So Great a Salvation - Ephesians 2:1–10 - Sermons from the Baptist Faith and Message

Written by Lucien Coleman

Part 6 of 19 Sermons on The Baptist Faith and Message

The Baptist Faith and Message sets forth "certain definite doctrines that Baptists believe, cherish, and with which they have been and are now closely identified." You may read The Baptist Faith and Message on SBC.net. This sermon series by Lucien Coleman originally appeared in Proclaim! magazine.

At the conclusion of a revival service a young man, eager to demonstrate his theological sophistication, said to the preacher, “You repeatedly used the word saved. That word isn’t in my religious vocabulary. Why do I need saving?” Unknowingly, he was confessing an abysmal ignorance of the Bible.

The vocabulary of salvation permeates the Scriptures from beginning to end, in both the Old and the New Testaments.

The Walking Dead (Eph. 2:1–3)

In Ephesians 2:1–3 Paul speaks directly to the young man’s question, “Why do I need saving?” His answer: Without God, the source of life, we are spiritually dead.

Recall those scenes in TV movies where someone frantically pleads with a person who has just died, “Speak to me! Say something!”—with no response. The spiritually dead can no more respond to God than a corpse can respond to a living person.

In Genesis 3, the serpent entices Eve with the promise, “ye shall be as gods.” The implication is that one who is like God can do without God. The essence of sin is humanity’s decision to go it alone, to be literally godless; or, to put it differently, to be its own god. (Paul describes this forcibly in Romans 3:10–11.) This is a fatal choice, for God is the source of life. Abandoning God is like an astronaut disconnecting his umbilical line and floating off into space on his own.

But the person who aspires to be the master of his own destiny soon discovers that he is not really in charge. Without the restraining influence of God in his life, he finds himself tyrannized by “the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:3).

Alive in Him (Eph. 2:4–6)

The spiritually dead can do nothing about their plight; but, because of His limitless mercy, love, and grace (Eph. 2:4–5), God offers a way out of the graveyard. He extends the gift of life in Christ to those who will accept it in repentance and faith.

Grace, Faith and Works (Eph. 2:7–10)

The purpose of God’s extraordinary deliverance of those who are in Christ is found here, “so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in [His] kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (2:7).

Three key words clarify the nature of salvation:

“By grace” means that salvation is the free gift of God, unearned and undeserved.
“Through faith” tells us how the believer receives the gift.
“Unto good works” means we are saved “for the purpose of good works.”

In verse 10, to “walk in them” means living continually in conscious obedience to the will of God. Paul referred to a life-style, not to occasional good deeds.

Conclusion: “Workmanship” in Ephesians 2:10 translates the Greek word poema, which gave us our English word poem. Those who belong to Christ are God’s poems, through whom He expresses Himself to the world.

About Professor Coleman

Professor Lucien Coleman retired in 1993 after twenty-seven years of teaching Religious Eductation at Southern Seminary and Adult Education at Southwestern Seminary. Before teaching served as a pastor in Kentucky. He holds degrees from Southern Seminary and the University of Kentucky. He and his wife, Bobbie, live in Parker County, Texas. They have three children, fifteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Related Articles: