Understanding The Call | Pastor Tre Townsley | 5.26.24

Understanding the Call

Ephesians 1:1-14

1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

• Redemption /apolytrōsis/ (n.): deliverance; redemption; ransom in full

• Forgiveness /aphesis/ (n.): freedom; pardon;  liberty; remission

• Sin /paraptōma/ (n.): unintentional error or willful transgression, fall, fault, offense

• The path from SIN to FORGIVENESS is the process of REDEMPTION and this is the call of salvation

The Weight of the Call—why is it so heavy?

• The pervasiveness of sin. Sin invades every area of our lives and continues to grow.

• Sin is commonly viewed as a ‘mishap’. “Everybody sins!”

• What does the bible say about sin?

• Hebrews 12:4 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. /antagōnizomai/ v. : struggle against; to compete against; fight; labor fervently

• Romans 6:12 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

• Romans 6:16 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

• Romans 7:11  11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.

• When sin enters, it enslaves, reigns, deceives, and kills

• 1 Corinthians 15:54-56 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 

• Sin is the weapon by which death injects its poison