You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.
Ephesians 2:1
We must take the Bible seriously here. It doesn’t say, “You were trapped in your sins.” It says, “You were dead in your sins”! If a man falls into a pit, you can throw him a rope. But if he is dead in the pit, the rope is of no use to him.
Imagine a full-size mannequin standing next to you. Let’s call him “Manny.” Manny is a good-looking fellow—tall, dark, and handsome. But there’s no life in him. He’s dead.
Now, as a good friend, let’s suppose you were to do your best to influence him:“Manny, you need to live a life that honours God! Follow the Ten Commandments! Love God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself!”
Manny doesn’t seem very responsive, does he? It doesn’t help to yell at Manny, or to try and encourage his self-esteem. Why? Manny can’t do it. He does not have the capacity. He’s dead.
Think about what God is saying here, and He is saying it about us: You were dead in your sins. The Bible doesn’t say that the sinner is weak, it says that the sinner is dead. That means he can’t act, he can’t feel, and he can’t move. He is completely unresponsive to God.
No matter how hard a problem, a man will feel good about himself if he thinks that he has the ability to get out of it. Tell him he has a sinful nature, and he’ll tell you that he will fight it. Tell him that he is under the wrath of God, and he’ll tell you that he will live a life that wins the admiration of God. But if you tell him that he is dead, there is nothing he can do about his own position. You have insulted him, and he will not accept your doctrine.
Yet, this is precisely the teaching of the Bible.
Do you think of yourself as… “trapped” in your sins? “Weak” in your sins? “Dead” in your sins? Other? Why?
