Belfast Church Flute Band - 18th October 2026 - Dead in Sin, Alive by Grace

In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the presence of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So if we can just ask God to bless his word in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we just thank you for your word today.

We ask that you would bless the reading of your word to all our hearts today and minister it to us by your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' name, amen.

So first of all, I think it's helpful to start off by saying that I'm standing here today as a sinner saved by grace, and the Bible tells us that we are all sinners, tells us that we cannot save ourselves, and that our only hope is found in Christ Jesus.

In Romans three twenty three we read, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Notice the scripture does not say that some have sinned or that only those who have lived particularly bad lives have fallen short.

It says all have sinned.

We often hear of the gospel spoken off in terms of our brokenness, our tendency to make wrong choices, or how we could have got caught up in the wrong crowd.

These can be very real experiences, and we all know how God's grace can bring about real change in our lives.

We should never dismiss that or underestimate the difference God's grace can make in someone's life.

But the gospel goes deeper than simply turning our lives around or becoming better people.

Our greatest problem is not just that our lives are broken or that sometimes we make the wrong choices.

The Bible tells us that we are sinners before a holy God, and that we need to be rescued from the consequences of our sin.

We live in a world where we often judge ourselves by how we compare with other people.

We might look at someone else and think that we're not as bad as they are.

We might think that because we attend church, try to do good things, help our neighbors or live a respectable life, that we're doing well in the eyes of God.

But that's not the standard God has called us to.

His standard is His own perfect holiness.

Christ Jesus is the perfect example of that holiness.

He lived a sinless life that we could never live.

When we look at ourselves, honestly at our own hearts, our thoughts, our words, and our actions, we begin to understand that we have all fallen short.

We've all sinned against God.

And the problem with sin is not simply that it makes us imperfect people.

Sin separates us from a holy God, and the consequence of our sin is judgment.

One day Jesus Christ will return in power and glory.

We do not know that they are, we must be ready.

We might tell ourselves that we have plenty of time, that we can put off responding to God for another day, but our lives can change in a moment.

We must not presume that another day will come.

If we leave this world outside of Christ, we face the judgment of God and eternal punishment.

Because God is perfectly holy and just, he cannot simply overlook our sin and pretend that it does not matter.

We cannot make ourselves right with God through our own efforts.

We need to be rescued from the judgment our sins deserve and reconciled to a holy God.

So what must we do to be saved?

Being a regular attender at church will not save us.

Belonging to the Congregational Church or the Church of Ireland or the Presbyterian Church is not what saves us.

Being a good neighbor or a good contributor to society will not save us either.

There's nothing we can do in and of ourselves to earn our own salvation, and that's where the good news of the gospel begins.

Romans five verse eight tells us, but God shows his love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God did not wait for us to make ourselves worthy of his love.

Jesus Christ commended this world to save sinners.

Knowing that we could never save ourselves, God provided the savior that we need.

Christ lived the perfect life that we could never live.

He willingly went to the cross where he bore the punishment for our sin, for your sin and for my sin.

We sometimes think of God in terms of how He appears in the Old Testament and how He appears in the New.

In the Old He is a God of wrath, and in the New He is a God of love.

But the God of the Old Testament is the same God we see in the New Testament.

His holiness has not changed.

His justice has not changed.

His wrath against sin has not changed, and neither has his love.

At the cross we see both the seriousness of our sin and the greatness of God's love.

God has not ignored our sin or simply overlooked it.

Through the sacrifice of his son, he has dealt with our sin and provided the way for us to be reconciled to him.

And this brings us back to the passage we read from Ephesians two.

Paul tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins.

We were not merely broken or in need of a little improvement.

We were spiritually dead and unable to make ourselves alive to God.

But notice those wonderful words in verse four, but God.

It is God, that same God of the Old Testament, who takes initiative in our salvation, rescuing us from the wrath that we deserve.

We could never save ourselves, but God, in his great love and mercy, has acted to save us through his son.

Ephesians two tells us, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.

We are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.

Salvation is God's gift, not something we can earn through our own efforts.

When God saves us, he forgives our sins, he makes us alive in Christ, and gives us his Holy Spirit as our helper and guide.

Romans eight verse one says, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Those who are in Christ are clothed in his righteousness.

Our sin was imputed to Christ, and his righteousness is imputed to us.

This is the wonderful truth of the gospel.

Christ took the punishment our sins deserved, and through faith in him, we are counted righteous before God.

And so I want to speak particularly to anyone here today who has not yet put their trust in him.

Perhaps you've attended church for years.

Perhaps you consider yourself a good person and try to do what is right, or have always believed that there is a God.

But none of these things can take away your guilt before him.

Knowing about Jesus is not the same as trusting in him for your salvation.

The question is not whether you've lived a better life than someone else, but whether you've recognized your sin before a holy God and your need for the savior he has provided.

Do not put your trust in your own goodness, your religious background, or your efforts to become a better person.

The answer from the beginning has always been to repent, to turn from your sin, and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

For those of us who have already trusted in Him, this is where our confidence remains.

We will still struggle with sin, but our hope is not found in our own perfection.

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

We have all sinned and stand in need of God's mercy, but God and his love has provided a savior in his son, Jesus Christ.

He died for sinners, he rose again, He is Lord and he will return in power and glory.

May we all be fine trusting in him.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we just thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins and rise again, so that all who repent and trust in him may be forgiven and have eternal life.

Help us to recognize our need for a savior and to rest in Christ alone for our salvation.

In Jesus name, amen.