1. The Normal Christian Life 2 Dramatic changes have occurred in the normal Christian life.

2. I. We no longer live in transgressions and sins Eph. 2: 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live.... We used to live in transgressions and sins. This means that we no longer live in them. We might “stumble” into a transgression or sin, but we certainly do not “walk” or “live” in them. Sin is no longer a “way of life” for the normal Christian life.

3. II. We no longer follow the ways of the world or of Satan 2...when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. The normal Christian recognizes what the ways of the world are, and how they are driven by satan and produce disobedience to God. The normal Christian no longer follows these ways.

4. III. We no longer gratify the cravings of the sinful nature or follow its desires and thoughts 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. The normal Christian recognizes that he has a sinful nature, but refuses to follow its desires or its thoughts. The sinful nature is now considered to be a “resident alien enemy” with whom we are at constant odds.

5. IV. We are no longer the objects of wrath.3..Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. The normal Christian has a great sense of relief that he is no longer an object of God’s wrath. God is not mad at him/her anymore. Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

6. V. We are alive through Grace 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. This is the promised Gift. The whole world was anxiously awaiting God’s promise of Joel 2:28

7. 28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;

8. VI. We have a heavenly present and a bright future 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

9. The normal Christian has a heavenliness about his present life. He or she feels “lifted” to heavenly places inside of their heart. This is a powerful sense of “hope” that keeps the Normal Christian from being in despair, even when things in life look hopeless. This “hopefulness” and “heavenliness” has a future dimension. It will take God forever to show us His “riches”. He does this in His “kindness” toward us for Christ’s sake. Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, God is able to show us His “kindness” through giving us His riches—a process which will take forever.

10. VII. We naturally do good things now. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The normal Christian, because of the new Spirit and power in their life, naturally does “good” works—not as a means to salvation, but as an overflow of salvation.

11. Questions about the Normal Christian Life 1. Are you still living in trespasses and sins? 2. Are you still following the ways of the world? 3. Do you mortify the desires of the sinful nature? 4. Are you joyful that God’s wrath is gone? 5. Have you received the Promise of the Sprit? 6. Do you possess a heavenly hope? 7. Do you naturally do good works?