Our Inheritance Secured

Recently, I realized that I needed a gospel tune-up.I was long overdue for regular maintenance—an oil change, if you will. Over time, I found myselfcarrying a growing sense of shame, and as I reflected on it, I realized that if I had beenpreaching the gospel to myself, I likely wouldn’t have found myself in as rough a condition as Ihad.That recognition is the reason I’m preaching from this passage today. Because I believeEphesians 1:3-14 offers a correction to my heart—one that helps me live from a life marked bygrace, rather than limping along in ways that I eventually break down.And since we’re already using car imagery, there’s another picture I often return to when I needto reorient my heart. When I was a kid, I loved hopping into the car with my dad. Almost everytime, I would ask—despite the fact that I should have learned by then—“Where are we going?”And my dad would always respond, “Crazy.” As in, we’re going crazy. One of many elite-tier dadjokes.Looking back, I love that memory—especially as I think about how it relates to my relationshipwith my Heavenly Father. Because what I’m learning is this: as long as I’m with my Father, Hewill get me where I need to be. He always knew the destination—and we always got there.And that’s where this passage meets us. It’s not right thinking that produces right living and thenresults in assurance. Scripture tells a different story. Our salvation is first accomplishedthrough Christ. That finished work then reshapes our minds, and over time, that renewed minddeepens our assurance......