Without the Gospel (Ephesians 2:11-12)
A Christian brother once told me how he came to Jesus. Chris obeyed the gospel, but he then fell in with the wrong folks and walked away from the Lord. I had no clue Chris had ever been unfaithful, because he was as faithful as could be when I knew him.
Do you know why Chris was faithful when I knew him? His mother suffered a serious heart attack, and it was unclear if she would live or die. And Chris understood that God would not hear his prayer if he was disobedient. Chris told me that story years later, and with tears in his eyes, he said, “I couldn’t pray for my momma, and I came back to Jesus.”
Have you ever felt that God wouldn’t hear you because of your sin? Have you ever suffered grave consequences from sin? Have you ever seen people struggle in this world—with their emotions or with finances or with life in general—but not have a church family for support?
Eternity will be torment for those without the gospel, but this life isn’t easy without the gospel, either. Understand: “Life without the gospel is meaningless.”
Body
Why is life without the gospel so meaningless?
One: Promise
One without the gospel has no hope in this world—he can’t rely on God’s promises. “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12).
Imagine being laid off and not having the Promise of God’s protection. Imagine the guilt of sin without the Promise of God’s forgiveness. Imagine lying on your deathbed without the Promise of eternal life.
The Christian has God’s Promise. The Christian has God’s Promise of provision: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be added to you” (Matt 6:33). The Christian has God’s Promise of forgiveness: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7). The Christian has God’s Promise of eternal life: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 Jn 5:13).
Two: Prayer
God doesn’t hear the prayers of someone who lives without the gospel. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (Js 5:16). “Whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 Jn 3:22).
The Christian knows that his Prayer will be answered. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 Jn 5:14). “The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints [i.e., holy ones], rose before God from the hand of the angel” (Rev 8:4); only the prayers of God’s people rose before his throne.
Three: People
Without the gospel one doesn’t have People, a church family. “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).
Imagine waking up in the morning having lost all your worldly goods and not having the church. Imagine waking up in the morning after committing a great sin and being overwhelmed with guilt and not having the church. Imagine needing a ride for surgery and not having the church. Imagine being in the depths of despair and not having the church.
Application
Because “Life without the gospel is meaningless,” you have two tasks.
One: Awareness
Have an Awareness of the gospel’s blessings. And turn that Awareness into thanksgiving. Give “thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col 1:12). “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:18).
When did you last thank God for his blessings? When did you last thank God for forgiving your sins? When did you last thank God for the rich bounty in your life? When did you last thank God for your physical family? When did you last thank God for your hope or for answering your prayers or for the church? When did you last thank God for this congregation?
Thank God for your rich blessings! Let God see your Awareness of his goodness!
Two: Advance
Advance God’s kingdom. Share God’s message and Advance his truth. “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak” (2 Cor 4:13). Do you believe? Do you, therefore, speak? “I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ” (Phm 6). How much do you pray for the effectiveness of the sharing of your faith?’
Why must you Advance the kingdom and share your faith? One: Sharing your faith confesses Christ: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10:32). Two: Someone shared Jesus with you; why not share Jesus in appreciation for what someone did for you? Three: Do you really want your friends and family in hell? Four: Do you want this church to die?
One day you will die. If you have lived by the gospel that will be a glorious day. Will your death date be glorious?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.