Dear Christian friends:

When you drive East on Interstate 80 and enter Nebraska on the shoulder of the road there is a large sign which says, "NEBRASKA - THE GOOD LIFE." Do you believe that? Is Nebraska the best place to live? People who live in Nebraska think so. But we who live in California think California is the good life, the best place to live. People who live in Indiana think Indiana is the good life. But really the good life is not found in places. I have lived in several states and I don't think one place is better than another. The good life is not found in places but in God! We Christians have the good life no matter where we live, because we have


In our text St. Paul reminds us of this good life in God.

First, he shows that it is new life given to us by God's grace.

Here in California we have a warm comfortable climate and beautiful mountains and beaches. I doubt if there is a more beautiful place in the world than here. But many, many people here in California are not really happy. Why? Because they do not believe in Jesus. They are still dead, Their soul is dead in sins.

These people are under the terrible tyranny of Satan and sin, and helpless, as helpless as a dead person. Paul says, "Ye were dead in trespasses and sins." (verse 1) They are worse than dead; they can do only "Trespasses and sins."

By nature, as we are born, we also were spiritually dead, under the tyranny of Satan and sin, but the good news is that "God's mercy is very great and His love for us is very great, because while we were dead in sins, God made us alive in Christ." (verse 5)

This new birth and new life is possible because Jesus died on the cross for us and arose from death. (verse 5) As God let Jesus arise from death on Easter morning, so He makes us arise from the death of sin to new spiritual life in Jesus. We are joined with Jesus in His death and in His resurrection.

This new birth happened to us when we were baptized. St. Paul says, "We are buried with Him (Jesus) by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4) IN OUR BAPTISM God gave us His grace and faith to receive it. (verses 8-9)

This new birth frees us from sin's tyranny. Sin no more can condemn us and control us. With the Holy Spirit living and ruling in our heart we have life with God and the terrible slavery of sin is broken! This new birth gives us the good life no matter whether we live in Nebraska or California. The place is not important; the new birth and new life is important! If you have the new birth and the new Life, you have the good life.

The good life in God is like heaven on earth, St. Paul says in our text, “In our union with Christ Jesus God raised us with Jesus to sit together with Him in places like heaven." (verse 6) This happens when we gather here in church to worship. Here we have fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus. Here we also have fellowship with other Christians. Here in church we have a taste of heaven like Peter, James and John had when Jesus took them up the mountain and showed to them His glory. (Mark 9:2-9) Also on Easter afternoon the two disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus, had a taste of heaven when the risen Savior joined with them and explained the prophecies of the Old Testament which show that He must suffer and be crucified and arise with glory. After Jesus vanished they said, "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us on the way, and while He explained to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32) So we here in church experience the joys of heaven on earth when God's word is preached when we see someone baptized and when we eat the bread and drink the wine of the Holy Supper.

These experiences of heavenly joy give us hope for the future when we shall really live in heaven and God will bless us with His kindness fully and forever. St. Paul writes in our text that God gives us these tastes of heaven, so that in the future He can show the wonderful greatness of His love by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (verses 6-7) Now we have only tastes and samples of heavenly joy, but in the future we shall enjoy the whole banquet! Now we sit in "places like heaven," in the future we shall sit in heaven!

Now here on earth we cannot fully and perfectly enjoy the good life in God because of sins. Our doubts, our falling into temptation, prevent us from perfectly enjoying the good life here on earth, but it is still a good life because we do many good works.

God's purpose in giving us new life in Jesus is that we do good works here on earth while we wait for heaven. Paul writes in our text, "We are His holy people made new in Christ Jesus to do good works that God already prepared for us to do." (verse 10) We believe in Jesus and love Jesus so He helps us to become more and more like He is: pure, humble, kind, merciful and forgiving. One day a high government official was visiting a leper hospital and he was watching a nurse clean and dress a leper's sore. As he watched her pick out the rotting, stinking flesh from the sore he said to the nurse, "I would not do that for a million dollars." The nurse replied, "I, also, would not do it for a million dollars, I do it for Jesus." See what God's grace did for this nurse! God's grace can do the same for you and me, lead us to do good and kind works that we would not do or the unbelievers would not do for a million dollars.

And when we do such good works, we can't boast, because we know only God's love and mercy in Jesus can lead us to do such difficult works. (verses 8-10)

We do not need to move to Nebraska to enjoy the good life. We Christians have the good life no matter what state or country we live in, because we believe in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! God has shown His great mercy to us and has given us the good life in union with Jesus our Savior. Give glory to Him!

Amen.