Pastor Matthew Johnson opened this message in the Everyone, Everywhere series by inviting everyone to turn to Ephesians 2. The series began last week with a simple truth. No matter where someone is in their spiritual journey, God has a calling on their life and wants to use it to change the world around them. From the moment someone surrenders their life to God, he begins to change and transform them.
Two Words Worth Knowing
Pastor Matthew started with a quick vocabulary lesson for anyone not raised in church. Gospel simply means good news. It is the specific good news that God loved us and God saved us. He said it is best summarized in John 3:16-17. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have everlasting life. Because God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." Evangelism is the spreading of the gospel, which means the spreading of the good news.
We Love to Pass On Good News
Pastor Matthew pointed out that almost everyone loves to receive good news and loves to pass it on. He admitted he is really wired this way. When he finds a good restaurant, a good movie, a great deal, or a trusted mechanic, he tells the people around him. When he experiences something good, he wants to pass it on because he loves making other people's lives better.
Why Is the Good News of Jesus Hard to Share
Then he asked an honest question, promising it was not meant to shame anyone. If it is natural to pass on good news, why do Christians often find it difficult to pass on the good news of Jesus?He named some real tensions. Some people worry they do not have the knowledge to answer questions. Others feel like hypocrites because they do not live out Jesus' instruction perfectly. Many do not want a relationship to feel awkward. The series will address these in the coming weeks.But he believes the foundational reason is deeper. Christians do not share the good news because they do not really understand it or how good it is.
A Moment That Hits Differently
To illustrate, Pastor Matthew described standing for the national anthem at his kids' sporting events. He could tell who had served in the military just by the way they stood, and he realized the moment must hit differently for them. They are fully aware of the sacrifice that provides our freedom.He said the same is true in Christianity. If we do not fully understand what we have been saved from and to, we miss the depth of the gift and the urgency of sharing it. He believes that "when we understand what we've been saved from and to, then we understand what we've been saved for."
What We Have Been Saved From
Pastor Matthew then walked through Ephesians 2:1-10 one verse at a time. Paul wrote this letter to believers in Ephesus about their past life compared to their new life. Pastor Matthew noted, with zero judgment, that for anyone who has not yet decided to follow Jesus, everything Paul describes in past tense is present tense.
Dead in Trespasses and Sins
Verse 1 says, "You were dead in the trespasses and sins." Paul told people who were physically alive that they were dead. A person can be physically alive and spiritually dead, separated from God.He said that a relationship with God is the very definition of life. Without it, the world can only offer a temporary purpose, while God offers an eternal one. Without that relationship, a person does not receive God's promises, protection, provision, comfort, or presence. Instead of the promise of eternal life, they face eternal destruction.
Following the World, the Enemy, and Our Own Desires
Pastor Matthew broke verse 2 into three parts. First, those who are dead follow the pattern of this world. He said plainly that this world is evil, broken, and selfish. It tells us life at its fullest can be found in temporary things like influence, power, sex, experiences, money, and looks.Second, they follow the prince of the power of the air, which Pastor Matthew explained is Satan, the enemy of our faith. Scripture teaches that there is a spiritual realm with evil forces that want to destroy our lives. In John 10:10, Jesus said, "The thief comes to kill, to steal, to destroy." In Ephesians 6, Paul writes about putting on the whole armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil. The enemy has plans for our lives, and they are plans to destroy us.Third, we followed our own desires. When we were dead, we desired the very things that were killing us.
Enemies of God and Objects of Wrath
Verse 3 shows this is true of everyone. "Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind."Pastor Matthew turned to Romans 5 to describe this condition. We were weak and powerless to change our situation. We were sinners, actively disobeying God. We were even enemies of God. Because God is holy and just, he had to discipline our rebellion, and we were objects of his wrath. If we were writing this story, Pastor Matthew said, we would reject, discipline, and ultimately destroy people like that. Yet that is not what God does.
But God
Verse 4 changes everything. "But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love in which he loved us." We expected God to respond one way, but God did the unexpected. He does not give us what we deserve.Pastor Matthew described God as loaded with mercy, as if he had Fort Knox filled with it, and great in love. He said his heart celebrates that truth.
Made Alive Together With Christ
Verse 5 shows what that mercy and love moved God to do. "Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved." God did not hand us a standard to meet first. He found us in our broken state and made us alive by grace.Verse 6 adds that he "raised us up with him. And seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Pastor Matthew explained that for the first time, our physical life and spiritual life matched. That is truly a new creation, with a relationship with God that brings purpose, protection, direction, and love.Verse 7 says this is "so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." This life lasts forever, in perfection and holiness with him.
How God Saved Us
Pastor Matthew made it clear that God did not simply wave his hand over our sin. God the Son left heaven, became man in the person of Jesus, and lived a sinless life. That life showed us what pleasing God looks like. It also meant Jesus never became an object of God's wrath. Yet he willingly surrendered his life as a sacrifice on our behalf.Scripture says the wages of sin is death, so death is what we owed. Scripture also says that he who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. Pastor Matthew pointed to Isaiah 53, which says the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. Jesus took our punishment and our shame and died our death. On the third day he was resurrected, showing that the Father accepted his sacrifice and that Jesus conquered sin and death.
By Grace Through Faith
Verse 8 shows how we receive this gift. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing. It is the gift of God." Pastor Matthew explained that this faith is more than believing God is real. It is a faith so deep that we surrender our lives to him as our only hope and our savior. Then our sins are forgiven, we move from death to life, and he puts his Holy Spirit in us to transform us.
Not a Result of Works
Verse 9 says, "Not a result of works so that no one may boast." Pastor Matthew was blunt. We cannot earn this. We will always mess up, and even at our best, being loving, generous, and patient is only the bare minimum of what is expected of us. No amount of goodness can cover where we have failed. The gift was free to us, but it cost Jesus everything.
What We Have Been Saved For
Pastor Matthew said Jesus saved us so that we could live. "Jesus is incredibly generous. He wants you to experience the best life possible." He finished John 10:10, where Jesus said, "I came that you might have life and to have it to its fullness."But it does not end there. Verse 10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." God saved us so we could live and, in living, live out our calling as the light, the salt, and the example that points people toward God. When we understand the weight of this gift, sharing the good news stops being optional. Hearts of love and gratitude are compelled to share it.
When We See the Threat as Real
Pastor Matthew offered a risky example, asking the church to trust that he was not taking a side. During COVID, whether people saw it as a valid threat showed in their behavior. In the same way, he said, many Christians' behavior shows they do not see sin as a valid threat. If we truly believed our family and friends were spiritually dead and heading toward death for all eternity, we would be compelled to love them and consistently share the gospel with them.
Our Friends Are Dying and We Have the Cure
When we understand that our friends are dying and we have the cure, Pastor Matthew said, it changes how we approach evangelism and our relationships. We stop being casual and begin to feel the burden. He thinks about the ones God has placed in his life, at work, in his family, and in his social groups. So he prays for them, talks to them, invites them to church, and connects what they are going through to the hope he has experienced in Jesus.
Our Excuses Change
When we understand that we have been saved from death to life, we understand that we have been saved for evangelism, and our excuses change. If we fear not having all the answers, we can go find them. If we fear looking like a hypocrite, we can remember that God keeps making us alive. "This story is not about me. It's about God. It's about his grace."If we fear things getting awkward, Pastor Matthew called that a selfish excuse that needs to be put to death. If a friend were dying from a disease and we had the cure, we would push through any awkwardness. Love compels us.
Praying for Your Ones
Pastor Matthew closed with a clear ask for the week. Pray for your ones, the people God has brought into your life. Look for opportunities. Ask God first to stir their hearts, and then ask him for an opportunity to speak with them. In his experience, God will start to provide those opportunities.For anyone who does not feel compelled, he invited them to spend time in the presence of God and ask him to show them their heart and what they were saved from, and to break any hardness so they can understand the depth of his love.Each of us is the person God placed in someone's life to be his example, his mouthpiece, and his hands and feet. When we understand what we have been saved from and to, we understand what we have been saved for.He ended in prayer, asking Jesus to help the church share the good news, love and encourage people, and invite them to church and into their lives this week.
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