"The Devastating Power of Sin" (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Our passage says, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." As Christ followers, we must be aware that Satan will do all that he can to undermine the significance of the cross of Jesus. He works tirelessly to get you and me to ignore the devastating sinfulness of sin! In our passage, Paul gives us a sobering reminder of the complete sinfulness and lostness from which the Christ follower has been redeemed! He reminds us of the total dominance and hard control that sin had over us! Sadly, many churches of today that claim to adhere to the Bible as their standard of faith and practice, minimize sin! Some of them simply avoid the topic, preferring to focus on more positive aspects of what they call "the gospel!" However, there's not a need for the gospel if people are not hopelessly alienated from God because of sin. The Father God did not send Jesus Christ into this world to help us run after riches and wealth! He did not put His Son on the cross to make us feel better about ourselves or to increase our self-esteem! The Lord Jesus Christ came and offered Himself on the cross to deal with our most fundamental, pervasive, and eternally devastating problem, that our sins have made us objects of the settled but determined wrath of the holy God! We don't need motivational speakers in the church who are masquerading as pastors! We need godly men who'll preach and teach the entire counsel of God's Word. Many of these churches say that they do not want to focus on the "negatives," such as sin, but rather on the "positives," such as the love of God and His grace and mercy. But, if we don't know and understand the depths of sin from which God saved us, we will not appreciate the vast riches of His grace and the greatness of His love and mercy! If we continue to underestimate the devastating power of sin, we'll surely fall prey to it! Your move. Be encouraged!