We're pleased, Almighty God,
to bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the Epistle of
Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 2, and we'll read verses 11,
12, and 13. So, the Epistle of Paul to the
Ephesians, Chapter 2, and reading verses 11, 12, and 13. Wherefore,
remember, that ye, being in time past Gentiles
in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which
is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world, but now in Christ
Jesus. Ye who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ. This epistle to the Ephesians
is a very wonderful letter that Paul wrote. And there's tremendous
truths in it, really right from the very beginning. And we should
be very thankful for it. And I never cease to often read
this epistle to the Ephesians. And it's wonderful how he goes
through the various points. Clarifies the situation with
regards to those who are dead Spiritually that means there's
no life or those who are alive who've been quickened and what
a mercy it is if you and I in our lives can find that we are
amongst those who are spiritually alive You see it's a great blessing
to have the Bible to read It's a great blessing to be able to
meet together to worship the true God. But the greatest and
important blessing is that you and I have the evidence in our
hearts that we are spiritually alive. There is, I'm sure, nothing
worse than pretending to be a Christian when we're not. perhaps worship
all our life in places of worship and yet are not made spiritually
alive. And yet how wonderful it is if
we have the evidence of God's work in our souls which has made
us spiritually alive and we can therefore join in with the beginning
of this chapter where Paul says in you Hath he quickened? Hath
made alive? What a wonderful blessing it
is, therefore, if that is true. And as he goes on to say, who
were dead in trespasses and in sins. Time passed when we knew
no life, no spiritual life. We came, we went from the house
of God, we listened, it never entered into our hearts. It's
just words. But what a time, therefore, we
can thank God for if it's come. And that's really where we come
down to in this 11th verse, where Paul says, wherefore, remember. Well, it's a good thing today
if you and I have something to remember of the work of God in
our souls. You know, it's not the quantity,
it's the quality. That means it's the real work
of God. And it's not something which
is pseudo, something which we pretend is there, and something
which we rely upon, which doesn't emanate from the Word of Almighty
God. But yet, what a blessing if the
Holy Spirit has blessed us, and has given us a hope in his mercy
and to come and to rejoice in it and as I often say and it
is true true spiritualness is positive it's not negative there
is a lot that people sometimes rely upon as negative negative
things nothing wrong in that But just a negative religion
would never get you and me to heaven. We need the positive
evidence. And that's why the Apostle homes
in on this great truth, ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh. And he gives the illustration,
a natural illustration of circumcision, which of course was that which
separated the Jews and the Gentiles in those days. But the great
difference is, is whether you and I possess the life of God
in our souls, whether we are spiritually alive or whether
we are spiritually dead, who are called uncircumcision by
that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands,
that at that time, ye were without Christ being aliens. Alien is really somebody who
is a non-participant in the blessings, non-participant in the things
that occur. Well, what a mercy for you and
me today if we are amongst those who are in time past like that. And again, the only person that
knows whether that's true is yourself. We can look at each other. We
don't know what goes on in the hearts. And a very solemn illustration
of that, of course, is Judas Iscariot. All the other eleven
disciples didn't realize that Judas Iscariot was not a true
believer. They didn't realize it. He got
along with them. In fact, he was trusted so much
that although he was a thief, looked after the money for them
you see we can be deceived but you before God know the truth
and what a blessing therefore if we can answer before God that
we were in time past without Christ the question must be asked
this morning are we without Christ? Or have we been blessed with
the evidence that Christ does know us and by his grace we know
him? Many things are important in
our lives. But remember, one thing is needful. One thing is needful. And that
is to know the Lord Jesus Christ. as our Saviour, to recognise
that we need a Saviour, to recognise that we are a sinner. It's very
easy to, people would just say, well I know I'm a sinner, but
does it enter into the hearts and make us cry out, God be merciful
to me, a sinner. Because we know, and I hope you
know, and I hope you realise, that there is no sin in heaven,
and if we are still a sinner without being washed in the blood
of the Lamb, we shall never enter in to that holy place. But we
shall fall into hell forever and ever. It's a very terrible
thought and consideration. To be left to ourselves. We might
say to be deceived. Many people are deceived in the
day and age in which we live. People think that by chapel going,
they tick the boxes and they're all right. My friends, there's
nothing wrong in going to chapel, it's right and proper. People
read the Bible, nothing wrong in that. But they just tick a
box sometimes, reading the Bible. Do we read the Bible as the Word
of God. Do we read the Bible because
we are hungry and thirsty after spiritual knowledge? You see,
there's a great separation between that which is real and that which
is false. Indeed, as we read in this chapter,
that which is of the flesh, just our own natural being, or of
the Spirit. And the work of the Spirit emanates
from God. It's a sovereign work. It's a
glorious work. And that's why the Apostle is
able to spell out so clearly. For by grace are ye saved, through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And if you and I could save our
souls, we'd pat ourselves on the back. And we'd say, well,
we did well. And we've done this and done
that. The work of the Spirit makes
us realise we are failures. We're failures. We're sinners. We need salvation. We need mercy. We need God to look upon us.
And it will cause us to cry from our heart. Not just in a mere
words, but from our heart. God, be merciful. to me a sinner. What a blessing if we can look
back in our lives and realise God has given us that prayer. That prayer. Because it is a
prayer and what a blessing if it comes from our heart. If it
comes from our heart it's because it's the work of the Spirit and
we can believe that God will and does come and have mercy
upon us so that we can rejoice in what he's done and we understand
therefore this great truth that at that time you were without
Christ without Christ has there been a change in our lives has
there been a change whereas at one time we were without Christ
didn't worry us really we carried on aimlessly in this world we
hoped we were all right we just assumed everything would be all
right and we perhaps wanted to impress people by our outward
performance of religion we don't have to impress people it doesn't
matter what people think it matters what God thinks it matters to whether we do possess
the life of God in our souls or not. And that's why we have
this very clear statement here, that at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. What a mercy if God has made
you and me wise unto salvation. If God has shown to us the emptiness
of just a mere profession of pretending we're a Christian,
without the possession of the life of God in the souls. And the life of God in the soul
does make a difference. Indeed, we're blessed by it. We're encouraged by it. We're
thankful to God for it. We rejoice in his great salvation. True religion, the blessing of
it brings happiness and joy and peace in believing because God's
given us that concern given us that desire to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ all these things are very precious they're very
great and glorious and they're very personal because it's between
our souls and God our souls and God We won't be able to come
and stand before that judgment seat of Christ and boast about
what we've done. But we shall be thankful for
what Christ has done. Because we shall stand in his
righteousness, not in ours. We'll be thankful for his work,
not what we've done. Because what he has done, brings
honour and glory to His great and holy name. What we've done
brings honour and glory to ourselves. And God is a jealous God. And
God will have the honour and the glory. So what a blessing if the Holy
Spirit has come into our hearts and
produce that change. And we go back to the very beginning
of this chapter. And you hath he made spiritually
alive. How wonderful. Because this,
my friends, is an eternal blessing. It doesn't fade away. It may
sometimes get a bit dimmer in our life. But sometimes it's
revitalized. And we bless God for his work. And he's looked down upon us.
And he's had mercy upon us. We never deserved it. You'll
never be able to come and say, well I deserved God's mercy. You'll have to stand and recognise
that his mercy was all through his grace. It's not that we loved God. but
that he loved us. That's a great truth in the epistle
of John, the first epistle. Not that we love God, but he
loved us. And it's because he loved us
that he comes into our hearts and changes the direction of
our life. Because we're a new creature. old things have passed away behold
all things are new and it's new because the glorious light of
the gospel has shone right into our heart and things that we
now see we never saw before it's until the great work of the Holy
Spirit shines light into our soul and what a blessing it is
then And we can, by the grace of God,
go on our way rejoicing. Oh, what a blessing. What a great
God we have. What a wonderful God we have. And so we have this clear statement. And in time past, you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers. from the covenants of promise
that means strangers from the great truth of God didn't really
understand it and didn't have the application of the work of
the Holy Spirit to our own souls the Holy Spirit applies His Word
you and I can read the Word of God it doesn't have any effect
you may think it's a nice word, it's interesting but when the
Holy Spirit applies it it comes directly to us And we have the
evidence that we've been blessed indeed. We haven't been passed
by as we deserve. We were at that time when we
had no hope and were without God in the world. And then we
come down to this 13th verse. There are many butts in the Word
of God and here is a glorious butt. This is what it says, but
now, but now. Well, has there been a now in
your life? And you come and say, by the
grace of God, but now, but now, in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes
were far off, we were far off, until God came. We were in the
world, we were of it, we were content in the things of the
world. We were able, we thought, to
do both things. We were able to serve God and
be able to serve man. But you see, God is a jealous
God. And you will find that when God works in your heart and in
your soul, You will desire to serve the ever-living and true
God. You will desire to walk in His
ways. You will desire to obey His word. It won't be a word which is against
you. It will be a word that you rejoice
in and realize that you were at one time far off and yet says
the word here are made nigh that means made near near to God you
were far off at one time far off and now there's been a change
well the great thing is has there been a change? has there been
a change? don't just carry on aimlessly
assuming something because the work of the Holy Spirit in our
souls makes very evident that there has been a change because
what's occurred we now possess new life new life we've had natural
life and now we have spiritual life the Lord Jesus made it very
plain didn't he when he spoke to Nicodemus very clearly Nicodemus
didn't understand, and yet the Lord told him, you must, you
must be born again. No doubt about it. You know, I can't carry on and
die without being born again. You must be born again. well what a wonderful favour
if the Holy Spirit come into our soul and show to us that
we are born again but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes
were far off far off dead in trespasses and sin and content
with it far off, are made nigh, made
near. How? By the blood of Christ. What does that mean? It means
by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may ask an obvious
question, why is that? Because you and I are separated
by our sin from God. We do not enjoy fellowship. We're separated. God cannot look
upon sin. He's a holy God. He cannot look
upon sin. So what a wonderful glorious
gospel we have that God the Father, for God the Father so loved the
world that he sent his only begotten Son into the world that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. God sent his son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and that son did the work of his father. The father gave him a commission. The son fulfilled that commission. And that commission was to die
in the place of his people. again that's beautifully illustrated
in that picture that we have of Abraham and Isaac when God
commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac his only son Abraham didn't hesitate but right
at the very last moment God told him to stop He knew that Abraham
now believed God and that he was told to take that ram which
was caught in his horns in the thicket behind and to offer the
ram up instead of his son. And my friends, that's what we
have, a picture of substitution. The Lord Jesus was offered up
to his father in place of ourselves. He bore the punishment instead. We're made near by the blood,
by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The great blessing is
true Christians rejoice in this great truth. And we come by the
grace of God and say, my hope is built on nothing less than
Jesus' blood and righteousness. We rely on the finished work
of the Saviour. We're thankful for Calvary. We're thankful the Lord Jesus
Christ was willing to offer himself as that perfect sacrifice in
place of ourselves. Oh, what a blessing it is to
realise that the Lord Jesus Christ never failed in that work His
Father gave Him to do. And those words uttered on the
cross as that final statement when He said to His Father, It
is finished. What a testimony. 33 years the Lord Jesus had lived
on this earth. 33 years he bore all the wickedness
in this earth. He'd done his father's will.
He'd gone about doing good. He came to the culmination, willingly
gave his life, and just so that we understand, crucifixion is
the most painful death. No one could say, well, of course,
Jesus had an easy death. Jesus had the most painful death. And why to stand in our place
and to endure what we should have endured but it would never
have satisfied the holy law of God because we're unholy. Well we have this great truth
here It's wonderful, isn't it? That the Apostle Paul was able
to write these great truths. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Well, I wonder this morning.
And again, it's good, therefore, to consider these words. That's
why the Apostle says here, wherefore remember Remember, look back
in your life to that time when you were without God or perhaps
today you're still without God and yet has there been a time
but now by the grace of God by the love of God by the mercy
of God You've been made near, brought near, brought near by
the powerful effect of the Holy Spirit. Oh, it's a very wonderful
and glorious truth. The Apostle perhaps spells it
out quite clearly when he wrote to the Romans. It's a lot of
wonderful teaching in there. Epistle of Paul to the Romans
and in the third chapter Towards the end we read these words. I'll just read a few Verses because
it's very instructive to us. So the third chapter in the epistle
of Paul to the Romans and starting at verse 23 for all have sinned
all, every single person, and come short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by His grace, His grace, free and merited
favour, through the redemption, the death that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, to stand in our
place through faith, in his blood, in his death, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God, to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness,
that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth
in Jesus. Well, I expect they're familiar
words, aren't they? To believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved. How vital it is. Perhaps all
of us are familiar with those words. But I wonder whether God's
given you and me that grace to really believe that we do believe
in our heart that Jesus Christ came into this world to save
sinners as the Apostle Paul says, of whom I am chief. and when
the Holy Spirit works in our heart we don't look around and
think oh well that person's worse than me because the Holy Spirit
will convince of sin and show to us the sins not perhaps which
are evident outwardly but the sins which are not evident the
sins within you won't be able to throw stones at other people
the Apostle Paul said who was the chief of sinners? Yes, it's
good when the Holy Spirit convinces us of our sin and brings us to
that place so that we stand guilty before a holy God and are made
nigh by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful
gospel that we have and we should be very thankful that we have
the gospel to read and to Rejoice in it. And the Apostle, when
he wrote to the Colossians, there's another wonderful epistle that
we can read. He tells us this. Let me just
read from the verse 8. Who also declared unto us your
love in the Spirit. For this cause we also since
the day we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you and to
desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We don't want to just stay as
pygmies in the things of God. We want to be filled that ye
might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful
in every good work and the Word of God tells us it's by our fruit,
by our spiritual fruit we shall be known as a child of God being
fruitful in every good work increasing in the knowledge of God and we
should desire the knowledge of God we should desire that greater
evidence of God's love and mercy strengthened with all might according
to his glorious power That's a great statement, isn't it?
His glorious power. The power of God which has made
us spiritually alive. It's the power of God. You can't
make yourself alive. I'll tell you why. Because you're
dead. Spiritually dead. But bless God, He does and He
can make us spiritually alive through His glorious power and
through all patience and longsuffering, with joyfulness, giving thanks
unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light." You see, we're joined
together with the whole Church of God, the whole family of God,
as unity, because we're all bought with a price. We're all redeemed
through the blood of Christ, who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated that means changed us into the
kingdom of his dear son in whom we have redemption cleansed from
our sin through his blood even the forgiveness of sins we could
go on it's a long sentence that is but we won't go on but it's
a mercy to have such great words to encourage us and to spell
out in detail the work of God in our hearts. And we're able
to come and stand and say, by the grace of God, I understand
what the apostles writing. I didn't at one time, it was
just words went over my head. But now, by the grace of God, I understand. And I bless God
for it. I bless God for the wonder of
Redeeming love, you know, as you know, I refer quite often
to this wonderful epistle to the Hebrews. The Apostle Paul
was taught so much. Remember, he was brought up at
the feet of Gamaliel. Before he knew the Lord, he knew
the law, he knew what it meant, but didn't understand it. until
after he was converted. And he went into the backside
of the desert, and there God showed him for three years the
great truths, the wonderful truths of the Gospel. We read in the
ninth chapter of this epistle, Whereupon neither the first government,
first testament, was dedicated without blood. For when Moses
had spoken every precept, and to all the people according to
the law he took the blood of calves and of goats with water
and scarlet water and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and
all the people saying this blood this is the blood of the testament
which God hath enjoined unto you moreover he sprinkled with
blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry
and that typified what was to follow and he did that for many
many years and almost all things are by the law purged with blood
without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin there's
no forgiveness without shedding of blood but our blood is sinful
blood it would never pay the price but the blood of Jesus
Christ God's Son cleansing us from all sin. Rejoice in that
great truth. Bless God for it and recognise
the wonderful favour it is. And so says the Apostle here,
but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ. What a blessing. Today, my friends,
if you and I know the effect of the death of Christ, we must
know it. It's not something which is irrelevant. You and I need to know this path
that the Apostle lays down when he writes to the Ephesians and,
of course, to all the faithful in Christ Jesus. And his people
are, by the grace of God, the faithful in Christ Jesus. Very humbling, isn't it? Amazing
that God shall look down upon you and look down upon me. Utterly
unworthy sinners. There's billions of people in
the world. Why should he have looked down? upon such an unworthy
sinner. Do you know the reason? Because
he loved us. Because he loved us from eternity
past. My friends, you and I can't understand
with our natural mind such a great and glorious truth. Bless God
if you and I possess faith. God-given faith. Faith's the
gift of God. Let us not misunderstand it.
Faith gives us, we read it in the eighth verse, for by grace
are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God. But what a mercy if God has given
us faith to believe. in the Lord Jesus Christ, to
believe in his atoning death, to believe in the value of his
shed blood. Oh, God gives you and me that
grace. We'll go rejoicing. We'll praise
God for it. We'll bless God for it. And come
this morning and realize this great statement, wherefore Remember,
remember don't forget it because it's great truth that ye being
in time past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands that
at that time ye were without Christ being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise
having no hope And without God in the world, we were all there. We were all there. I wonder if
we're still there today. If we don't have any hope, what
a mercy if we come to this place. But now, but now, in Christ Jesus,
you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ to the glory of God.