Principle Problem

Vol 2 No 35 THEO'S DEVOS

Eph 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Probably one of the most difficult concepts in the Bible and one that has caused confusion and bad doctrine is found in verse one. “... dead in your transgressions...” What does Paul mean by dead? How dead were we? How does this relate to free will?

I have seen a lot of definitions of the word dead but the one that seems to be the most helpful is: 'the inability to respond.' If we are physically dead we cannot respond. Poke us, pinch us, hook us up to a machine and any attempt to elicit any kind of response falls flat. We may make a muscle jump by giving it an electrical shock but that is not the kind of response we are looking for. The indication that the brain and body are no longer alive is that they cannot respond to stimulus the way they used to.

In the same manner, spiritual death is the inability to respond to God. A spiritually dead person simply cannot do anything that God wants them to do, including responding to the gospel. It isn't as though they were sort of dead but alive enough to accept Christ as their savior. No, they are dead, period. That is why the Bible says that we are saved by grace, not of ourselves. There wasn't anything in us that could respond. We were unable to respond to God and that is why we are referred to as dead. I know that this will be hard to accept by those who think that there is something within everyone that can respond to God but God would have used a different metaphor to be sure if He wanted to convey that concept to us.

If you want to consider how clear this is just think about doing this. Imagine going to a morgue and looking down at a dead man on a slab. Now think as hard as you can and see if you can figure out a way of explaining to him that Jesus died for his sins and that he needs to place his faith in that payment in order to be saved. Can't be done. Now when you talk to a living, unsaved person, you are talking to a dead person spiritually. One who cannot, any more than a physically dead man can, respond to God. It takes God's grace to do that.

Beyond all of this, we are told that we were dead in two areas. In our transgressions and our sins. Transgressions means to misstep. To walk where we were not supposed to walk. In a spiritual sense it reminds me of a zombie that stumbles around and is not sure of where he or she is going. We cannot respond to God so our walk is virtually random in terms of what God would want. And then sins, or doing what we know to be wrong. Think about the world today. Everyday we see people doing what is wrong and want to argue that it is OK to act that way. In their heart they know better but do not want to acknowledge it. I am amazed at what we watch on TV as an example. We laugh at the most crude and ungodly things but excuse it because it is funny. I sometimes wonder if they ever were able to make dirt taste good if those people would eat it. Sickening thought isn't it but we comfortably watch things that are godless and justify it because it is funny. It would appear that just because we are no longer dead doesn't mean that we can't act as though we were.

One mark of death is that the dead thing continues to corrupt. That is why, for instance, that our entertainment industry has gotten worse and worse and will continue to until Jesus comes again. In the meantime, we as Christians, ought to act in light of the life we have been given. Let's give thought to what we watch and what we do and say. Let's take advantage of being alive in Christ and not follow the example given to us by those who are still dead, completely dead, in their transgressions and sins.

May God bless you as you strive to live more like Jesus and less like a dead person;

Theo