Children of Wrath

​4th Sunday in Lent – B                                                                     LSB #’s 555:1-2, 6, 9; 904, 703
Text – Ephesian 2:1-3
 
And you were dead in the trespasses & 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 & the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 
 
CHILDREN OF WRATH
 
 
I heard these words after a particular service: “Good sermon pastor.  There were a lot of unbelievers here today.”   I realize that it was meant to be a compliment,  however,  it also bothered me.    What I found troubling  is that it could also be taken as a condemnation  of many of the people who were in God’s house that day.  It did not strike me as love for our neighbor. 
Certainly,  there are unbelievers in the world – multitudes of them.   Yet,  we need to be careful that in ‘labeling’ them as such  we are not thinking less of them  & more  of ourselves.  In the letter to the church at Ephesus,  Paul writes that even believers were at one time “…children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  (2:3 ESV) 
That we no longer are such people  should inspire thankfulness & not  pride,  as Paul makes clear later in the Epistle reading, “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works,  so that no one  may boast.”  (2:8b-9 ESV)    Paul warns us  specifically against being prideful  because it is such an easy,  & deadly,  trap  to fall into. 
Complimenting a pastor on his sermon, does nothing  for the lost.  What might be  a more Christ-like approach  when you find yourself among a church full of unbelievers?     Praying for them ought to be #1.   It does not cost you much in the way of time & effort,  but it does engage your heart & your soul  in love for your neighbor. 
Prayer makes our heart & soul available to God  for His use  in serving our neighbor.   Paul reminded us in the closing verse of the text from Ephesians, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,  which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  (2:10 ESV)   The God who creates all human beings  also goes before us & prepares in advance  opportunities to love our neighbor  through good works.  Striking up a conversation with an unbeliever & listening to their concerns  is far more productive  than labeling them. 
Unbelievers are not able to save themselves.   Children of wrath will never pray that God would save them,  unless they already have faith created within them by the Holy Spirit.    And then, they are no longer children of wrath.  The gifts of repentance & a heart that turns to God in prayer  are received from the Holy Spirit  along with faith. 
We can lose those gifts & once again become children of wrath.  Giving counsel, St. Paul wrote:
“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy,  my child,   in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you,  that by them  you may wage the good warfare, holding faith & a good conscience.   By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus & Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”  (1 Timothy 1:18-20 ESV) 
 
Because Jesus can see the heart of all people, while speaking to a group of Jews, He said: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God & I am here…  Why do you not understand what I say?  It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.   You  are of your father  the devil…”  (John 8:42-44 ESV) 
Jesus makes it clear that children of wrath is equivalent to children of the Devil.  They are unbelievers because they cannot bear to hear His word.   Yet,  Jesus dies for those very people  & all others throughout human history, believers or not. 
John Fischer, in his book On A Hill Too Far Away, tells of a church in Old Greenwich, CT.  It contains a one-of-a-kind cross.  Not that the cross is overly unique;  the positioning of the cross is what is truly unusual.   It’s not behind or above the altar.   It is bolted into the concrete floor in the middle of the aisle, between the pews & the altar.  It’s a sturdy, 10 foot tall cross, made of raw, untreated wood.  It is clearly  an obstruction.  The pastor’s words have to pass through it.   The congregation’s eyes  always have it somewhere in view. 
The cross of Jesus was an obstruction to those Jews who could not bear to hear His word.  As you & I are called, to take up our cross & follow Jesus,  there are times when we view our cross as  an obstruction.  When we see a church full of unbelievers  do we shy away from loving our neighbor as ourselves?   It’s all too natural  for our sinful nature  to do so. 
As followers of Jesus, we recognize that all of us are born  children of wrath needing the work of salvation accomplished only by Jesus Christ.  The irony of our secular culture  is that it views all people as good when they are born.  They only do bad things  as bad parents, pastors & priests, or the narrow minded & bigoted church people  label their actions as sinful. 
Yet, that same culture finds it perfectly okay to kill those good children  before they are born.  But once those good children have turned bad, through something like committing murder, then the culture is generally against capital punishment.  It’s the irrational nature of sin  to kill children while they are considered good,  & to spare their lives once they’re considered bad. 
Unbelievers in any culture  continue to be children of wrath.  Believers in any culture are never far from returning to that state of unbelief.  The gospel of John clarifies things as it says:
“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light & does not come to the light,  lest his works should be exposed.   But whoever does what is true comes to the light,  so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”  (John 3:20-21 ESV)   We can simplify that by saying, “Are your actions leading you towards God,  or leading you away from Him?” 
A clear example was given in the OT reading.  If those bitten by a fiery serpent only looked at the bronze serpent set upon the pole,  they would live.   Those who did not look  would die.   In the struggles & trials of living  are you looking to the cross of Jesus?  His death erased your sins & is able to transform you  from a child of wrath  to a child of the heavenly Father.  Are your actions leading you towards God,  or leading you away from Him?  Are you a child of wrath  or a child of the heavenly Father? 
It’s natural for us to focus our thoughts & energy on the things we do.  It takes all of that in order to accomplish anything good in this broken world.  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,  which God prepared beforehand,  that we should walk in them.”   (Ephesians 2:10 ESV) 
Those are great words  straight out of Holy Scripture.  God’s children love to hear them.  However, when we study the text of Ephesians, V. 4 is God’s intended focal point.  Verses 1-3 set up our dilemma.  Then V. 4 delivers the punch line.  Verse 4 delivers the real  good news. 
“And you were dead in the trespasses & 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 & the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  (Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV) 
 
Verses 1-3 deliver the bad news   of our utter failure   to be what God created us to be.  Without God  there is never a time that you  or I  or anyone else in the entire world  is good.   If Mother Nature is real,  then she is evil,  for all of us were by nature   children of wrath. 
“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…”  (Ephesians 2:4 ESV) It is God,  & Him alone,  who is moving us from wrath & death  to reconciliation & life. 
We were dead men walking in trespasses & sins.  God’s grace transformed us into His children walking in good works.   Just as Christ was physically dead,  but God raised & exalted Him,  so you & I  were spiritually dead   but   God  raised & exalted us in Christ.  At the resurrection we will be raised & exalted with Christ,  never again to follow the course of this world,  or the prince of the power of the air.   After the resurrection,  our actions will always be leading us toward our heavenly Father.  The words of V. 4,  not V. 10,  have the power to change us from children of wrath  to children of light. 
In this life,  none of us live up to the promise of verse 10.  It is a statement of fact,   but strictly speaking,  it is not the Gospel.   We all, like sheep,  go astray.  (Isaiah 53:6)   But God, always lives up to His promise  to make us alive in Christ.  Have your actions been leading you away from God?   Then remember the promises of your Creator & Savior. 
How do we get from the walk of the dead  to the walk of the living?   Since Christ died, due to our baptism into Christ, we also die,  every day,  even every hour.  Paul’s claims about our existence are not based upon observable phenomena in you & me,  but on observing the Christ in whom we live.  Those daily deaths are also preparation for our final death at the end of our lives. 
The Law is meant to return us to our baptism by the daily drowning of the old man within.  The Law is good, but sin causes our misuse of it,  & our conflict with it.   Sin works through the Law to bring death.  Returning to our baptism reminds us of the life given to us  by God’s Spirit. 
We believers  used to be one thing – now we are  another.   We were dead,  but now in Christ,  we are a new creation.   Our new life,  our identity,  our purpose & future  is all the result of God’s action for us in Christ Jesus.  That news inspires thankfulness & joy,  not  pride.   None of us can see inside the heart of another person  to know if they are an unbeliever. 
There are times when God calls us to make decisions regarding the faith of another person.   We try to do that based upon that person’s own words,  rather than upon our opinion.  Satan loves to tempt us  to elevate our opinions,  & our sinful nature loves to wallow in them.  Satan loves to divide us.  It is God who has the power to unite us & make us alive together with Christ.  The text from Ephesians gives us a picture of “the two kinds of righteousness.”  The first portion focuses on the grace of God: dead in sin, made alive in Christ, because of His great mercy.  That is passive righteousness; the righteousness of Jesus given in exchange for our sins.  
It is all God’s doing, God’s giving – God’s choosing of us that goes back even before creation & the beginning of time.  This is the righteousness that defines our relationship before God, & because it is all God’s doing, we can rest assured in His word & promises.  It does not depend on us  or  our good works,  but depends entirely on Jesus & what He has done for us. 
In verse 10, St. Paul goes on to instruct us about the 2nd kind of righteousness,  the active kind that is still God’s work in us.  This active righteousness is the good works He wants us to do,  & has prepared in advance for us  to do.  They are not necessary for our salvation.  They do not define our status before God.  
But they are necessary in our lives for the good of our neighbor,  & they do describe our relationship with our neighbor.  Ephesians 5 & 6 describe how this work that God has planned in advance for us to do, shows itself in our relationships: husband & wife, children & parents, employee & employer.  
Secure in our relationship with God,  by grace through faith,  we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as His people in this world,  loving our Lord,  by loving our neighbor.    No matter what the world may say,  that is a far better life  than living as children of wrath.  Amen. 
 
 
 
All our knowledge, sense & sight  lie in deepest darkness shrouded  till Your Spirit breaks our night  with the beams of truth unclouded.   You alone to God can win us;  You must work all good within us.       Father, Son & Spirit, Lord,  praise to You & adoration!   Grant that we may trust Your Word,  confident of our salvation,  while we here below must wander,  till we sing Your praises yonder.  Amen.  LSB 904:2, 4.