Foundations of Truth
This is the podcast of Firm Foundations ministries. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's Word, rooted in Scripture and anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each episode is designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding, and encourage you to stand firm in a shifting world.
Foundations of Truth
God Saves: The Miracle of God's Grace
What does it truly mean to be saved? In this powerful opening message of the "God Saves" series, Pastor Timothy Mann cuts through common misconceptions to reveal the radical truth of salvation from Ephesians 2:1-10.
Like someone floating face down in water, our spiritual condition before Christ isn't just injured or struggling—we're dead. The stark reality is that apart from divine intervention, we're spiritually lifeless, enslaved to the world's values, under Satan's influence, and captive to our own sinful nature. This isn't describing particularly bad people—it describes all of us.
But then comes the divine turning point: "But God, who is rich in mercy." When we couldn't take a single step toward Him, God took the initiative. Not because we deserved it, but because of His character of love and mercy. Salvation isn't about self-improvement—it's spiritual resurrection.
Through vivid exposition, Pastor Tim reveals that salvation is entirely by grace through faith, not of works. We bring nothing to salvation except the sin that made it necessary. Even our faith itself is a gift from God, leaving no room for human boasting. Yet this humbling truth is also liberating: we are God's workmanship, His masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared in advance.
Whether you've been a believer for years, are newly saved, or still exploring faith, this message will deepen your understanding of what it means to be rescued by grace and transformed for God's glory. You'll discover why the backdrop of our spiritual deadness makes God's mercy shine so brightly, and why believers will spend eternity in awe of the grace that reached them when they were helpless.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, florida. Join us now as we let God's Word illuminate our lives and guide us into His truth. Today. Today's message from Pastor Tim is the first in the God Save series entitled God Save Sinners. And here's Pastor Timothy Mann.
Speaker 2:Turn to the New Testament book of Ephesians. New Testament book of Ephesians, verses 1 through 10 in Ephesians, chapter 2. One of the things I'm aware of and know as a pastor is that a lot of people today are confused about what it means to be, really means to be saved or to have a relationship with God. Some think it's about trying harder, being good or going to church. Others think it's just saying a prayer or believing certain things. But the Bible tells a much greater reality, a much greater story, a much greater truth. Salvation is not about what we do for God, but about what God has done for us through Jesus. And so in this new series, saved Understanding God's Work in Us, we're going to be exploring what it truly means to be saved, how God rescues us from sin, brings us into a new life and secures us by His grace. Whether you're sure of your faith or still wandering, I believe this series will help you understand what salvation really is and how you can personally know the God who saves. And when God saves you, everything changes. Things begin to change this morning, ephesians, chapter 2, and I'll be reading from the New King James Version of the Bible. I'm going to read the first ten verses of Ephesians 2. Now, of course, this letter, written by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was written to the believers in the city of Ephesus, the church there in Ephesus. And in chapter 2, the Bible says this and you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked. According to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also, we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who was rich in mercy because of His great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us. In Christ Jesus, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And we'll stop here. And this is God's Word that we've just read.
Speaker 2:Imagine walking along the beach and seeing someone floating face down in the water offshore. They're not waving their hands, they're not calling for help. They're unconscious, lifeless. That's not someone who help. They're unconscious, lifeless. That's not someone who needs a life preserver or a float. That's someone who needs to be rescued, pulled out, revived, given life. And that's how the Bible describes our condition before God saves us Not spiritually injured, not spiritually misguided, not spiritually struggling, dead.
Speaker 2:Dead that's the word the Apostle Paul uses to describe us In Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 1. It says and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. See, folks, our problem is not that we're bad and need to be made better. Our problem is that we're dead and we need to be made alive. This, this is one of the clearest passages in the bible about salvation. In just 10 verses, the apostle paul takes us from the depths of human sin to the heights of God's mercy. He takes us from the pit of wrath to the riches of grace. He takes us from what we were to what we are in Christ.
Speaker 2:And if we don't understand this passage, we won't understand the gospel. If we minimize sin, if we minimize sin, we'll distort grace. If we think we had something to do with our salvation, we'll rob God of His glory. We had something to do with, our salvation will rob God of his glory. So today we're going to take a hard but honest look at what the Bible says about our need for salvation, god's work in salvation and the purpose of salvation. And so in these verses here's the big idea in these verses, salvation is entirely a work of God's grace. He raises the spiritually dead, he redeems the helpless and he creates us anew for His glory. And so let's walk through this very powerful passage under those headings creates us anew for His glory. And so let's walk through this very powerful passage under those headings, those three headings, and may the Spirit of God today awaken us again to the miracle of grace. So let's start, let's begin where the passage begins Chapter 2, verse 1. Let's start where the passage starts. And that's with the passage begins, chapter 2, verse 1. Let's start where the passage starts, and that's with the bad news.
Speaker 2:The Bible doesn't sugarcoat our condition before Christ saves us. The Apostle Paul doesn't say we were misguided, he doesn't say we were a little off track. He says we were dead in sin, who were dead in trespasses and sins? Dead in sin, spiritually lifeless toward God. By our very nature we were unresponsive to God. Look again at chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. Put your eyes on God's word again. Look again at chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. Put your eyes on God's Word again. And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit, who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we're, by nature, children of wrath, just as the others. I don't know about you, but I think this paints a very sobering picture of the human condition and before Christ in our life. This is true of all of us, and so let's unpack it piece by piece here just for a moment.
Speaker 2:What we see here in this passage, first of all, is we need to understand our need for salvation. We need to understand our need for salvation again. Paul says we were dead in trespasses and sins. This is not physical death, but spiritual death. Sin didn't just wound us, it killed us, killed us Like a branch severed from a tree. We're cut off from the life of God. And he says we were dead in trespasses and sins. Trespasses and sins, that's a broader term. It means missing the mark of God's holy standard. And together trespasses, sins. Together they describe a life that is fundamentally out of step with God and spiritually dead towards God.
Speaker 2:Bible students, those of you who have read the Gospels, the Gospel of John, think of Lazarus in the tomb in the Gospel of John, chapter 11. He was dead. He didn't ask for help, he didn't move toward Jesus, he didn't take the first step. What happened? Jesus called his name and gave him life. That's a picture of how salvation works, because before God intervenes, we are not sick and seeking. We are dead and drifting. This is a vital truth to grasp.
Speaker 2:Salvation doesn't begin with us looking for God. It begins with God coming to rescue the spiritually dead. What else do we see here about our need for salvation? Not only are we spiritually dead. Look at verse 2 and 3. It says we were enslaved to the world, to the devil and to the flesh.
Speaker 2:The Bible uses three very powerful. It describes three very powerful forces that held us captive Before Christ saves us. We see the course of the world here, in which you once walked according to the course of this world. That word walked is a metaphorical term just to describe how you live life. You live according to the course of the world, meaning before Christ saves us. We follow the values of the world. We chased after success or power or pleasure, approval, fun, money, lust, accolades. We were shaped by the culture around us, not the character of God, and even though we thought we were independent, we were just going with the current of a fallen world and another force that held us captive.
Speaker 2:The Bible says here the prince of the power of the air. It says here the prince of the power of the air. It says, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. This is a reference to Satan. Listen, he's not a myth, he's not just a symbol of evil. He is a real spiritual being, a powerful fallen archangel who, along with his demonic army, influences and affects, and in fact has under his control, unbelievers, and he hates and he opposes the work of God and those apart from Christ, those who are not saved, are under his deceptive sway, even if they don't realize it.
Speaker 2:And then there is. It says the lusts of the flesh. We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. We were slaves to our own sinful nature. We did what felt right, what we wanted, without reference to God and His will, and we thought we were free. But can I get a witness? Sin is a cruel master. Sin is a cruel master. And look, the Apostle Paul is not describing some particularly bad group of people. He's describing all of us. All of us, I mean. Notice the shift in verse 3. Look at your Bibles. We all once conducted ourselves. We all once conducted ourselves, religious and irreligious, churchgoers and non churchgoers, the good kids and the rebels. No one is exempt. Sin is not just what we do, it's what we are apart from christ. It's what we can call depravity. So we continue to see our need for salvation. What does it say in verse three?
Speaker 2:The second part of verse three tells us we were under god's wrath and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others, that's, just as everybody else. This is the most unpopular part of the gospel, but one of the most necessary. God's wrath is real. God's wrath is real. It is His holy, just, proper response to sin. He is not indifferent to evil. He doesn't just sweep sin under the rug. He is righteous. And we, by nature, stood condemned under God's wrath. The Bible says we were children of wrath, meaning that our default condition, our natural spiritual state, was separation from God and deserving of judgment. And this is not, listen, this is not just a warning about the future. It was or is, depending on your standing with God today, our condition in the present.
Speaker 2:Some will say but I've always been a Christian. No, you haven't been a Christian. No, you haven't. No, you haven't Not.
Speaker 2:According to Ephesians, chapter two, every true believer has a BC, that is, before Christ. Oh, you might've grown up in church, you might've learned Bible stories, you might've even been well behaved, but listen to me, you were still dead in sin until Christ made you alive. That's why grace is amazing. That's why it's so amazing. Because the backdrop is so dark, the light of God's mercy shines so brightly. And all of this applies to everyone. If you are a mature believer, if you're someone who's been a believer for a number of years, you're a mature believer. Don't forget what God saved you from. Don't forget what God saved you from. I know this to be the truth. The longer we walk with Christ, the more tempted we are to soften the truth about our former condition. I wasn't all that bad, but I'm going to tell you, remembering our spiritual deadness makes us grateful for His grace.
Speaker 2:If you're a new believer, or a relatively new believer, don't be discouraged, believer, don't be discouraged. Everyone starts here. Your story is not unusual. It's exactly what scripture describes. You were lost and now you're found. You were dead and now you live.
Speaker 2:If you're an unbeliever, if you're not saved, if you're not saved, this is your current condition, and listen to me very carefully no amount of religion, no amount of morality can change it. Hey, you don't need spiritual improvement, you need spiritual resurrection. But the good news is, the God who raises the dead is rich in mercy. And so we've seen the bleak reality of our condition apart from Christ, dead in sin, enslaved by the world, enslaved by the flesh, enslaved by the devil and deserving of God's wrath. And so if the Apostle Paul had stopped at verse 3, we'd be left in despair. But thank God he didn't, because now, as we move into the passage a little further, we not only see and hopefully come to understand our need for salvation, but we see God's work in salvation. I want you to look at verse 4. But God let's all say that. But God, yeah, but God.
Speaker 2:I think these are two of the greatest words in all of Scripture because they mark a turning point in the story, not just the story of the gospel, the reality of the gospel, but they mark a turning point in the story of every genuine believer who has genuine, who has true salvation. And what do we see here? Well, we see God's initiative. He acted when we were dead in sin Verse four but God who is rich in mercy. The contrast is really breathtaking. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God. We were objects of wrath but God. We were powerless and hopeless but God.
Speaker 2:And so the Apostle Paul, here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wants us to know that the reason we are saved is not because of what we've done, but because of who God is. Because of who God is. He is rich in mercy. Rich in mercy, I'm happy to announce to you. He is not stingy with compassion, he's overflowing with it. He is not, his mercy is not reluctant, it's abundant.
Speaker 2:God delights in showing mercy to those who do not deserve it. And if, in some little inkling of a way, you sit here and you think I deserved mercy, then you don't understand salvation, you don't understand grace. Jesus said it this way. He said I did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. And if you're sitting in here, you think I'm good, I'm good enough, I'm righteous, then you ain't got no mercy. God delights in showing mercy to those who know they do not deserve it.
Speaker 2:Titus, chapter 3, verse 5, echoes this truth. The bible says not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy. He saved us. Y'all doing okay. What else do we see? We also see God's motive here His great love. The second half of verse 4 says Because of His great love, with which he loved us. Why did God save us? Not because we're lovable, not because we're lovable, but because he is love. And His love is not a response to our goodness, it's rooted in his character. And the bible says in verse 5 god loved us even when we were dead in sins. That's what verse 5 says. He set his affection on us while we were still rebels against him.
Speaker 2:Romans, chapter 5, verse 8 one of my favorite verses in all of the New Testament says it plainly. It says but God demonstrates His own love toward us in that, while we were still sinners, christ died for us. Never get over that. Never get over that. You were at your worst and God loved you with His best. And the love that saved you wasn't based on your performance, it was based on His purpose.
Speaker 2:And then we see God's action. He made us alive with Christ. Look at verse 5. Even when we were dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. This is what we doctrinally call regeneration. It's the giving of new life. Hey, salvation is not self-improvement, it's a resurrection. What God did for Christ physically at the tomb, he does for us spiritually in salvation. He brings the dead to life.
Speaker 2:And notice the Apostle Paul's use here of with Christ and together. In these few verses Verse 5, you've been made alive together with Christ and together. In these few verses, verse 5, you've been made alive together with Christ. Verse 6, raised us up together Verse 6, made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is union with Christ, union with Christ. What happened to Jesus happened to us spiritually. When he rose, we rose. When he was exalted, we were included.
Speaker 2:One of the most exciting things is salvation is not just forgiveness. We make it often just about that. Salvation is not just forgiveness. It's new identity, new position, a new power, new hope. And then we see God's power. He raised and seated us with Christ verse 6, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus verse 6.
Speaker 2:I want you to notice something here. The Apostle Paul is using the past tense here. He's using the past tense here. That's because, in God's eyes, this has already been accomplished. You may be sitting in here this morning and you may feel weak, spiritually speaking, but you are already seated with Christ in victory. You're already seated with Christ in victory. You know what that means. That means your salvation is not temporary, it's not probationary, it is accomplished. You are secure in Christ because you are joined to Him. You're joined to him Because if salvation began with God and was accomplished by God and is secured by God, then the glory goes to God, not to us, not to us.
Speaker 2:What do we see next? Well, we see God's purpose, and it's to display the riches of His grace. Look what the Bible says, verse 7. That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Why did God save us? To display His grace forever. You thought it was all about you, didn't you? You thought he didn't want heaven without you To display His grace forever.
Speaker 2:If you are saved, you are a trophy of grace. In eternity, saints and angels will look at you and not say Wow, what a great person. No, but they'll say Glory, what a great person. No, but they'll say glory, what a gracious God. Look at who he saved this time. God will spend all of eternity showcasing His kindness to us in Christ. You know what that means. That means we'll never outgrow the gospel. We'll never get over grace For all eternity. We will be stunned, shocked, by the mercy that reached us. We'll be stunned by it.
Speaker 2:And again, this applies to everybody, everybody. If you're a mature believer, this is your daily anchor. Your position in Christ listen to me very carefully your position in Christ is not based on your feelings, but on God's finished work, and so rejoice that you are seated with Christ, secure, accepted and loved. If you're a new believer relatively new you have a new life. New believer relatively new, you have a new life. You have a new identity and praise God. You have a new future.
Speaker 2:You are not who you were, and so don't let the enemy or the world tell you otherwise. God made you alive and he did it because he loves you. And if you're an unbeliever and not saved, god is rich in mercy. He's not waiting for you to clean yourself up because you can't. You can't. He's not looking for you to impress Him because you don't. He's offering resurrection to the dead. If you'll turn to him, he'll make you alive in Christ. What else do we see?
Speaker 2:Well, as we come toward the last part of this, we need to embrace. Not only do we need to know our need for salvation, not only do we need to see what God's work has been in our salvation, but we need to embrace the purpose of salvation. We need to embrace the purpose of salvation. The Apostle Paul has just taken us from spiritual death to life in Christ and now, in verses 8 through 10, he sums up the entire biblical doctrine of salvation in one of the clearest, most quoted, most beautiful gospel summaries in the Bible. Read it with me, look at it. Follow along as I read Verse 8, for by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Speaker 2:This is the gospel in three verses, so let's walk through them phrase by phrase. First of all, we see, salvation is by grace alone. Salvation is by grace alone. I'm going to say it one more time, you need to get it Salvation is by grace alone, for by grace you have been saved. The word grace means undeserved favor and kindness. Undeserved favor and kindness, favor and kindness, undeserved favor and kindness. It's not earned, it's not repayable. God's grace, his grace, means god does for us what we could never do for ourselves.
Speaker 2:Listen, follower of jesus, the apostle paul I want you to see this too. The apostle paul doesn't say we are being saved, although in a sense that's a reality biblically speaking. But Paul doesn't say we are being saved, although in a sense that's a reality biblically speaking. But he doesn't say that here. He doesn't say you are being saved and he certainly doesn't say we might be saved. He says we have been saved. We have been saved, it's a completed act. This is something that God has done. Grace is the cause, salvation is the result. Theologian JI Packers put it well. He said grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves.
Speaker 2:What else do we notice? We see that salvation is through faith alone. We see that salvation is through faith alone. Salvation is by grace alone and it's through faith alone. Through faith, faith is the means by which grace is received. It is not a work, it's a trust. Faith says I have nothing to offer, I receive what christ has done for me. It is leaning completely, wholly, on jesus, leaning completely on jesus. I want to say it plainly so that there's no misunderstanding we are not saved by our faith. We are not saved by our faith. We are saved by Christ and by God's grace and faith is simply the empty hand that receives Him. Faith itself is not meriting reward. It doesn't earn grace, it just opens the door to receive it. That's why even our faith is a gift.
Speaker 2:As the Apostle Paul continues, we see, salvation is a gift, not a reward, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works. Lest anyone should boast, this really couldn't be any clearer Salvation is not of yourselves, it is not of works. It is the gift of God. You know what that means. That means you can't earn it. It means you can't deserve it. It means you can't boast in it means you can't boast in it, you can't brag in it.
Speaker 2:It's salvation whereby works, even a little. I mean just a little bit. You know what happened? We brag, we'd have room to brag, we'd compare ourselves, we'd believe we contributed. But the gospel leaves no room for pride. No room for pride. The only proper response is worship, gratitude and living for his glory.
Speaker 2:As it has been said, we bring nothing to salvation except the sin that made it necessary, and this is the great offense of the gospel. It humbles us, and this is the great offense of the gospel. It humbles us, it tells us we're helpless without Jesus. But it also blesses us because it tells us that we are so loved that God gave his son for us. And so here's the goal. Here's the goal Verse 10.
Speaker 2:Salvation really results in a new life of good works Verse 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So the Bible right now shows us the purpose of salvation. And it's not just to get us out of hell, although that's a pretty good side benefit, I would say and it's not just to take us to heaven, although that's a wonderful glory and a wonderful future we have. The Bible makes it very clear the purpose of salvation is to make us new people who will live for God's glory, to make us new people who will live for God's glory. We are God's workmanship, we are His masterpiece, we are His poem. The Greek word here we have translated His workmanship. The Greek word is poiema, where we get our word poem.
Speaker 2:Your life is God's work of art, remade by grace. You are, it says, created in Christ Jesus. That's new, that's creation language. That's new creation language. Not just cleaned up, not just patched up, remade from the inside out. And I want you to notice the order here. We are not saved by good works, we're saved for good works. The works don't save you, but they show that you have been saved. They're the fruit, not the root. They're the evidence, not the cause. They're the evidence, not the cause. And here's the most beautiful part God prepared these works in advance. God prepared these works beforehand, before you were born, before you believed, god had already planned the good works that you would walk in. You know what that means. That means your life has eternal purpose. Your life has eternal purpose. Your life has eternal purpose. Your salvation is not the end, it's the beginning of a life lived for the glory of God.
Speaker 1:The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever. That's Isaiah 48. Thanks for tuning in to the Foundations of Truth podcast with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. Join us next time and until then, keep building your life on God's eternal truth, the Bible.
