From Death to Life: The Power of God's Word

We learned that every child born into the world in every generation since Adam bears the enigma of a double image in other words you are born in the image of God and that gives your life unique dignity value and worth but it is also true of every one of us that we are born in the image of our Father and our mother that goes all the way back to Adam and to Eve and what that means is that we also are sinners by nature and by practice. [00:05:11]

By nature we are sinners from birth by nature we are children of Wrath and that is the inside story of human life now you may remember if you were here that last week we used a simple parable the parable of the biggest problem and we told a story about a man who comes to see a pastor because he wants to be more generous it soon emerges that the real problem over his money isn't his generosity it's the fact that he's raided two million dollars from his company's pension fund. [00:06:18]

Now do you see immediately why I say that this is this is the capstone as it were on the problem this is that this is the biggest dimension of all by nature we are sinners from birth that's one thing by nature we are children of Wrath that's another thing but now here we're discovering from the Bible that by nature we can do nothing to change our own position that's the capstone that's the worst of all. [00:07:40]

A man who is trapped in a canyon may be able even after 127 hours to take some drastic action to find an extreme way to get himself out even if it pushes him to the limit of personal pain but a man who is dead in a canyon is in a different position right there is no hope for him he cannot move he cannot feel you cannot act we all use the phrase while there's life there's hope but you see where there's death there's no hope is there. [00:09:36]

The Bible does not say here that you were trapped in your sins see we spoke a few weeks ago about the story of Aron Ralston you remember that guy from Indiana who was out in Utah and he's exploring a canyon on his own and he gets his arm trapped underneath a falling rock and he's there for 127 hours and he keeps hoping that someone will come and help him but nobody does. [00:08:51]

The problem for the sinner is this he is dead towards God he can't act he can't feel he can't move he is without hope and that is why it says in the same chapter in verse 12 you went without hope you've got to take that seriously you were without hope and you were without God in the world now I have to tell you and this is why I say some of us will be struggling even right now that no doctrine is more offensive to the sinner than this even the wrath of God causes less offense than this. [00:13:52]

God made you alive in Jesus Christ look at that in verse four will you you see the first three verses of this chapter are really laying out the inside story of human life sinners by birth children of Wrath unable to change our position completely dead in it the situation is hopeless but then look at verse four it is glorious but but you think oh after all these weeks of looking at the doctrine of sin we finally got there but because of his great love to us God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Jesus Christ. [00:17:29]

Jesus is speaking about how a person who is in the realm of death unable to move unable to respond may cross over jesus says from death to life and here Jesus holds out this marvelous offer he says whoever hears my word whoever believes him who has sent me so here's the son of God and he has life in himself he has life and he's able to give life and he says he gives this life to those who hear the word that he speaks and believe in the father who sent him. [00:21:25]

The Son of God speaks and physical life is imparted in these resurrections from the dead and you see it has been precisely that way that we are being told that the Son of God speaks into spiritual death into our own inability our own unresponsiveness towards God and and brings a new heart and brings a new mind brings a new spirit the Bible calls this the new birth being born from a bath it's wonderful it's glorious the dead hear his voice and live so here is Jesus he is in the business of raising people who are spiritually dead and he is still doing this today. [00:27:02]

It is always worth sharing the gospel I have to tell you that the truth we've been looking at today is to me the single most motivating truth with regards to sharing the gospel that I know it encourages me it drives me it sustains me in the work of evangelism here's why some of you will remember one of the best-known stories in the Old Testament this valley of dry bones in Ezekiel in Chapter 37 and remember that God takes Ezekiel in a vision to see this vast vast valley and it's full of dry bones nothing's living there. [00:33:03]

If you are a Christian today the miracle that has happened in your life is every bit as great as what happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus if you don't see that it's probably because you don't believe that you were spiritually dead or maybe you are like me brought up in a Christian home and maybe like me you did come to Jesus in a very simple way early in life and you had not committed any gross sins at that time but I'm saying to you it was no harder for God to save Saul of Tarsus than it was for him to save you the miracle was exactly the same. [00:40:30]

The resurrection of Jesus Christ when he was lying in the grave and the father raised him from the dead it happened in a moment up from the grave he arose that could happen to you today spiritually God is able to do that for you today as you have heard the word of Jesus Christ he's able to give you a new mind he's able to give you a new heart new desires new affections new power new direction and you spirit he's able to make you a new creation he's able to do it right now that's what conversion is. [00:42:02]