Anyone want to critic a recent message?

[NB3K]

I gave a message this past Wednesday at my church's prayer meeting. I would like some of you guys to give me guidance in editing it.

My e-mail is [email protected] The file type is MSOffice Word 07. If you would like to review it make the subject heading in the email (Message).

The title of the message is What Jason Griffin (me) thinks what grace is. Ephesians 2:1-5 exposition.

 

[Andres]

could you just post it here in the thread or is it way too looooooonnnnnnggggg?

 

[NB3K]

it's only nine pages

---------- Post added at 07:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 PM ----------

What Jason Griffin thinks:
What Grace Is

Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2 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--
Eph 2:3 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.
Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
INTRODUCTION
The design of this message is twofold
1. To Exalt God to the Highest place that I can within my human limitations.
2. To edify and feed the sheep of God's flock

The design of this message was not and is not to attack anyone or divide, but to strengthen and unite. I know there may be some who will strongly disagree with me, but by going through Scripture thoroughly you may see the same vision that I have, that the Holy Spirit has given me on this topic. I do not presume to know everything there is on this topic, but I would like to point out through Scripture the truths that have been revealed to me.

When we throw the word grace around in the travels of our daily life, do we actually have a actual meaning of the term grace? We say such things like: by grace we have been saved, only by the grace of God..., and excreta. But do we really ponder the true meaning of grace? Pastor Kurt spoke about grace in his sermon on the 11th. He like many other great teachers that I know have struggled on this great theological topic, this great feature of God Himself, but the question is, do you have any idea what Grace is?

We speak of the different levels of grace. There is common grace, saving grace, restraining grace, and many more. The grace I want to talk about tonight is the Sovereign Grace of God! I believe in this text is the proper description of what this Sovereign Grace of God is.



EPHESIANS 2:1-5 EXPOSITION

Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

In this first verse of the text we see the former condition every true believer. That condition is that we all before regeneration were dead in our trespasses and sins. The greatest heresy that every false church has ever started was this that we were in fact not dead. But when I look at the Greek, I see the word nekros. This word is used in the new testament a 128 times. It is used to describe two things. It describes physical death and spiritual death. In those two meanings, we have two set of people. We have those dead in sins and those dead to sins.
When I speak of those people who are dead in sins, I am talking about the mass of fallen mankind that are enslaved to sin. Because of their heart of stone, they cannot hear the voice of God, nor can they see the Kingdom of God. They live in a perpetual state of sin. They have no spiritual life. And because they have no spiritual life, it is impossible for them to choose to quit sinning and choose to worship God. I say it is impossible because they do not have the inclination towards the things of God because they are dead in their sins. Sin reigns over them, and it is their master their great idol. They will stay in this condition unless God makes them alive.
When speaking of the other group of people, those dead to sins, these are the Lord's Sheep. These are those whose sins are paid for. Sin no longer has the death grip on them that it once had. The law no longer hangs over their heads like a death sentence because when Christ died we died with him. Since we died with him, we are also dead to the law. What I mean is that we are released from the law like a wife is released from her marriage covenant when her husband dies. So we are like the wife, we are released from the power of sin.
But in this passage it is very clear that the apostle Paul is describing the former spiritual condition of the present believers in Ephesus. to affirm this Jesus spoke about this in John 5:25
John 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Jesus knew that those who would be His would come from the mass of dead fallen humanity. This is the problem that the Pelagians, Semi-Pelagians or better called Arminians fail to see. I am not talking about new believers that have no clue of what is happening within them. I am talking about the professing believers that cling and hold to their doctrines of freewill.
This same word that Paul uses to describe believer's past condition is the same word that described Lazarus physical condition before Jesus called and brought him back to life
John 12:17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
I believe and, this is the Reformed view, that when Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead, it would be what he would do for His lost sheep that were spiritually dead.
On the day of judgment, it will be the Nekros that will stand before Christ naked in all there self-righteous deeds. It will be the Nekros that will be cast into the lake of fire for an eternity.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
In Revelation John is not revealing to us the physical dead, though many are in fact dead physically, but he is talking about all that were not made alive in Christ through the effectual calling by the Holy Spirit.
Without God regenerating a sinner, they are absolutely dead in their trespasses and sins. And I stress the importance of God in the act of regeneration because we need to see that it was Him who willed us in to life.
John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
We contributed nothing in this act, because we were DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!
Eph 2:2 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--

This verse hits me straight in the head. To be in Adam is to be under the control of Satan. So to be dead in trespasses and sins, is to be under the slavery of not just sin but Satan. Where does their precious doctrine of freewill stand at now in contrast to the Bible? Let me explain why I am against the heresy of freewill.
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
Here Jesus speaks that everyone that commits sin is a slave to it. Whoever is a slave to sin, will always continue to remain as an obedient slave unless they have been set free from God. But I hear that once we are set free from sin we regain our freewill, I disagree with this also.
Rom 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Here Paul states that those who have been set free from sin are slaves to God. And this slavery is wonderful, it leads to eternal life. Even in the act of sanctification, we are not free.
Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Everything that happens to us as Christians is 100% an act of God! If we were not God's slaves, we would be Satan's slaves. So in all things we ought to give thanks to our Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ for dying for us, so we can be his slaves.

Eph 2:3 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.

To be in the flesh is the most repugnant thing to our God. This is why:
Rom 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
Rom 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we carried out what we wanted. Whatever pleased the flesh was what was worshiped as God. We did not care about the One True God, but we were at WAR with the Mighty Sovereign Potentate of The Cosmos! What fools were we?
There was no chance for anyone who is dead in sins to please God! It is impossible! Why?
Rom 3:10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
Rom 3:11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Rom 3:12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
Rom 3:13 "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."
Rom 3:14 "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."
Rom 3:15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Rom 3:16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
Rom 3:17 and the way of peace they have not known."
Rom 3:18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
In Romans 3:10 through verse 17 is the true nature of human behavior. The 18th verse is the reason. The reason why the living dead have no fear of God before their eyes is because they are in fact as dead as a dead person can be that is not born of the Spirit of God!
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
I like to make a notes on verse's 11& 13. The notes are in verse 11 No ONE SEEKS FOR GOD! This goes back to the fall. After Adam sinned and God came looking for him they hid from God
Gen 3:8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
In verse 13 here again we have proof of the universal reign that Satan has over the dead. The dead are spoken of as having the venom of asps under their lips. In Genesis 3, we see that all of fallen man precedes from the serpent.
Gen 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Note that the offspring of the serpent are those who are dead in trespasses and sins. The offspring from the woman would be Jesus.
We before God regenerated us were all children of wrath. We come from the stream of fallen mankind. This is what theologians call "Infralapsarianism." Its meaning comes from the Latin "Infra" means after and "Lapsus" means fall.
According to the Infralapsarianism doctrine, God, with the design to reveal his own glory, that is, the perfections of his own nature,
1) First, determined to create the world;
2) Secondly, to permit the fall of man;
3) Thirdly, to elect from the mass of fallen men a multitude whom no man could number as "vessels of mercy ; "
4) Fourthly, to send his Son for their redemption ; and
5) Fifthly, to leave the residue of mankind, as He left the fallen angels, to suffer the just punishment of their sins.[Hodge 2:319, 320]

According to this doctrine, we have no room for pride. There was no difference between those whom God elected for salvation and those whom he decided to pass over and leave dead in their sins. In the third point of this doctrine, in the free election of God, God with His omniscient eye saw all men worthy for nothing but destruction. But through these he choose for Himself for His own glory through His Son vessels of mercy.
I could imagine that there are those who God elected unto salvation that have not only committed more sins than some of the reprobates. Not only that, but there are murderers and child rapists that are elected unto life too. We think that we are good people. That is a lie! Look I think its repulsive when I hear about a child being molested or when someone takes another's life, but what you need to understand AND YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS CLEARLY. In your natural state "being that in the flesh before Christ" You were repulsive in the eyes of an Holy and Just God! If you told one white lie, or if you ever lusted after a someone who was not your spouse or if you have broken any of the commandments, you are just as sickening to God. Yes even children who disobey their parents are just as guilty as the murderer or child molester. Remember in your salvation, there was nothing that God saw in you that was good. It was only the design of God glorifying Himself that brought you to Him.
We both the elect & the reprobate deserve the righteous anger and wrath of a holy and just God. As Pastor Josh said in his last sermon, that we are ill-deserving of the grace we possess. We that are in Christ are HELL DESERVING SINNERS!
Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, .
Whenever Paul teaches the elect about their former condition, there is always a gracious "BUT" included in his teachings. In Romans after spending over 2 and a half chapters issuing the indictment against all mankind he then has a but too.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--
Rom 3:22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

When we think of mercy, is mercy merited? As an American, I have grown, and I am sure many of you have grown accustomed to all things being equal. We have laws regarding equal opportunities for employment, education, and soon health care. American's are totally blessed, but because of our "freedoms" (even though through them we are enslaved) we do not grasp the idea of what it means that God is Sovereign. We think of ourselves as being the sovereign one. We tend to think that we are entitled to mercy. Or maybe we believe that God is obligated to spread the mercy equally among all men. WRONG! As fallen sinners enslaved to sin we are entitled to absolutely nothing. When it comes to grace and mercy, there is not an unconditional equality of outcome for all human beings.

Mercy is only given by the discretion of the one giving it. If we think mercy is owed, than we are terribly mistaken. In Romans 9 the apostle Paul states:


Rom 9:15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
Rom 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Rom 9:18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

PLEASE TAKE HEED TO VERSE 16: SO THEN IT DEPENDS NOT ON HUMAN WILL OR EXERTION, BUT ON GOD, WHO HAS MERCY.

If God has been merciful to anyone it is not because of the individual. It is because He chose to be merciful in spite of us. He has sovereignly chose to love us His Sheep. In eternity past he foreknew everything about us. He knew every sin His Son would pay for. He chose for Himself a people that He would lavish with His love and grace. He decided to love the unlovable and the worse of the worse. He poured his mercy and grace on us because He chose to love us.

Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
We see that while we were dead in our sins, God made us alive in Christ. This is the love of God! That while we were dead in our sins and at war with God, He made us alive. We did not work with Him. This is the new birth, the new creation or otherwise known as regeneration. Through the effectual calling God's grace was made irresistible towards us. This shows us that since we were spiritually dead, this new birth was "Monergistic"
" Monergism states that the regeneration of an individual is the work of God the Holy Spirit alone."[Wikipedia]
If we were truly dead, as Scripture teaches, then regeneration was a work performed by God Alone! In the Prophet Ezekiel we can confirm that this work is 100% of God, for God, and for the glory of God
Eze 36:22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
Eze 36:23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
Eze 36:24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Eze 36:28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

CONCLUSION
After going through this text, there is one thought that I want to leave in your mind. This is what I want you to know very clearly above all. It is this, if God did not come to you and call you and make you alive in Christ, you would still be dead in you trespasses and sins. You would not be here in this place now. You would not have God on your mind. God is the reason why you have Him on your mind. The Spiritual things would seem foolish to you as they do to those that are dead spiritually. You would be on the road of destruction and wrath. Not only that but the wrath of God would be abiding on you, and you would not even have a clue about it. You would not be in good standing before God. Whenever I think about how God came and made me alive in Christ I get the fear of God deep down in the marrow of my bones. I understand that if he did not choose me I would have never chosen him. I would have been destined to Hell.

But He chose you for His good pleasure. It's not even because of you that he saved you, but because of His great name is why He acted towards you in the way He did. He made You alive to worship Him. Because of His working in you to bring about His end you have received life through the Blood of Jesus. This is the Sovereign Grace of a Loving God that has Chosen for you life and His love and not His wrath that your corrupt will would have chosen and did choose by virtue of your sin.

From here on until you meet face-to-face with your God, always remember this. He could have had turned you over to the desires of your flesh. But instead of being your Judge and Executioner, He has decided for you to be your loving Father.

GRACE & PEACE TO ALL
GOOD NIGHT!

 

[Scottish Lass]

Are you looking for editing as in grammar and style or from a theological point of view? If it's the former, I'm willing to put my degree to work.

 

[NB3K]

THis is my second sermon that I have given at my church. I want it picked theologically. One must always be learnable. For some reason when I paste is here the spacing is all messed up. I gave this message word-for-word. The people loved it. But the design was not to do neither to beat people or make them fell good. THe purpose was for the glory of God.