The text clearly describes the difference that God makes in the life of the Saint.

Today we will see 5 characteristics of the pre-converted

- The saint begins his life as a walking corpse.

- Sin produces death in us spiritually and eventually physically.

- The sin nature we have was inherited and leads us to sin and death.

- The problem was not just that we were dead and hopeless… we were evil. We were being led by Satan and we didn’t even know it.

- We were like spiritual Zombies along with a multitude of others, and Satan was our prince… the puppeteer who controlled us.

- We weren’t just dead and hopeless, and being led by Satan’s mysterious evil forces… We were loving it.

- We got pleasure and satisfaction from doing evil.

- Because we were dead in our trespasses and sins, following the devil, and loving it… we were enemies of God.

- God had every right to rise up against us.

- The only thing that stood between us and the wrath of God was his rich mercy.

- “BUT GOD, BEING RICH IN MERCY,” while we were children of wrath… God had plenty of mercy to spare on us.

- The love of God is unfathomable… He loved us “even when we were dead in our sins…” even when we were following the devil as our prince… even when we were enjoying living life for ourselves and denying him glory… even when he had every right and reason to hate us… he loved us.

- We have been changed from walking corpses… into the living beings we were meant to be.

- Picture Christ dying, going into the tomb, and then being raised from the dead… this is a picture of what has happened in us. A literal picture...

- We have been joined “together with Christ” in every way… His life, his death, his suffering, and PRAISE GOD!... His resurrection from the dead. HE LIVES! And because he lives WE LIVE!

Notes continued tonight.....