No Longer Dead To God!
"And you He made alive, who were
dead in trespasses and sins, in
which you once walked."
Ephesians 2: 1-2
Christianity is different from all of world’s religions
in one critical regard. All other religions are man’s
attempt to reach God. Christianity is God
reaching
to man. In religion, man is reaching up to heaven
to find God. In Christianity, God is reaching down
to earth to find man.
What is the basis for this distinction? It is
found in Ephesians 2:1: “And you He made
alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
First, mankind is spiritually dead apart from
Christ.
Spiritually dead people have no interest in
seeking after the one, true God or ability to
understand spiritual truth (Romans 3:10-18).
Second, God took the initiative in imparting life
to spiritually dead people. Without God taking
the initiative, we would remain spiritually dead
in our sins. We have been saved by grace,
not
by our own religious efforts to be approved by
God.
When you belong to Christ, you are no longer
what you once were thanks to the regenerating
power of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). Thank
Him for the new life you received by grace.
"Unless you live in Christ,
you are dead to God."
Rowland Hill
