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Colin Smith: Now someone may be saying at this point, and wait a minute I've got a question. This isn't making a whole lot of sense to me because after all I have come to Christ. I have repented. I have believed. I have taken a step towards God. And so I ask you this question: How did you come to do that?

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, for the person who says, "Well, I do know Christ, I've repented, I've believed, I've taken that step towards God," why would you then have us answer that question, "Well, then how did you come to do that?"

Colin Smith: Well, you know, the Bible says that we're dead in trespasses and sins. And the question is, if you're dead in trespasses and sins, how are you going to make a decision to become a follower of Christ? I mean, dead people don't get up and start walking around.

Steve Hiller: And there is an illustration in this message that was so eye-opening for many people. You actually introduced us to a mannequin.

Colin Smith: Yeah, we have a mannequin which for some reason is lying around the church here. So we pulled him out of the cupboard and put him up on the platform so that I could ask him to do things, and he turned out to be rather unresponsive.

Steve Hiller: Yeah, he wasn't very helpful. But very helpful in an illustration here. So we get it. Okay, the mannequin's not alive, but how does that really help us understand this truth, do you think?

Colin Smith: Well, it shows us the miracle of what it is to have new life in Christ. You were dead in trespasses and sins, but God has made you alive in Jesus Christ. That's a miracle. It means that to become a Christian is more than a decision. It is a work of God, a miracle of grace. That's true of every believer. God has done a miracle of grace in you, and to understand it is wonderful.

Steve Hiller: Well, we're going to continue to look at that in Ephesians chapter 2. If you can, I hope you'll grab your Bible and join us there as we begin a message entitled "Dead Men Walking." Here's Pastor Colin Smith.

Colin Smith: Well, I described at the beginning of our series, the Inside Story, that this was really going to be a little bit like a triathlon. You know what that is? It's one event, it's three parts, and each of the parts look and feel very different indeed. Our aim is that we will try to discover what the Bible has to say about the inside story of human life. Why is the world as it is?

Then that we will look at the inside story of the Christian life. Why is my experience as a Christian as it is? And then in the third part, that we will look at the inside story of our future life. What lies ahead of every person who has ever lived in the eternal future that Christ has come to reveal?

Today we actually complete the first stage of the journey. We've been asking the question, why is the world as it is today? Why is it after all these years of human history that we have not yet established a world in which there is peace and justice for all? Why do we still have war? Why do we still have the breakdown of families, and so forth and so on? Where does all of this come from?

And we're trying to set in place some major building blocks for understanding the Christian faith. And we began here with the Bible telling us that God created Adam upright, but that men have gone in search of many schemes. 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. We've been in Ephesians chapter 2, and I hope you have your Bible open there again today. And we saw this very clearly in Ephesians 2 and verse 3: All of us lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature.

In other words, by nature, by birth, at one time it was true of every person that we were primarily about ourselves. And then last week, we looked at the consequence of this in verse 3: Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. So here is what God says about our condition by nature. Here is the biblical explanation of why the world is as it is: 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 this 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 $2 million from his company's pension fund. And as the pastor is trying to help him face up to what the implications of this are and what he must do, the caretaker of the church comes bursting in and saying there's a bomb in the building, and suddenly there's another problem that's even bigger and more immediate still.

Now today we are coming to the third and the last step in us grasping the scale of the human problem. And I fear that some of you might just be at the point of saying, "Oh, please, not again." You know, first you tell us that we're sinners by nature, then you tell us it's worse, we're children of wrath, and now you're telling us there's something even worse. Well, I'm afraid so, but this is it, folks. I hope you have your Bible open at Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1. Here's the biggest problem of all: As for you, you were dead, dead, dead in your transgressions and sins.

Now do you see immediately why I say that this is the capstone, as it were, on the problem? 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.

Now I want to plead with you to take the Bible seriously as we look at the scripture today. For some of us, we will struggle even as soon as it's read, and you might find yourself struggling for the next half hour or so. I urge you to struggle. I urge you to struggle and to place yourself under the Bible even if it is reshaping what you have thought up until today. 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. And in the end, after 127 hours, when no one is there and he loses hope of that, he decides the only thing he can do is to take radical personal surgery to get himself out of the situation. He cuts off his own arm to save his own life.

It is an extraordinary story. 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. He 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? There's no hope at all. Life is gone, and the situation of death is one that speaks of absolute, complete, total, and utter hopelessness in terms of any ability to alter the situation at all. Think about it. If a man falls in a pit, you can throw him a rope, and he can grab onto the rope, and you can pull him out. But if the man is dead in the pit, then the rope is of no value to him whatsoever.

Now I thought about all this business of being dead and thought, well, you know, maybe if we had a corpse in the church, that would kind of help illustrate this. Then I thought of one or two problems in relation to the practicalities of doing that. So let me introduce you instead to my friend here, Manny, Manny the mannequin. We've become good friends over these last weeks, and you can see here what a fine fellow Manny is.

And how very respectable, and obviously he's lived a very prosperous and successful life. Looks magnificent, I would say, would you not agree? And very, very sharp. Rather large feet, but you know, I come to Manny, if you'll put up with my foolishness for a minute, and I say, "You know, Manny, it's really important, my friend, that you live a life that honors God. The Ten Commandments, Manny. The Sermon on the Mount, Manny. Love God with all your heart, Manny. Love your neighbor as yourself, Manny."

He's not very responsive, this guy, is he? Not much comes from him. He's lifeless. He's dead. He does not have the capacity to do what I'm talking to him about. Can't even hear it. Suppose I say to him in my desire that my friend here becomes a Christian, I say to him, "Now Manny, God helps them that help themselves. Have you ever heard that phrase, by the way? Manny, God helps them that help themselves, and God is very gracious and God is very kind. And you got some stuff wrong in your life, Manny, as I got stuff wrong in my life, but here's what you need to do because God is very gracious and kind: You've got to take the first step towards God. Now come on, Manny, let's go. Take the first step towards God."

Manny ain't going to take the first step towards God, you see. He's dead. He has no life in him. Now friends, forgive my foolishness. I want you to think about this, what the Bible that's open in front of you is saying. It's not saying that the problem for the sinner is that he's weak. It's not saying that the problem for the sinner is that he can't make up his mind whether he wants to come to Christ or not.

What it's saying is that the problem at its root for the sinner is that he is dead towards God. He's alive in this world, he's socially engaged, he can be at church and he can sing and all the rest of it, but at root, 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 were 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. No matter how hard a problem is, a man will feel good about himself if he thinks he has the ability to tackle it. So tell me that I have a sinful nature and I'll tell you I'll fight it. Tell me that I'm liable to the wrath of God and I'll tell you I'll live a life that will win God's admiration.

But if you tell me that I am dead, that there is nothing that I can do about my own position, you insult me, and I will not accept your doctrine. And yet, friends, with the Bible open in front of us, do you not see that is exactly the teaching of the Bible, if we're prepared to take the words of scripture seriously? You see, this is important because many church people have bought into a view of sin that goes something like this: "Well, we all mess up in various ways. Nobody's perfect. We all have our problems. But God is gracious and God is kind, and if we're sorry and want to do better, he will forgive us and help us, and Jesus made all that possible."

Friend, if that is what you think the problem is, you will never think that salvation is that big a deal. If that is the size of the problem, Jesus Christ will not seem to you to be a great savior. He really won't. And what I'm wanting us to grasp from the Bible, as we have made our way through the first part of this series, is that the wrong things that we have done in our lives are only the tip of the iceberg.

Here's the Bible's doctrine of sin. Try and get this clear in your mind. It will be a building block for understanding the Christian faith. What's the Bible doctrine of sin? By nature we are sinners from birth, by nature we are children of wrath, by nature we cannot change our own position, by nature therefore we're completely hopeless. That is the inside story of the human life.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Dead Men Walking," part of a larger series called "The Inside Story of Human Life." Now we're going to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment. Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry. We're able to be on the station because of your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we'd love to send you a copy of a book called *Lincoln's Daily Devotional*. And Colin, who is this book for?

Colin Smith: Well, I think it's for anyone who really loves the word of God, but especially I think for anyone who's looking for something fresh or anyone who's looking for something really short. This little devotional, that was actually used by Abraham Lincoln himself, simply offers a verse of scripture for every day. They are organized by themes, a different theme each month. They go through the experience of a Christian believer in the various parts of life that we go through.

And it gives to us just a verse that you can meditate on. So if you're looking for something really short just to pop a verse of scripture into your mind each day, then this book does it very simply, very wonderfully. It does it from the Old King James Version, of course, which so beautifully expresses the English language. And I think too, for someone who feels I just want to do something fresh and different, I find it helpful to change up what I'm doing in my own devotional life, to move from one thing to another, one part of scripture to another, to use different books and devotionals and aids at different times.

And here's something that might just be fresh for someone today. A verse of scripture each day from Abraham Lincoln's devotional that will help you to meditate on the word of God, take in its truth, and live in its beauty and in its power.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you a copy of *Lincoln's Daily Devotional* as our way of saying thanks for your financial support this month. You can give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Again, the website is openthebible.org. Let's get back to the message. Here's Pastor Colin Smith.

Colin Smith: What's the Bible doctrine of sin? By nature we are sinners from birth, by nature we are children of wrath, by nature we cannot change our own position, by nature therefore we're completely hopeless. That is the inside story of the human life. Now someone may be saying at this point, and wait a minute I've got a question. This isn't making a whole lot of sense to me because after all I have come to Christ.

I have repented. I have believed. I have taken a step towards God. And so I ask you this question: How did you come to do that? And here's the answer: God made you alive in Jesus Christ. Look at that in verse 4, 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 4. It is glorious. But, but! You think, oh, after all these weeks of looking at the doctrine of sin, we've finally got there. But! Because of his great love to us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Jesus Christ. That's what Paul is saying to all of his Christian readers. That is what has happened to you if you have come to Jesus Christ. God has stepped into your death, and he has brought life.

Here we were, dead in sins, unable to act, unable to move by ourselves. What has God done? But God, but God! See, at the heart of the gospel, it's not about something that you're doing to move towards God; it's about something that God has done to move towards you. It's amazing. A friend of mine who's a new Christian just said to me the other week, he said, "You know, I was really thinking that my conversion was all about me reaching out to God. Now I'm realizing God was reaching out to me."

And his face was aglow with the wonder of it. He saw the love of Christ for him. Christ saved me. See, grace is more than God making salvation possible. It is more than God opening a door and then standing back to see who will come. Some folks have that very shriveled view of salvation in their minds. Listen: If God merely opened a door and then stepped back and said, "Well, let's see who out of the human race, all of whom are dead in sin, are going to come through this door," guess how many would come? Precisely none.

Because at the end of the day, an open door is no different from a closed door to a person who is dead. Makes no difference. So grace is more than God making your salvation possible. Grace is God saving you. And that's precisely what Paul is saying here in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4. Here is what has happened: If you are a Christian, if you have faith, if you have come to repentance, if you have taken a step towards God here today, then here is what is happening or what has happened in your life: God, who is rich in mercy, has made you alive in Christ, even when you were dead in transgressions and sins.

Now you say, "How did this happen?" Turn with me back to the passage that was read for us earlier in John's Gospel in chapter 5, would you? John's Gospel in chapter 5, because here Jesus speaks about exactly the same thing, and the words of our Lord Jesus are wonderful and they are full of hope. John's Gospel chapter 5 and verse 24, and I want you to see here how Jesus offers hope to us helpless sinners. He says this: "Whoever hears my word, whoever, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, that person has eternal life and will not be condemned."

So the wrath is removed as well. "And he has crossed over from death to life." Now look at this marvelous promise. 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."

And 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. But of course, that raises the obvious question, doesn't it? Let's go back to Manny. How's Manny going to hear when he's dead? How's Manny going to believe when he's dead? How's Manny going to cross over from death to life? That's the question.

And so I want you to see what Jesus says right here: that Christ gives life to people who are spiritually dead. Look at what he says in verse 21: "Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." See, death is the end of all hope for us, but not for God. The Father raises the dead, and the Son of God, who has life in himself, is able to give this life to whom he is pleased to give it.

Steve Hiller: Well, unfortunately, we do have to pause right there. Our message is called "Dead Men Walking," part of a larger series called "The Inside Story of Human Life." And we'll continue next time. If you ever miss a program or you want to go back and listen again, you can do that at our website. Come to openthebible.org. Well, Colin, today when you asked the question, "If God just opened a door of salvation and stood back, who would walk through it?" I'm sure that there are some of us who wanted to say, "Well, I did. Jesus opened the door and I walked through it."

Colin Smith: Well, yeah, but the problem, Steve, is if that's the case, what is the difference between the Christian and the person who's not a Christian?

Steve Hiller: Well, you walked through that door.

Colin Smith: Yeah, and that means that ultimately my salvation is down to me. And the Bible says there's no grounds for which a Christian can boast because ultimately my salvation is a matter of God's grace having laid hold of me. And that's the miracle that we're looking at in this message: I was dead and Christ gave me life, and the effect of Christ giving me life was that I walked through the door and I embraced him with faith.

Steve Hiller: So for the person who says, "Well, I always thought it was something that I did, that I placed my faith in Jesus..."

Colin Smith: Well, it is something that you did. It is something that you did. But the question is, why did you do it? And the answer to that question is God's grace was at work in you. So sure, to be a Christian is your decision, but it's much more: God has laid hold of you. And that's the most marvelous truth.

Steve Hiller: It is a truth that we're going to continue to look at in more detail next time, so I hope you make it a point to join us. If you ever miss a program, you can always come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the broadcast or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen through the Open the Bible app, which you'll find for free at your App Store. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time.

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