News Flash: You Were Dead!

News Flash: You Were Dead!

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. . . . But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

Ephesians 2:1, 4-5

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

Colossians 2:13

Sometimes people will say, “I have good news and bad news; which do you want first?” And though Scripture is filled with good news (gospel actually means “good news”), it also contains some very bad news. In fact, the bad news may be worse than you think.

A number of people might think of themselves as spiritually sick and in need of assistance. They recognize that they are not who they need to be or want to be, and they admit that Jesus can help them become a better person and keep them out of hell. But the doctor’s diagnosis on every one of us is much worse than “very sick.” We’re dead. We need much more than a self-improvement project or a boost of goodness. We need a miracle. The miracle of a dead person coming alive.

How can a dead soul come to life? Only God himself can do it. Just as God breathed into Adam the breath of life and formed the world out of nothing, God can make a dead person alive.

If you’re a believer, the reality of your past is that you were dead and completely without hope. You had no spiritual pulse, and there were no signs of potential life. But then God breathed his life into you! Now you are alive to God—thinking about him, wanting him, listening to him speak to you through Scripture, allowing him to change you and shape you. And your future reality is no longer death; it’s life—eternal life.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Tell about a time you went to the doctor when you were sick. How did the doctor help you?

What do you think it means to be spiritually dead?

Are there certain areas in your life that feel dead (something inside yourself, a relationship, a habit, a way of thinking)? How might God work to bring that dead part back to life?