Unstoppable: The Book of Acts: Side Trip to Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1–101. Our Condition: Spiritually Dead (Eph. 2:1–3)“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins…” (Ephesians 2:1)- Not sick. Not struggling. Not confused.- Dead.- Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good.- He came to make dead people alive.2. God’s Intervention: “But God” (Eph. 2:4–6)“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead… made us alive together with Christ.”- Salvation is not God responding to your effort.- Salvation is God responding to your helplessness.- Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live.- Jesus died the death we deserved to die.- Jesus rose again to give us new life.3. The Means of Salvation: Grace Through Faith (Eph. 2:8–9)“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”- Grace means: You don’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. You can’t repay it- Faith is not trying harder. Faith is trusting fully.- If salvation were by works, heaven would be full of bragging.- Because salvation is by grace, heaven will be full of worship.4. The Result: A New Life With Purpose (Eph. 2:10)“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…”- Good works don’t save us—they follow salvation.- We don’t work for acceptance. We work from acceptance.Common Reasons People Reject Salvation — and Biblical Responses1. “I’m a good person.”- The standard isn’t “better than others.”- The standard is God’s holiness.2. “I’ll clean my life up first.”- Like saying you’ll lose weight before going to gym – backwards.- You don’t get clean to come to Christ.- You come to Christ to be made clean.3. “I’m too sinful—God wouldn’t want me.”- You are not disqualified by your sin.- You are the reason He came.4. “There are too many hypocrites in the church.”- Jesus warned there would be hypocrites (Matthew 23).- Hypocrisy in others does not excuse unbelief in you.- The church is not a museum for saints. It’s a hospital for sinners. Sinners are here.5. “I’ll deal with this later.”- “You do not know what tomorrow will bring.” (James 4:14)- Delayed obedience is disguised rejection.- You are not promised tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation.6. “There are many ways to God.”- “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)- If there were another way, the cross was unnecessary.- The resurrection declares Jesus is enough.7. “Disappointment or hurt has left me suspicious.”- God is not offended by your grief— He shares your hatred of death.- If anyone could say, “The wrong person died,” it is God the Father.- God is not asking you to trust Him from a distance.- He is asking you to trust Him as One who has buried His Son.- Grief and anger → welcomed- Refusal to trust → dangerous