Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You're listening to a live recording from Westside Church in Bend, Oregon. Thanks for joining us.
[00:00:06] We are in a series in the book of Ephesians, a letter to Ephesians that Paul wrote to churches all around that region so long ago. I think today's message and the passage in Ephesians chapter two that we're going to get into is so important because this is Paul really taking us to the 101 of what it is to be a person who puts their faith trust in Jesus. And so if you are here considering faith, maybe you're not sure yet, but you're interested in following Jesus as a Christian, maybe you've been a Christian for a long time, but as someone who grew up immersed in kind of the Christian culture, you're questioning and you're wrestling with what does this mean for me as an adult in my real life, as I'm faced with real life stuff, how does faith fit in? This is the section of scripture that is the starting place for everything else that will come out of our faith. And if we get this concept wrong that we're going to talk about today, what we might end up doing is pursuing a kind of religion that we pour our devotion and our attention to that actually takes us away from Jesus. And that would be sad to set up what we're going to talk about. I was thinking about how kids especially are very attuned to the strictness of authority figures in their lives.
[00:01:28] And my son, he's seven, came home from first grade, this is a couple months ago, and he had had a substitute teacher that day. And I said, how was your sub today? And he said, well, my normal teacher is not very strict, but. But my sub was very strict. And then he gave a rating. He had a rating system that he and his schoolmates had come up with to rate the strictness of the sub and his teacher. And then he said, and I also, I know how strict you and mom are. And he said, mom's about a seven.
[00:02:00] And I said, oh, that's interesting. I said, well, what do you think I am? He said, you're about a four.
[00:02:06] And he said, you're soft like a pillow.
[00:02:11] His words. And to be fair, I am. And my wife is holding our family together all by herself.
[00:02:22] All by herself.
[00:02:24] Kids are very attuned to this. And I remember even for myself in high school, I followed kind of your standard math courses through my junior year. So by junior year I was in calculus or pre trigonometry or something. But anyway, I get to my junior year, and I'm sitting in these classes. I'm like, I don't. I don't understand, nor do I want to understand what is going on with this. And so I went to my advisor after barely scraping through that class my junior year, I said, put me in the lowest level math we have. That will get me to graduation. And so she put me into what was the equivalent of eighth grade, basic arithmetic.
[00:03:04] So I spent my senior year with a bunch of freshmen who are bad at math. And I do not regret that decision one bit.
[00:03:12] But I remember we would get in those classes. And what you are hoping for is that you will get to the first test, and then the teacher will say these magic words. The teacher will say, we are grading this test on a curve. Oh, hallelujah.
[00:03:27] That is what you want to hear.
[00:03:30] But sometimes you get teachers, and they make it very clear from the beginning, this test will not be graded on a curve. And your heart sinks, right? And I often think this is how we view our faith. And maybe how we choose what kind of church we'll attend or be a part of is we say, well, what's the grading system in that community?
[00:03:54] And some churches are like, everybody's held to a very, very high standard. God's holiness, that is the standard. We expect you to behave accordingly. And then other churches, you're like, I think they grade on a curve. And maybe that's why you're here at Westside today.
[00:04:11] I heard, Westside grades on a curve. And the thing about grading on a curve is in class, you look around you, and as soon as you hear they're grading on a curve, you look to your right and you look to your left. You're like, he doesn't know what he's doing. She's not paying attention. I think I'm going to be okay. And so it is in church. You look around, you're like, well, I got my issues. I don't have those issues.
[00:04:34] Those issues, right? And we think, well, we're grading on a curve. So I think we're gonna be okay. And here's the thing.
[00:04:42] Both kinds of ways of approaching our faith and approaching rightness with God and approval from God don't work.
[00:04:52] One leads us to a place of legalism where we pretend and we project that we are meeting God's high standard. And the truth is, if you've read the Bible, you will not meet the standard. I mean, you know, let's take the Ten Commandments, and you might read the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament. You think, okay, well, don't take the name of the Lord in vain. Honor your father, mother, keep the Sabbath. Don't covet. Don't commit adultery.
[00:05:17] Don't murder. Okay, I think maybe I could do that. But if you keep reading and you read the entire Torah, which is the first five books of our Bible, you. You'll find that Moses didn't just come down with Ten Commandments, he came down with the Ten Commandments and then about 250 other laws, many of which you're probably breaking right now. In your seat.
[00:05:37] Somebody's got some purse bacon. I know, I can smell it. Right?
[00:05:41] Little shrimp for later in your pocket maybe. Yeah, I know you.
[00:05:45] Some of you are here for the first time, like, what is going on?
[00:05:48] We all miss the standard. And maybe you're like, well, that's the Old Testament. I'm a New Testament person. And so, you know, Jesus comes and his teachings blow all the Mosaic Law up. And so that's the standard that I'm going to live into. Well, read the Sermon on the Mount, and you'll find that Jesus takes the Mosaic standard and then he raises the bar and he says, you know, Moses said that you shall not commit murder. I say, even if you hate somebody, you're guilty of that. Moses said, don't commit adultery. I say, even if you have lust in your heart, you're guilty of that. And so, like the disciples around Jesus, we are left to think, well, then, who in the world can make God happy?
[00:06:27] And the point is, nobody's going to do it by earning their way to that standard because the standard is too high.
[00:06:33] And so whether you were looking for a strict teacher or a teacher that grades on a curve, today we are looking in the wrong direction to figure out how we're going to make God happy with us, because it will not come by our performance, because we will never, ever make it to God's standard.
[00:06:50] All right, so Paul is writing this letter to a bunch of churches in the first century. He's in prison in Rome. He's not met these churches, these people, but he's writing to them, giving them an overview of what it is to follow Jesus. And we start in Ephesians 2. 1. Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers of the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. And all of us used to live that way, following the Passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature, we were subject to God's anger just like everyone else.
[00:07:28] That's not encouraging, Paul, that's bad news. But what he is doing is he's saying to his audience, which is devout Jews, it's wild pagans who've come out of that to follow after the way of Jesus. And I'm sure within their group, they're comparing and they're saying, well, if this is a curve, you know, I've got Pagan Sally over here. You know, she just sacrificed a goat. I think I'm gonna be okay. Right?
[00:07:56] That's weird.
[00:07:59] And Paul is saying, all of you, every one of you, you're in the same boat. You've missed the mark.
[00:08:06] You are not able to live up to God's holiness and his standard. And so everybody's on the same page. You've all failed. You've all made bad choices. And by your lifestyle, you have led yourself into dark places. But watch what happens Next in verse 4.
[00:08:23] But God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much.
[00:08:29] Paul takes this really hard reality that we are doomed because of our failures and our sins, and he throws a wrench in this spiral of death and sin and destruction with these words. But God somehow, in his mercy and in his kindness, he stepped into our cycle of sin and death and he changed everything. And if this was up to us, if it was our earning and our performance and our being good enough, verse four would say, but you tried so hard and you were so good and you became so devout and you decided to wake up and change your behavior. And because doesn't say that verse four says, but God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life. But when he raised Christ up from the dead, it is only by God's grace that you've been saved. For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of our hard work and goodness? No, of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness towards us as shown in all that he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done. So none of us can boast about is by grace alone that we get into the Good graces of God.
[00:10:15] And this is something that he's so proud of, what he does, that Paul says for all time he's going to point back to your life and to the transformation that happened in you, to brag on you, not because of what you've done, but because of his great mercy. And just like it would be ridiculous to expect someone who is dead to crawl their way back into life, it is a ridiculous thought to think that those of us who are dead in our sins and our trespasses could crawl our way back into life. Instead, we need a miracle and we need a savior.
[00:10:45] And so into this desperate situation where we are far from God and not able to reach his standards comes this work of grace. Salvation is not some quid pro quo that we get for our good behavior, as if God really wants something from us. And so he puts us into these tough situations where we don't pray much. But it was so difficult. We say, okay, God, if you get me out of this one, I'll read my Bible every day next week. You think God's up there being like, oh, finally. I finally got his Bible reading out of him.
[00:11:19] God, if you get me out of this one, I'll give $100 in the offering this week, I promise. And God's like, oh, thank God, thank God. $100, that'll get me. You know, that's just what I needed. And then he bestows blessings and gets you. That's not the relationship. And I've bargained with God. You've probably bargained with God.
[00:11:44] And yet in that is this assumption that God is just waiting to get something out of us. And here's what I've heard, and this is a great way to put it, God is not looking to get something from you. He is looking to get something for you.
[00:11:58] That he is at work long before we know we need him, that his grace is moving towards us and it's not coming halfway so that you can meet him in the middle. Grace goes the whole distance.
[00:12:15] And at the heart of our belief as Christians is God's grace.
[00:12:20] It's this unearned, undeserved, we didn't do anything for it. It's unmerited. It's a gift that shows up one day because Jesus has made a way to get to us.
[00:12:29] And in this way, grace makes the first move.
[00:12:33] Grace makes the first move. Romans 5:8. Paul writes in his letter to a different church in the city of Rome. He says, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this. That while we were still sinners. That's when Christ died for us. And I know we want to have done the work. We want to have earned this.
[00:12:50] We want to have worked on our behavior and our thought life. And we want to do so good that that is worth some credit towards our salvation and God's acceptance of us.
[00:13:04] And this is really hard for us, those of us who work hard and do stuff and get things done and reap the rewards of our hard work. We want to apply that to our faith. And Paul comes again and again to say, stop it.
[00:13:17] He has done the finished work. And on the cross, as he is completing the work, what does he say? He says it is finished, the work the moment that he dies and then is resurrected and brought out of the tomb. Paul says, that is the moment when you were raised to life. Grace made the first move and now you have an opportunity to live into that great grace.
[00:13:44] So grace makes the first move and then grace has the last word.
[00:13:49] Paul continues in Romans 8, he says, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
[00:14:03] Paul is saying that in the end, the final say belongs to the love and the grace and the mercy of God.
[00:14:12] Paul would tell us that if it is by grace that we've been saved, it means that nothing we do can earn our way into this kind of grace and nothing we can do can cause us to sin our way out of it.
[00:14:25] Come on.
[00:14:27] Some of you are like, I don't know. This is not how I was raised. Pastor Evan.
[00:14:32] You know, I heard a preacher on YouTube and he was pretty compelling. And this is not what he was saying.
[00:14:37] Or my pastor in the 90s always used to say, well, here's some news. This might be news, might be hard news.
[00:14:47] It's 2025 and if you call yourself a part of this church, I'm your pastor now. I'm sorry.
[00:14:55] Scattered clapping I like that silence from this side of the room.
[00:15:00] Sounds about right.
[00:15:03] Come on. Ben and I have talked and this has to be at the heart of what this community is, is the grace of God. Because Paul would tell us that there is no other way you get to him.
[00:15:16] And we have really two choices here. We can embrace a grace first, grace last kind of approach to our faith and to our understanding of the work that Christ has done on the cross, or we can choose self righteousness. Those are the two options. And here's the thing about self righteousness. It feels great at the beginning. I mean, it's amazing, you guys. You get to decide what your standards are gonna be based on your already existing biases and decision making. And then you get to march around with a sense of moral superiority and then you get to belittle people that disagree with you and you build little kingdoms and you find other people who are also self righteous. It is such a rush.
[00:16:00] And you can blast people with scriptures and little verses taken out of context and you can make yourself feel so good. And then in the end you realize, or you don't realize, but you have walked so far away from the heart of Jesus that actually what you have built looks like the thing that Jesus came to tear down. Ah.
[00:16:21] And Christ comes and he has this mission to seek and to save what is lost. And all the religious people are watching him and saying, how dare he sit with sinners, how dare he talk about the forgiveness of God as though it's just getting doled out willy nilly. And they can't understand that the mercy of God is being poured out as the primary mechanism now for our faith. It is not an optional idea. Grace first, grace last is the whole deal.
[00:16:54] These are the bookends of God's grace. It starts with grace and it ends with grace. So what's in the middle? What's in the middle? If we're saved by grace and grace will have the final word, what do we do? Do we just hunker down, wait for death, go to heaven? Doesn't seem like a way to live.
[00:17:14] Because here's the thing, alive people do stuff. Have you noticed this?
[00:17:20] Alive people do stuff.
[00:17:24] What exists for us in the middle of a life that is shaped and transformed and touched by grace, where grace makes the first move and has the final word, what lies in the middle is this. The in between is joy filled surrender.
[00:17:40] That we are motivated to live a life of surrender to Jesus, not as a way to curry his favor, to gain his approval or to convince him that we're worth it, but because we have already received his grace, his approval and his favor. Now we live with confident hope into a life of joy filled surrender.
[00:18:01] And this means we do stuff that looks like good works. Listen to this. Ephesians 2:8. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, not by works that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Doing good works is not A condition for relationship and approval. It is the outflow of a person who has received relationship and approval through the grace that has met us first.
[00:18:33] And so we don't simply settle for being saved and then not caring. This is a terrible interpretation of grace. Well, since God has saved me, and since grace will have the final word, nothing matters. Let's go baby, let's live how we want. Nothing matters. No, that is a misunderstanding of what happens when we are transformed by grace, is that the outflow of that is a life lived as the handiwork of God. A life lived that shows the world who is watching what God is like. Just like Jesus did that everywhere he walked and everyone he talked to and every encounter he had, that people could walk away from that, whether consciously or subconsciously, knowing that is what God looks like.
[00:19:17] And so it is with us that as we live into what we were wired and purposed to be, that we model and show off the kind of God that we love and serve. His joy filled surrender.
[00:19:31] And so we asked the question, well, then, what are we wired to do? I know I was talking with guys at the men's breakfast yesterday and talked to some younger guys and talked to some guys who have retired but have come out of retirement to either go back to work or to volunteer.
[00:19:50] And there was a theme in all my conversations of men in this community who were saying, like, I was, I was designed for something, I was made to do stuff.
[00:20:03] And for some it looks like leading board meetings and for others it looks like, you know, running organizations and being on staff at the shepherd's house. And I was remembering back in sixth grade, I went to a Christian school and I'm in sixth grade, I just started learning how to play the guitar.
[00:20:24] And the first grade teacher at our school would play the piano and she would lead the chapel once a week for all the kids in the school. And she heard that I was starting to learn how to play the guitar. And so she came to me, she said, I heard you play the guitar. That was a generous statement.
[00:20:40] I was just learning.
[00:20:43] And yet she said to me, she said, why don't you come next week for the chapel and you can play the guitar and you can lead the worship with me.
[00:20:50] So in sixth grade, got my guitar so excited and we began to play together. And for, I think it was a couple years, I was part of leading that chapel. And I look back at that conversation and that interaction as the thing that set me on a course into what makes me come alive.
[00:21:13] Now, many of you probably would not Want to, you know, have this microphone and speak. Any people scared of public attention, raise your hand. I'm just kidding. You're not going to raise your hand because.
[00:21:26] Gotcha.
[00:21:29] But I look at that moment as her partnering in my purpose, in a moment that would. That would set me on a course towards ministry for the rest of my life. And it was a few months ago I got invited to speak at our community chapel, which happens on Sunday nights in our chapel here.
[00:21:49] And so I go up to speak, and as I'm speaking, I look, and in the second row, I see this lovely woman with shock white hair. And it's Mrs. Schmidt who invited me, the very first person to step into a place of leadership and ministry. So I called her out right from the stage. She loved it. I called her out. I said, Mrs. Schmidt is here. And she was the first. First one to identify something in me that exists to this day. And I'm here because of her and a lot of other people who saw something.
[00:22:19] And so I talked to her after the service and I gave her a hug and I said, so good to see you. And she looks at me and she goes, wow, you've lost a lot of hair.
[00:22:30] She did. She said that first thing. It's been 30 years. Come on.
[00:22:37] But we don't find our purpose in a vacuum. A community that's been touched by grace is one where we partner together and we help each other. We, you know, give a step up into the purpose that God has called us to, to find what we were wired to be. I was watching this morning and Ben Gossett over here on the acoustic guitar, he's playing away today.
[00:23:00] He volunteers on our worship team. Do you know he's a professional chemist?
[00:23:05] I know. He looks like he's 17. No, he is a full grown man.
[00:23:12] And his day job.
[00:23:14] He'll be on worship today, and then tomorrow he goes to the office and he does the beakers and the chemist stuff. Again, not a math person, not really good at STEM stuff, but that's him. He knows it.
[00:23:28] He's living into his calling and his purpose and his life. And. And we all.
[00:23:33] We all have ways that make us come alive. And this isn't, you know, a millennial standing here being like, only do your passions. If you're not passionate about it, don't do it. No, I'm not saying that.
[00:23:43] It can be seasons of hard work where it feels like, ah.
[00:23:49] But to find what God has wired us to be and do is something that we find out together as we become the handiwork of God. Why? Because we don't spend all of our time trying to prove ourselves to God and each other that we're good enough and that we are enough. Because grace has done that work. And so all that effort that we would spend trying to prove how, how good and how, how, you know, moral and how religious we are and God. Can't you just accept me? He says, I already have.
[00:24:19] And now you live into your purpose.
[00:24:22] Take a leap into what I've wired you to be, knowing that you have the full backing of a God who loves you and accepts you, that his grace does this for us.
[00:24:35] So we are the alive people who do stuff, who live in the middle of these bookends of grace, in joy filled surrender. Amen.
