Total Inability

So if you look with me a paragraph four, and and your bible's turned to Ephesians two. Okay, let's look at paragraph four, and we'll look at Ephesians two. Kind of a continuation here and summary of this whole idea of that federal headship, and the significance of that that that federal headship, and what happens as a result of it. Paragraph four. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions. I would argue again, I said when we started, you know this is this is a bad news chapter in the confession, right, I mean, it really is a bad news chapter. And I would say this is the bad news paragraph in the bad news chapter. It's really short, right, it's the shortest of the paragraphs. But there's like more bad news piled into this short paragraph. Look at it again. From this original corruption, that's bad news, right, that's reminding us of the bad news that came before, which is there is original corruption. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, We are utterly indisposed to all good. We're disabled as regards all good, and we are made opposite to all good and wholly inclined to all evil. And by the way, that's just the explanation of this original corruption. From this original corruption do proceed all actual transgressions. So the sins that we commit proceed from the sin nature that we inherit. The sins that we commit proceed from the sin nature that we inherit. So it's bad enough that we inherit this sin nature. It's bad enough that we inherit this guilt. And that's enough to condemn us to hell. Amen. Just that in and of itself, that all by self, just being born in that condition and with that predisposition is enough. But then we add insult to injury in that, as guilty individuals, we then act upon that nature that causes us to be guilty, and we compound our guilt. And that's just bad news. That's bad news upon bad news. So now let's look at Ephesians chapter two. Ephesian chapter two, and we'll get a picture of this. Start there in verse number one, and you were dead, and the trespasses and sins in which you formally walked, stop, you were dead and the trespasses and sins in which you formally walked. This picture of dead man walking is important, but note the play on words, because because dead men don't walk right, you were dead and the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. So this, this deadness here is a special kind of deadness. We are dead in terms of righteousness. We are dead in terms of righteousness. Listen to the corruption, to the confession again, from this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, abled, and made opposite to all good and wholly inclined to all evil. That's the deadness that's being referred to here. We are we are dead to all righteousness. We are incapable of any righteousness. We don't want righteousness, we don't desire righteousness, and we can't be righteous. In order for something to be righteous, it has to be the right thing, done the right way for the right reason. If any one of those three is not present, it's not a righteous act. Obviously, if you don't do the right thing. And by the way, this is in relation to the law of God right, So obviously if you don't do the right thing, that that's that's sin. That's it. This would be yes, this would be we right a good right. If God says, you know, don't steal, and you steal, then you haven't done the right thing. That's sin. We get that. But you have to do the right thing the right way. You have to do the right thing the right way, which is the way that God prescribes. You have to do the right thing the right way, and you have to do the right thing the right way for the right reason, and the only right reason is the glory of God. So if it's not the right thing, sin. If it's the right thing but it's not done the right way, sin. If it's the right thing, done the right way for the wrong reason, sin. You have to meet all three of those criteria for it to be a righteous act. And you are never going to do that under Adam's federal headship. We had some Latin phrases last night. Let me give you some more Latin phrases today. Now, Adam was born posting non percay, possible not to sin, Amen. It was possible for Adam not to sin. He was born upright and perfect post say non percary. He did have that choice. He did have that freedom, and he did have that possibility inherent in his nature. Postsay non percary. Now after the fall, we are non post saying non pricary. Not possible not to sin. We can't not sin, not cannot we can't not sin. It is not possible for us under Adam's federal headship not to sin. Now again, let's be careful with this, because you know, we see things all the time, and we say things all the time. We'll say things like, well, you know there are non Christians out there who are more righteous than son of that. No, there is no righteous non Christian. In order for something to be righteous, it has to be the right thing, done the right way for the right reason. So if you're a random pagan, right and you do something that is outwardly a right thing, I mean, good on you, amen. But if it wasn't done the right way, and it wasn't done for the right reason, and the only right reason is the glory of God. And if you're a random pagan you don't do anything for the glory of God, then it wasn't a righteous act. Rank pagan or pursuer of another religion, So you're doing it to please another God. Well, that in and of itself is sinful. Okay. So the idea here is not that men never do things that are outwardly and or apparently good. It is that men are incapable of doing things that are actually righteous. That's the deadness. And it's not kind of dead. It's not almost dead, it's not it's it's not mostly dead for your princess bride fans, it's dead dead. And so you know, we have these pictures and these illustrations that we use, and you know, it's just it's it's just though you're you're you're out there, you know you're sinking, and and you know you're you're about to go down for the third and final time, and God throws you the life preserver and you just have to reach out and grab it. Nope, Nope. I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV, but I do know this. Dead men don't grab things. Amen. Dead as relates to righteousness. Hence, you were dead in the trespend and sins in which you once walked. So there is a spiritual death here, which is why you're walking and trespasses and sins. You're dead to righteousness. That's the death, you're dead to righteousness. And the sinister thing about this is that we're not aware of it. I'll never forget the first time I heard the Gospel. I again, and I've told many of you this story before, but the gentleman who came to share the gospel, and the first time I hear the gospel was my freshman year in college. Didn't grow up in the church, didn't grow up around Christians, didn't grow up around Christianity. My mother was a practicing Buddhist and a single teenage mother. So the first time I hear the gospel, I'm at university eighteen years old and a guy comes and he sharing the gospel with me, and he asked me a question. He asked me if I believed that I would go to heaven when I died. And my answer was, yeah, I believe I'll go to Heaven want to die? Right? Like, how sure are you? And I said something like ninety ninety five percent right? And I said ninety ninety five percent because I believed that. Again, comparing myself to other people, I was a good guy. That's what's so sinister about this. That's what's so sinister about being dead men walking we're under Adam's Federal headship, and we're walking in sinfulness. But because we're dead spiritually to righteousness, we have no idea the chasm between us and God. We believe we can get there. From here. We believe we can drive from Lusaka to Houston. You were dead, and the trespassings and sins in which you once walked, why, well, because of the world, the flesh and the devil. That's why, following the course of this world, there's one the world, following the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work, and the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh. There's the third one, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. That's who we are under Adam's Federal Headship. The news is far worse than we think. Again, because up to this point we've just we've just we've just been talking about tech technical stuff, right, positional stuff. You know, technically and positionally we're over here, and technically and positionally we want to be over here and all this. But now now now the rubber meets the road, and it's like, hey, I'm glad that you understand that technically you're under Adam's Federal headship. I'm glad that you get that, But let me explain to you what that actually means in real life. And what that means in real life is you're a dead man walking. You're dead and you don't even know it. You're spiritually dead. You're not under Adam's Federal headship and trying to escape it. You're not under Adam's Federal headship and feeling uncomfortable with it. You're not under Adam's Federal headship and trying to figure out how to transfer from Adam's Federal headship to Christ's Federal headship. You are under Adam's Federal headship. And it's all you know, and it's all you love, and it's all you want. And if anybody points it out, you'll fight them to stay there and swear that it's the right place to be. That's the problem, himmed in on every side. Look at it again, dead in the treashpus in the sense in which you once walked. Why were you walking in that? Why were you? Why were you a dead man walking number one following the course of this world. Now, here's what you need to understand. That adams fall didn't just affect his posterity. Adam's fall affected the entire world. Adams fall affected all of creation. Look back with me, if you will, in Genesis chapter three, and look beginning at verse sixteen. To the woman, he said, I will surely multiply your pain in child bearing. In pain, you shall bring forth children, and you ladies who have gone through childbirth. Right, every time you read that text or hear that text, right, thank you so much. Eve. We just. But notice that this sin doesn't just alienate her from God, us from God. But there are also consequences beyond the spiritual into the physical. Your desires shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you. Now there's the emotional, there's the physical, and there's the emotional. Now let's get to verse seventeen. To Adam, he said, because you have listened to the woricy of your wife and have eaten the tree which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Curse is the ground because of you. Cursed is the ground because of you. In other words, cursed is the world because of you in pain. You shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles, it shall bring forth for you. So thorns and thistles, that's because of Adam's sin. You should eat in the plants of the field. By the sweat of your you shall eat bread till you return to the ground. For out of the ground you were taken, for you were dust, and to the dust you will return. There's physical death, but notice before the physical death, there is by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. You're going to have to work hard. It's going to be arduous. Now here's what's interesting. A lot of people mistakenly think that work in and of itself is the consequence of the fall. But that's not the case. Go back to chapter two. Go back to chapter two and look at verse one. God doesn't say, because you send, I'm going to introduce work. Chapter two. Verse one. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Three times in chapter two before the Fall, we see God is the first worker. We work because God worked. We're made in the image of God. By the way, look at chapter two and verse fifteen. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Work is not a byproduct of the fall. In fact, we're going to work in the new house of new Earth. Amen, somebody. But the whole idea of the ground actually being in opposition to you in your work, it's almost as though the earth is now at war with Adam. You're gonna get thorns and thistles, and you're gonna get weeds, and you're gonna have droughts, and you're gonna have You're going to have to work and fight tooth and nail for everything that you grow out of this ground in order to feed yourself. That's how significant and comprehensive the fall is. Now. Look at Romans Romans chapter eight, and look at verse eighteen. For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us, for the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtained the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been growning together and the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves. We have the first ruths of the spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly the adoption as suns, the redemption of our bodies. So the entire creation has been corrupted. But this word here in which he once walk following the course of this world, is not just the creation itself, but this world system. If you will so again, remember when we look back at Eve, it's you know, physical in terms of childbirth, it's emotional in terms of antagonism in the marital relationship, and then it's natural in terms of nature itself. Everything is turned on its head, and that's where we live. As as C. S. Lewis would say, Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. We live in this world that is cursed because of sin, and that is antagonistic to go. We live in the midst of a world's system were because of the nodic effect of sin. Every aspect of who we are is affected and infected by this sin. This world tells us when to think and why to think, and how to think and what to think about. That's what this world does to us. It's broken, it's corrupt, and it too is antagonistic to our God. And it's all we know. It's all we know. It's interesting. You know, when I was a boy, I was fascinated with gangsters. I just was, probably because I grew up in South central Los Angeles surrounded by gangsters. But I was fascinated with the old gangsters, right with the guys who you know, wore were double breasted, pinstriped suits and fedoras and machine guns. I just the combination of those things, you know, the wingtips, the whole deal. You know, it was just fascinated. And the interesting thing about that to me was that even in this even in this world, right we we we think of the world of gangsters and mobsters as this anything goes kind of world. But it's really not. There's rules, and in many ways they're more serious about the rules than people who live outside of their worlds. But there's an entire world that they live in with rules that that just makes sense to them. And in that world there's certain things that you do and that means I've got to kill you, and it just makes sense. And if you're outside of that world looking into that world, you go, that's crazy, not if you're in it. If you're in it, it's completely logical. And here's a news flash. That's us. That's all of us under the Federal Headship of Adam. Because here's the great irony. When you come away from the Federal Headship of Adam and when you come into the Federal Headship of Christ. It's amazing because you look back and you actually see the world for the first time. It's like the matrix, right, You look back and you see the world for the first time. And at times it's a hard thing to do. It's a hard thing to actually wrap your head around the fact that you used to think that was okay. You used to reason that way and it made sense to you. That's the impact of the world. Again, when we think about sin. Often this is the way we often think about it. Okay, we'll say, yes, there's original sin because of Adam, and then we go yes, you know, we sin, but we skip some steps because we say because because of the devil, and everything is because of the devil, and so here i am. I'm going along, and every once in a while, the devil will just put something in my way, or he'll be it's the devil, right, it's the devil. It's the devil. Yes, but yes, and here's a news flash. When you look at the world and the flesh and the devil, I'm gonna argue that the devil himself is minor player because number one, we're not that important and he's busy. And number two, the world's got us so wrapped up that that kind of direct influences is not all that necessary. But there is real evil and a real evil one. That's the second part in which you once walk following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. There's two mistakes that we make when it comes to Satan. One is underestimating and the other is overestimating. Satan is real, Amen, He's real. He is the Prince of the power of the air, and he is the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. And so we're compounding this. Now we have the world, this broken world, and this broken system, and it's all we know, and it's all we have, and it's all we love. Again teaches us how to think, what to think, what to value, what not to value. And then we have the Prince of the power of the air, this spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience, in the midst of this broken world that we inhabit. He's got us hemmed in. And that's only two thirds of this deadly triad among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. There's the last one. It's the flesh. And this is the area and aspect of our sinfulness to which we pay the least attention. I would say Satan is number one, right, I mean we all, I mean it's the devil. The devil is busy the devil is acted. The devil did this, The devil did that. Satan is number one. If you're a little more sophisticated, then you understand. And there's also this fallen world right, But very few of us pay much attention to the fact that our greatest adversary fairy is our flesh, among whom we all want squalked. No, we almost lived number one in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind. Turned with me to James James chapter one, and let's flesh this out, low hanging fruit. People, Just you know James Chapter one, beginning of verse twelve, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Now, verse thirteen, it's pertinent to our discussion. Let no one say, when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings death. Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires, by your. Flesh, by your flesh, by the things that you want, by the things that you yearn for. And this is most potent. Again, Satan is deceptive and brilliant. Don't miss that parton. This is most sinister and most potent when those passions and desires that we have are almost right. For example, God gives us food, Amen, hallelujah, Praise the Lord, and we need it and it's good and enjoyable. But the world, the flesh and the devil can even take that and turn it into an occasion for sin. God gives us sexual desires, and that's good, amen, It's necessary for the propagation of the race. Right. It plays a very important role in the relationship between husbands and wives. And again it's good. And the world and the flesh and the devil comes along and takes this God given passion and desire and tweaks it just a little bit. Mhm. Work earn a living. That's how we were designed. God is the first worker. He puts Adam in the garden to work. We were created to work. Work is good, work is right, work is honorable, work as holy. And yet the world, the flesh and the devil, can take that good thing and tweak it just a little bit, and now you can become a greedy, materialistic workaholic who destroys your life. Right again, I could go on, but you get the point. And this is what makes it so deceptive. Notice, on the first hand, what did we say. We said that here we are, we're dead men walking, and we're deceived, and we think we're okay because we do have standards, and all of us are trying to live in accordance with those standards. And we look around at other people, and we watch the news and we see people who are not living according to those standards. When we say I am good, and the world convinces us of that, and the princes of the power of the air nudges us in that direction, and then to cap it all off our flesh and it's desire, because see, here's another desire, and this is perhaps the most potent of them all and the most dangerous of them all. We desire righteousness. We were created to desire righteousness. But we desire righteousness in and of ourselves. We desire justification, but we desire justification by works, so that we can boast. And the world and the flesh the devil conspire to make all men religious, to make all men moralists, to make all men legalists, so that even when we hear the Gospel, we think that we have escaped. But the world and the flesh and the devil even conspire at that point to say, oh, okay, that's all right. You like that, you like that, we can give you some of that. In fact, we can give you plenty of that. Go to church. It's fine. We don't mind you going to church. Pursue righteousness, it's fine, we don't mind you pursuing righteousness. Do the right thing. You can even do it the right way, just as long as you're not doing it for the right reason, because then you're still with us. But it's even better because you're with us. You used to be with us and not even know that there wasn't us. Now you know that there's an us, and you're with us. But you think that you're no longer with us because you're pursuing legalism and moralism in the name of Christ. And you've never transferred federal headship, and in fact you become an evangelist for us, because now, in your legalistic self righteousness, you look down your nose at other people and you call them to join you in ticking off boxes and declaring themselves righteous because they do these things, and they don't do those things, and remain under the federal headship of Adam, completely oblivious, completely incapable of all goods, completely averse to all righteousness, and yet holding yourselves up as paragons of righteousness, because the world of flesh and the devil will take that good thing and tweak it ever so slightly. There's only one real answer. You were dead in your trespassiness and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the year, the spirit that is now out working the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and where by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heaven places, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us. In Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works which God prepared beforehand, and we should walk in them. The only way of escape is repentance and faith. The only way of escape is fleeing from the federal headship of Adam and fleeing to the federal headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how, pray tell, does this happen through the supernatural regenerating work of the Spirit of God, and only through the supernatural regenerating work of the Spirit of God. That's it. That's it. The good news is for those of us who are here, God has brought you to a place where you've heard this you're hearing this, and not without reason. There are some perhaps who have come still under the federal headship of Adam. And yet by God's grace, you came here, and you came now, so that, by God's grace, somebody could show you and tell you that you're a dead man walking amen, So that by God's grace you might flee from the judgment to come, so that by God's grace your eyes might be opened, that by God's grace, your hardened heart be transformed from a heart of stone to heart flesh, so that, by God's grace you recognize the futility of self justification, So that, by God's grace you recognize that you can't get there from here, and that, by God's grace you cry out to Him and repentance and faith, acknowledging and turning away from your sin, fleeing from the federal headship of Adam, and pleading for God to mercifully unite you to Christ, reckoning your sin to him, imputing your sinfulness to Him, and imputing His righteousness to you, so that you indeed might be justified and reconciled and redeemed, and all those beautiful things that we've heard, and my prayer is that if that's you, that that's precisely what happens, that God would be so kind as to rescue you from your sin at a conference about the worst news that you'll ever hear in your life. May it be so, let's pray