Ladder on the wrong Wall

 

Ephesians 2:1-3

I’ve thought often, that we who have been blessed to live in the United States, and have freedom of worship and go by the name of Christian, often have our ladders on the wrong wall.  Last night my friend and mentor Ken Ryan and his wife Anita spent the night with us and Ken was sharing how his parents raised him and his siblings.  They were Methodist, they grew-up being taught the gospel and were trained to be good and moral in how they lived, and to treat others in the same way they wanted to be cared for.  This model of living was not bad; in fact, Ken was very successful in his business ventures.  Ken loved his wife and was respected by his neighbors and his peers, but at the age of 38 he came to understand that his ladder was on the wrong wall.  He came to the understanding that he had a void in his life that only Jesus Christ could fill, but up to this time he was totally satisfied with being the good man he was.

Many in the church are like Ken, they are morally good, and they give to support the church, are kind to neighbors and the ones they work with.   A person with that mind set would not expect to understand what the apostle Paul is sharing with us in these three verses; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

A person like I described above, must come to understand that the ladder of their life is on the wrong wall, and come to agreement that they are sons of disobedience, that they are children of wrath, and there in lies an enormous problem for one who is morally good in their own eyes.  The moral person has no understanding of Genesis 2:17, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  The moral person does not understand that they died spiritually in Adam, that they by the nature of that fall, show-up on planet earth with a live earthsuit, but a dead spirit to God. 

It is important to understand Paul is addressing this to the saints in Ephesus, they are in agreement with and they have an understanding of these truths, it is evident because Paul states; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,” and he goes on to state; the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  This letter was to a people who by grace through faith came to the same understanding as Ken, they needed a new heart, they had a void, their ladder was on the wrong wall, and only the blood of Jesus Christ could atone for sin and give them the Spirit of life.

Jesus tells us that many good folks who are church members will come to Him in judgment and tell of all the great things they did in the name of Jesus; “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:23)  My dear friend Ken has testified to this fact, Jesus put the ladder of his life on the right wall, and God is always faithful, verses 8-10 of chapter two of Ephesians, tells the good moral person that it is by grace you can be saved through faith.  It is not your doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice