the first doctrine – Total Inability. Or to put it another way, The Sinner’s Desperate Need for Sovereign Grace.
Our text this morning is Ephesians 2:1-3. Let’s read it together. Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
This text teaches us five important truths about the unregenerate person:
- We were dead in our sins
- We were controlled by the world
- We were controlled by the devil
- We were controlled by our flesh
- We were under the wrath of God
1. We Were Dead In Our Sins
What is the sinner’s condition? There are three different answers given within the evangelical church today? Some say the sinner is spiritually well. Others say the sinner is spiritually sick. Other say the sinner is spiritually dead. There is a world of difference between those ideas.
A British monk in the early 5th century named Pelagius espoused the idea that man is spiritually well. He taught that Adam’s fall hurt only himself. He believed that children are born neutral into the world, without a sinful nature. He taught that all men have the absolute equal ability at every moment to do good or evil. Thus people have the power to live sinlessly in his view. His slogan was, “Whatever I ought to do, I can do.” Many people today embrace this view of man. They believe man is basically good. They believe that given the proper environment and education, men will live righteous lives.
Others, embrace the view that man is spiritually sick. They believe that he still has some ability, some power left. He may be very sick. In fact, they picture him as being in a hospital about to die, but the medicine is right next to him on a table. If he will just choose, he can reach over, take the medicine and recover from his fatal illness. You see, those who hold to this view, believe that the sinner has a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. They believe that man has the power to cooperate with God in obtaining salvation. They say the sinner is like a man who is drowning, and God throws a life rope to him. All he has to do is reach out and grab the roper, and let God pull him to safety. Nevertheless, the decision to grasp the rope or not lies with him alone; God will not interfere with his decision. They believe the sinner has the ability to choose Christ over his sin at any time.
What are we to think of this exalted idea of man’s free will? Does the sinner have a free will? Well, it all depends on your definition of “free will”. If by that term you mean the freedom to choose according to his nature, then, yes, everyone has a free will. However, if by “free will” you mean the ability to choose contrary to his own nature, then I deny that man has a free will. In fact, using that definition, I deny that even God has a free will. God can’t choose something contrary to His own nature. The Bible says in Titus 1:2, that God cannot lie. Well, why not? Can’t He speak. Why can’t He tell a lie? Because that would contradict His essential nature. God can’t sin. Why not? Because it goes against His nature. God can’t get tired, and He can’t break a promise. Why? Because those things contradict His nature. Even so, the sinner can’t choose something which is against His nature. Well, what is his nature? He is a slave to sin. He is a sinner by nature. He inherited this deadly disease at conception. And, because he is a sinner, he can’t choose Christ over his sins. That would contradict his nature. Before he can ever choose Christ over sin, he must have a new nature. And guess what? He can’t give himself a new nature. Only God can give someone a new nature. The sinner has the liberty to choose any sinful course he wants, but he doesn’t have the ability to choose Christ over sin. He is bound to his sinful nature.
The third view is that the sinner is spiritually dead. He is not just very sick, and about to die. He is dead. The answer to his dilemma is not in using his free will to reach out and take the medicine. The answer is that God must breathe His life into him, and make him alive! Now, what is the Biblical answer to this question? Is man well, sick, or dead?
Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.” Well, exactly what does that mean? It can’t mean that he is dead to trespasses and sins, because our text tells us that we formerly walked in them. No, it means we were dead in sins. The sinner is biologically alive, socially alive, intellectually alive, morally alive, and even religiously alive. But he is spiritually dead. The sinner is alive in every way except for one; he is dead to God. He is completely cut off from the life of God.
Now, what does it mean to be dead in sins? A dead man has absolutely no power. He is helpless to do anything. If you were to go down to a mortuary, you could yell at a corpse for hours, but the dead man could not hear you. You could command him to open his eyes, speak to you, or stand to his feet. You could do this hour after hour, but you would never elicit a response from him. He can’t even flicker his eyelashes. He can’t respond because he lacks the one thing needful – life. He can’t see you, hear you, understand you, receive you, please you, or come to you. And that is exactly the same situation were in before God saved us.
The man dead in sins cannot see. In John 3:3, Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In verse 5 Jesus says that unless one is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Here is the divine order: first a man enters the kingdom through the new birth, and then he can see the kingdom. It’s like if a person lived all his life in England. He would never be able to see the United States. In order to see the United States, he must first enter the United States. In order for a person to see the kingdom of God, he must first enter it. But entering the kingdom requires that a person be born again. Thus, the unregenerate person can’t see the kingdom, for he is wholly outside of it.
The man dead in sins cannot hear. Jesus said in John 8:43, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.” Now, of course the Jewish religious leaders could hear the audible sounds Jesus was uttering, but they could not hear them with the internal ears of their heart. They could not embrace and receive Christ’s word, for they had no heart for it. Radio signals are all around us right now, but we can’t hear them. Why? Because we are not “tuned in” to them through a stereo receiver. Likewise, the unregenerate person lacks the “receiver” necessary to hear Jesus’ voice. He needs a new heart.
The man dead in sins cannot understand. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Did you hear that? The natural (unregenerate) man can’t understand the things of the Spirit. Why? Because those things are spiritually appraised. Just as a home appraiser determines the value of a home, so to spiritually appraise the things of the Spirit means to value those things. The natural man does not value those things. Therefore, he can’t understand them.
The man dead in sins cannot please God. Romans 8:7 says, “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
The man dead in sins cannot come to Christ. Jesus taught in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” He said again in John 6:65, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
You see, the Bible paints a very bleak picture of man. He’s not just drowning. He has already drowned. The only hope for him is for Jesus to dive to the bottom of the river, bring him to safety, and breathe His life into him. The sinner can’t cooperate with God in his salvation, because he’s dead. Therefore, salvation is not a joint cooperative effort between the sinner and God. Salvation is God making a unilateral choice to change a man’s heart, and give him new life, all because of His rich mercy and abounding grace!
2. We Were Controlled By The World
Ephesians 2:2 says that we formerly walked “according to the course of this world.” When Paul speaks here about “this world” he is not talking about planet earth, or all the people in the world. He’s speaking about the values, opinions, and philosophies of men alienated from God. He is declaring that formerly we ordered our lives according to the opoinions, values, and attitudes of the ungodly. The world squeezed us into its mold. The phrase “according to” is from the Greek preposition “kata.” Its root meaning is “down.” It came to have the meaning of “to be dominated by.” Formerly we were dominated by this evil world system. We had imbibed its philosophy of living for self and pleasure. We believed we could solve our own problems, and did not need God. We were ruled by this present evil world. Just think of popular commercials: “You only go around once in life. Go for all the gusto you can.” Or, “Have it your way.” Or, “Loreal, because you’re worth it.” Or think of popular magazine, “Self.” That says it all. The world’s ambitions, goals, and values are diametrically opposed to those of Jesus Christ. And at one time, we were governed by the values of the world.
3. We Were Controlled By The Devil
Ephesians 2:2 says, “according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” The word “prince” comes from the Greek word which means “ruler.” Jesus referred to the devil as the ruler of this world (Jn. 12:31), and the Pharisees called him the ruler of the demons (Mt. 12:24). Paul referred to him as the “god” of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). The devil is a ruler. So, whom does he rule over? Our text says that he is the prince “of the power of the air.” In Ephesians 6:12, Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Since “rulers” and “powers” refer to evil spirits in Ephesians 6, it is extremely likely that they also refer to evil spirits in Ephesians 2. Thus, Satan is the ruler over all demon spirits. He rules over the kingdom of darkness. He is the 5-star general commanding his army of hellish hosts.
Further, we are told in Ephesians 2:2 that we formerly walked “according to the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” This doesn’t mean that all lost people are indwelt by demons, but it does mean that they are subject to demonic influence. Unsaved men respond naturally to Satan’s leading. Again the Greek preposition “kata” is used, meaning we were dominated not only by the world, but also by Satan and his wicked hosts. Perhaps imperceptibly to us, he was ruling over us, influencing us, tempting us, and holding us captive to do his will. We were controlled by him.
In 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Paul writes, “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses, and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” The apostle John wrote in 1 John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
4. We Were Controlled By Our Flesh
Not only were we controlled by the world and the devil, but also by our flesh. Ephesians 2:1-2 says that we formerly walked in trespasses and sins. Just as a fish swims in the water, and a bird flies in the air, so we walked in sins. They were our natural element in which we lived. Everything we did in the sight of God was sin, because we did not do it out of faith in God, love for God, or for the glory of God. Our deeds may have looked good to other people, but they were sinful in the sight of God.
Imagine that a doctor signs on with the U.S. Navy. While on board ship, he leads the crew to mutiny and seize the vessel. Eventually, a U.S. Destroyer comes after them, and a great gun battle ensues. When sailors on the doctor’s ship are wounded, the doctor works tirelessly around the clock to treat their injuries. Finally, his ship is captured. So, what will the U.S. Government do to that doctor who gave so sacrificially of his time and energy? Will they give him a medal of honor for his sacrifice? Of course not! They will arrest him, and punish him severely. Why? Because all the good he did, was done in rebellion. His very goodness was evil. So too, all our human goodness is evil in the sight of God, because it is all done in rebellion to Him. Until we surrender our lives to Christ in repentance and faith, “every intent of the thoughts of our heart is only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).
Not only did we walk according to our sins, but Ephesians 2:3 says “we lived in the lusts of our flesh.” Flesh here, refers to man’s fallen corrupt nature. We gave ourselves over to the lusts of our fallen nature. Those lusts were expressed in two different ways. Externally, our fleshly lusts expressed themselves in “indulging the desires of the flesh.” We indulged in alcohol, drugs, sex, and anything else that arose from our bodily appetites. Internally, our fleshly lusts expressed themselves in the desires of the mind, such as pride, envy, unbelief, strife and selfishness. The text says we lived in them. We gave ourselves over to fulfilling them. We were concerned with gratifying our fleshly desires in ways both external and internal. These lusts dominated and controlled us.
5. We Were Under The Wrath Of God
Ephesians 2:3 ends by saying, “and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” When Paul says we were children of wrath by nature, he means by physical birth. If that is true, then the ideas that babies are born innocent, and that children are under an age of accountability are myths. The Bible declares that they are born under God’s wrath. Romans 5:12-21 teaches us that all men sinned in Adam. Psalm 51:5 teaches that we are brought forth in iniquity, and Psalm 58:3 says that we are estranged from the womb. All men are born under God’s righteous condemnation.
Our text says that we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. We were no different than the rest of the world. In fact, we were in exactly the same condition as they are. Thus, if we are saved, and they are not, it has nothing to do with us being innately any better than they.
God’s wrath is His holy response to sin. All sin is offensive and loathsome to His awesome purity and holiness. As long as we remain the sons of disobedience, we must remain children of wrath. The only way, therefore, to tescape the wrath of God is to cease being a son of disobedience. A son of disobedience is a person whose life is characterized by disobedience; a sinner by nature. To stop being a son of disobedience means that God must change the person’s nature, so that he becomes a son of God.
Conclusion
So, brothers and sisters, what have we learned this morning about the condition of man? He is dead in sins, controlled by the world, the devil, his flesh, and under the wrath of God. He is a slave to sin and the devil. He is helpless (Rom. 5:6). Now, do all of these texts agree with the popular idea that God is trying to save everyone, but has to wait until someone of their own free will will let Him? These texts describe the sinner as dead, enslaved, captive, controlled, blind, deaf, helpless, hopeless, and powerless.
We must rethink this popular idea of the sinner’s free will. If he is a slave, is he free? If a sinner is dead, is he free to live? If he is captive, is he free to leave? If he is blind, is he free to see? If he is deaf, is he free to hear? Of course not! Clearly then, the popular notion of “free will” is at odds with the clear testimony of Scripture.
When I go out to a restaurant to eat, I have the freedom to choose anything on the menu (assuming I have the money to pay for it!). However, I will never choose to spend my hard-earned money on cooked spinach. I detest spinach. Why will I never choose to buy spinach in a restaurant? Because it contradicts my nature. A lion will never choose to eat grass instead of meat? Why? Because it contradicts his nature. So too, when given the choice between Christ and sin, the sinner will always choose some variety of sin. To choose Christ would contradict his very fallen nature.
Friends, do you see that you were far worse than you ever dreamed? Do you see that your condition was far more desperate than you ever knew? Do you see that the salvation of a soul is a miracle of God? It cannot be initiated by man, because he is dead in sins.
Further, do you see that in your evangelism and witnessing, that nothing less than God’s supernatural power can ever result in the conversion of a single soul?! You can’t bring anyone to Christ! You don’t have the power. The sinner doesn’t have the power. Only God has the power. All the cards are in His hands. All of your apologetic arguments can’t do it. All of your powers of persuasion can’t do it. But God can do it! And He has an elect people in this world that He has already determined to save. And He will use you and I to bring them to Christ, if we will faithfully proclaim His gospel.
Let’s adore God’s sovereign grace. And let’s faithfully be about the business of spreading His gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes! Let’s pray.
______________________________
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Follow Us!