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Hopeless and an Atheist
“Remember that you were formerly gentiles in the flesh — called the uncircumcision by those called the circumcision in the flesh by hands — that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger to the covenant and the promise, being without hope and an atheist in the world.”
(Ephesians 2:11-12)
Would suppose that most atheists would not describe themselves as “without hope in this world.” Many would consider them free from the rules and bonds that the Christian gratefully lives under — commandments that we see as freeing and that teach us how to live faithfully and joyfully in this fallen world that is around us. They would see the commandments of God as fetters to their absolute liberty.
Yet, scripture offers a different picture. Of what value is hope if it is unfulfilled? Of what worth is hope if its only efficacy is your own work? Hope becomes an illusion and a opioid to get us through the day, yet without meaning or substance. The hope of the atheist is nothing more than that if he really works hard, he may or may not make something of himself in this life before he dies. Yet, this life is filled with disease, pestilence, and evil-doers. What hope is there in such a worldview? As would be echoed in the words of the American philosopher, Albert Camus, the only thing left is whether or not to contemplate the question of suicide. Or, in the words of Irene Luce, “Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse.” While the phrase has been glamorized by film and novel, it is a horribly hopeless way to live one’s life and the mantra is little more than a smokescreen for a depressed and depraved soul.
So, yes, my friends, those without hope in God are hopeless in this world…and not just any God. Those without hope in Jesus Christ are hopeless in life and under judgement and wrath in death. A more somber picture one cannot paint.
Covenant Signs
“Remember that you were formerly gentiles in the flesh — called the uncircumcision by those called the circumcision in the flesh by hands — that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger to the covenant and the promise, being without hope and an atheist in the world.”
(Ephesians 2:11-12)
The contrast between the Old Testament administration of the mark of the Covenant and the New Testament administration of the mark of the Covenant are profound. The first was made with blood and only on the males. With the bloody sacrifice of Christ being complete, the bloody mark of circumcision is replaced with the bloodless mark of baptism, also shifting from a mark on the body to a mark on the soul. The fleshly one being made with human hands but the spiritual one, though through human agency, being made by God himself. In this case, Paul is addressing a largely gentile audience and pointing out that this salvation that God has worked is doing more than just giving them salvation from their sins; it brings them into the covenant of God and the promises that are found within it — it makes the gentile a citizen of the holy city of Christ.
And so, a second change is being highlighted to these Ephesian Christians. Not only is there a different way that the covenantal mark or sign is applied, there is a different way that citizenship is received (and note that citizenship in the Roman world was very difficult to receive and was highly valued). Now it is no longer a contrast between Israelites and those outside of Israel. Now it is those who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ. With Christ comes membership in the covenant, citizenship in heaven, and the promises which bring hope.
The Preacher's Study 