Ephesians 2 begins with a very blunt, raw statement of the human condition: that we are "dead in sin." Paul knows we have to understand the bad news in order to have the good news change us. Yet for this week, we are primarily going to consider the bad news. That might sound ridiculous in a week when local shops in LA are literally boarding up their windows in anticipation of election turmoil, but there are some very helpful applications here that can anchor us in the midst of this time - including fears and concerns regarding our elected leadership. How can this hard news lead us to our true hope, and give us an anchor in a time of upheaval?
Discussion Questions
What does Paul mean by "dead" in sin? Read Genesis 6:5 and Romans 3:10-12. How might most Americans respond to these statements? How does this idea contradict the cultural view of the human condition?
Nobel prize novelist William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, wrote: "Before the Second World War, I believed in the perfectibility of social man... but after the war I did not because I was unable to. I had discovered what one man could do to another... I must say that anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil like a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wrong in the head." Does Golding’s quote apply to you – not in regards to your ability to point out heinous evil in and from others, but is this quote about you? Without Christ, are people basically good, especially you?
Though Paul says humanity is "dead" in sin, he goes on to say we "walked" in them (v.2) and "lived" in them (v.3). How is that not a contradiction? What sort of condition is he describing? When have you ever felt you are living in that sort of condition?
How does Asaph describe his condition in Psalm 73:21-22? How is that being "living dead"? In his Chronicles of Narnia series, in which some animals live a fully human life, CS Lewis describes some animals returning to a brutish state. Then one of the children says: Wouldn't it be dreadful if some day in our own world, at home, men started going wild inside, like the animals here, and still look like men, so that you'd never know which are which? How is this an echo of Asaph's concern in Psalm 73? Why is this such a tragic idea?
Paul says we "were by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (v.3). Why might some be offended by the idea that God has wrath toward humanity? Read Matthew 21:33-41. On what basis does God have a reason to be angry? Why might the tenants have trouble admitting that?
GOSPEL: 1 John 2:2 says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” How does God address the problem of this injustice and wrath? If the tenants refuse to acknowledge the depth of their injustice, would God's love toward them move them? How does comprehending the depth of this bad news actually enable us to fully appreciate the height of the good news of the Gospel?
APPLICATIONS:
Consider that Paul, a self-described "Hebrew of Hebrews" (Philippians 3:5), is writing this to a church that is predominantly Gentiles (not Hebrews, not Jews). Does he differentiate his condition from theirs? How should the Gospel inform race relations within the Church? How does a shared understanding of their previous "dead" condition bring about a new unity and equality in Christ?
How might this shared awareness of "deadness in sin” affect our view of our leaders? What does the cross tell us about their condition - much like our own? In the midst of this election season, why is it critical to remember there is only one true Messiah? How can that be an anchor for us regardless of whether your preferred candidate is elected to office?
