“And you were once dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…”
Ephesians 2:1-2

Have you noticed lately the prevalence of Zombie talk in the news, papers, and movies?  This Halloween season there is a new selection of Zombie movies to choose from.  There has been a surge of viral videos on the web in this genre.  Even in today’s paper there was a report of man in Iowa City who was approached by another man who called him a zombie, then proceeded to hit him in the eye and nose.  The walking dead have a certain appeal and fascination today.

Did you know that the Bible mentions Zombies as well?  They aren’t called Zombies by name, but the walking dead are clearly there.  Paul says in Ephesians 2: “And you were once dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…”  Have you ever really thought about what the Apostle Paul is saying here?  You – and this is a plural you which would include, you, me, and everyone else who has read Paul’s letter – even though you were spiritually dead in your sins, you continued to walk through this life. 

I first brought this up at my Junior and Senior High bible studies – I think they thought I had lost my mind.  I showed them Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” Video (which I remembered being a lot scarier when it first came out).  I really liked this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a6YdNmK77k.  We watched the movie trailer for ZombieLand.  Then we talked about Paul’s description of our lives before Christ.  Then just this week, in the my Men’s Bible Study on the Gospel of John this mornng we read this paragraph from John MacArthur:

A person who is spiritually dead has no life by which he can respond to spiritual things, much less live a spiritual life.  No amount of love, care, and words of affection from God can draw a response.  A spiritually dead person is alienated from God and therefore alienated from life.  He has no capacity to respond.  As the great Scottish commentator John Eadie said, “it is a case of death walking.”  Men apart from God are spiritual Zombies, the walking dead who do not know they are dead.  The go through the motions of life, but they do not possess it.  Above all else, a dead person needs to be made alive.

This is the condition of the human spirit, of your heart, before being made alive in Christ.  Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of heaven unless he is born again” (John 3:3).  Paul goes on to write in Ephesians that God, “being rich in mercy… made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5).  Those who place their faith in Christ Jesus, have been made alive by the grace of God and have been given the promise of really living.  We are resurrected from the dead, awakened from our slumber, and given new life to live today!

This Halloween, as the children (and some adults) dress up for Trick-or-Treating, be on the lookout for Zombies.  No, not the walking dead who are out to eat your brains.  Instead, watch for those who think they are alive, but are truly lost without Christ.  You were once one of them, but someone shared a word of promise with you, someone shared the Gospel, and you found new life in Jesus.  Rather than giving the Zombies candy and sending them on their way, do you think you could share a word of love, hope, and promise?

Grace and peace,

SDG (Sola Dei Gloria)