Dead Men Walking- Ephesians 2:1-13

Ephesians 2 Sermon Notes

Dead Men Walking

My mom had few jokes but one of them was whenever we drove past a cemetery. She would say how many dead people in that cemetery? And the answer was, “All of them.”

         I ask you, "How many dead men do we have in this room?"

         Now, we can take the title of this sermon, Dead Men Walking, in two ways. And by Dead Men Walking, I mead dead men, women, boys and girls. All of you are dead men walking. So, the answer to my question, How many dead men do we have in this room is, “All of them.”

         But you might protest, “I am not dead. I can breathe. My heart is beating.”

         True, but you need to understand that your heart beating is not what makes you alive. What makes you alive is Jesus Christ’s heart beating.

         Well, you might say, then Christ’s heart is beating in me. And if that is true then it is true that you who were dead in your sins has He quickened, that is, made alive.

         But maybe there are those in whom only a sinful heart beats. That is not life but death. We need Christ for life.

         So, we have two types of dead men walking.

         One is the kind who was dead. He is like Lazarus come out of the tomb. Look, a dead man walks. But he really is no longer dead. He might be known as one who was dead and is now come to life but he is really alive.

         The other is the one who is dead in his trespasses and sins. He walks about but there is no life of Christ in him. Though he is alive, he yet remains in his trespasses and sins. He needs life. He needs a new heart.

         What we have to deal with is that all of us have been that second man, the one who is dead though he seems alive. Every human being that is alive must have been quickened by the Holy Spirit of God to be in Christ and thus made alive.

         Now, it is not necessary that we fully understand this, how or when, exactly it happened. But we do need to grasp that it happened. The reason is twofold and given in our text.

         First, we need to know this happened so that we give God the glory. We cannot bring ourselves from death to life, so it takes away our boasting for having done so.

         Two, particularly as our children grow up in this church, they need to be taught not to boast of their upbringing, God’s favor on them, the gifts of salvation and godly living. These are all good things but not things to boast of. They are all gifts. If our children understand that they are gifts and render thanksgiving for them, then this reveals their heart, a heart of gratitude, a heart transformed by Jesus.

         But if they stubbornly cling to their advantages as either earned or deserved, then they are not revealing a heart of gratitude. This more likely reveals the heart of a dead man walking. And if they think this way, one response of theirs might be that, "I was never dead." It is okay if you do not remember being dead. But you were once dead and are now made alive by Jesus, if, in fact, you are really alive. If you are live, this is a fact. If this is not a fact for you, then you are not alive.

         So, the Scriptures and Jesus and the preacher, call you to life. Like Lazarus from the tomb, come forth into the light, the light of Jesus and be not dead, but living.