Ephesians 2:1-10
Verse 5 …made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
If we want to know how to use the sword as the Gospel we need to understand one vital point, it is a matter of life and death. Prior to our salvation, we were dead in our sins. We weren’t just asleep needing a nudge to be awakened, we were cold dead. The Gospel is the scalpel of life.
While we don’t feel dead prior to our being in the Lord’s army, the truth is we were dead because of our sins. Dead people can do nothing to bring themselves life nor do they know they are dead. We couldn’t come to God by ourselves because we could never see our need for Him without the truth of the Gospel awakening us.
The Gospel is what God uses to cut us open and massage our hearts to life. Just as a heart surgeon uses the sharp scalpel to make his way into the body to work on the heart, doing the work of a healer, the Lord opens us with the Gospel to clear out the poison of sin. Once He has made us alive He uses the Gospel to reveal our sins to us as He cuts them out of our lives.
It is only after we are made alive in Him that we can see the sin in our lives. He may start with the most obvious sins, sins we know we are doing and know we should be done with. But He doesn’t stop revealing things. This is how we learn just how many sins we have in our life. Just when we think we are done with getting past a sin, a new one pops up on our radar.
This is one reason we know the Gospel is more than just getting us to say a sweet little prayer of confession. The Gospel inspires us and drives us to move deeper and deeper into confession, it helps us understand our need for Him. Knowing our need of Him shows us our unworthiness in His eyes. It is this unworthiness which makes the Gospel such a marvel. Why would a perfectly holy God want anything to do with us? Because of His bountiful grace to those He has chosen to love. That is the heart of the Gospel.
Making It Personal
How well do you receive the cutting of the Gospel in your life? Do you willingly do the work, through the Spirit, to conquer the sins revealed? What sin are you addressing in your life today?
Making It Personal Kids
How can you know what is a sin in your life? Do you try to keep away from sin? How does Jesus help you stop sinning?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for working in our lives to reveal our sins. Help us desire to be the people You want us to be and to embrace the convicting power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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