Dead in Trespasses and Sins
A Sermon on Ephesians 2:1
Scripture
1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Sermon Description
What is the state of a person before Christ? Is the problem with humanity that it needs more morality or is it much deeper? The apostle Paul explains that humanity’s greatest problem is that it is dead in trespasses and sins. In this sermon on Ephesians 2:1 titled “Dead in Trespasses and Sins,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on Paul’s words and preaches how when the Christian has a strong understanding of the depth of their depravity, it makes the work of Christ all the more glorious. When the Christian sees the severity of their sin and their plight outside of union with Christ, they realize the great power and sovereignty of God in salvation and it inevitably leads to true worship and praise to God for all the grace and mercy that He shows in saving sinners. Because sin is so deadly, only the power of God can save. No one can be unified with Christ by any other means. A true understanding of sin will spur the Christian on to evangelize the lost. They should want others to know of the great salvation that resides in Jesus Christ. The greatest problem with the sinner is not just that they do not come to church on Sunday or that they are not a part of the Christian social club. The greatest problem is that the sinner is alienated from God and under God’s wrath. With this is mind, telling others about Jesus becomes all the more important a task.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is addressing the Ephesians in Ephesians Chapter 2.
- Chapter 2 builds upon and continues the themes established in Chapter 1. We must understand Chapter 1 to understand Chapter 2.
- Chapter 1 establishes that God's plan is to unite all things in Christ. This is done by God's power and grace through Christ.
- Paul prays that the Ephesians would understand these spiritual truths. Understanding these truths leads to praise, love of God, care for others, and proper evangelism.
- Chapter 2 explains in detail how Jews and Gentiles are united in Christ. It addresses the obstacles of their sinful state and relationship to the law.
- Verses 1-3 describe man's sinful state: dead in sins, following the world, following the devil, fulfilling fleshly desires, children of wrath.
- Verses 4-7 describe what God has done: made us alive in Christ, raised and seated us in heaven with Christ by his grace and love.
- Verses 8-10 explain this is by grace through faith, not of our own doing, but God's workmanship.
- We must understand these truths in detail to praise God, love Him, care for others, and evangelize properly.
- We must see men's sinful state to be horrified, pray for them, and be filled with wonder at our salvation.
- This shapes our individual and corporate Christian lives.
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.