Under New Management
Many have used the services of a business or eaten at a restaurant only to find a week or a month later that the respective restaurant went out of business. Perhaps a few months or a year later, it might reopen with the words “Under New Management” on the door.
The old management, for whatever reason, was not able to make the cut. The new management, if it is good management and with the proper resources, will stay open and make a profit.
Our old management is self-management. It is management that is directed toward self-improvement and self-advancement. But “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). That means that we cannot get to heaven by ourselves, under our own direction. Jesus also warns that there are only two masters on the earth – Satan, or God (Matt. 6:24). He also says in Luke 11:23: “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” Either you are, right now, a Christian and destined for heaven or you are not. There is no middle ground. Either you are a servant of Satan, right now, or you are a servant of Jesus. There is no middle ground.
We have all been there in the same position before. None of us have a right to boast about where we are spiritually because we are all saved by the grace of God. The question is: Do you need to come under new management?
Let us consider Paul’s teachings in Ephesians 2:1-10. This section has been called the “shorter letter to the Romans.” Indeed, you will find much of Paul’s thoughts there summarized here.
THE CHAOS – 2:1-3:
Paul says the Christians were, at one time, “dead.” Death, biblically, means “separation.” Why were they dead? Because of their “trespasses” (going beyond what God authorizes) and “sins” (falling short of what God expects).
They were obeying the “prince of the power of the air,” i.e., Satan (2 Cor. 4:4; John 12:31).
5:19.
THE DAWN – 2:4-7:
“But! God!”
God is rich in mercy. He never runs out of mercy. He will not exhaust His supply on prior generations nor on the present generation. He will not deplete it by forgiving some sins such that He can no longer forgive others. His mercy is inexhaustible. He is also “rich” in His grace (1:7).
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THE NEW CREATION – 2:8-10:
By grace you have been saved. This implies:
1. Man is wholly unworthy of salvation.
2. Man is completely unable to merit his salvation.
3. God alone is able and powerful to provide salvation.
By faith is not faith only:
1. Their salvation surely depended on their hearing – 1:13; Romans 10:17.
2. Their salvation also depended on their faith – 1:13; Hebrews 11:6.
3. Their salvation depended on their repenting – Acts 19:19 (50,000 drachmas; a day’s wage – 137 years’ worth of salary).
4. Their salvation depended on their union with Christ in baptism – 4:5; 5:26
Become alive together with Christ by His grace and your obedient faith!
–Paul Holland
