How many of you are fans of zombie movies? A lot of the zombie movies out there are kind of cheesy, but there are some that I really like. My favorites are the ones that put a unique spin on the nature of the zombies, like Will Smith’s I Am Legend and Brad Pitt’s World War Z. But I also like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and the funniest zombie movie ever made, Shaun of the Dead.
Now, I need you all to humor me for a minute. I want to give you a hypothetical story that has a zombie as one of its main characters.
Let’s say that a man and a zombie find themselves in the middle of the ocean in a horrible storm. There are torrential rains, and the waves are enormous. Now, the man and the zombie are not in a boat, they are in the water, both with arms flailing, trying to keep their heads above water as the rain comes down and the waves crash over them.
Suddenly Jesus appears, just a stone’s throw away, standing on top of the water. The man and the zombie, still struggling to keep their heads above water, both call out to Jesus.
What do you think the man says when he calls out to Jesus? Well, he knows that if he goes under, he will surely drown and be dead within a matter of seconds. He knows that Jesus is the only one that can keep him from dying. So, the man calls out to Jesus to save him from this seriously unpleasant circumstance. He calls out for Jesus to save his life.
Now, what do you think the zombie says when he calls out to Jesus? I’m pretty sure a call for Jesus to save his life would be in vain, since zombies are already dead and do not have lives to save. The zombie could give up his struggle and sink to the bottom of the ocean and would be no deader there than he was above the surface. For him, it would just be a change of circumstance. The zombie’s real problem isn’t that he is about to go under the water and sink to the bottom. His real problem is that he is dead.
So, what do you think the zombie should say when he calls out to Jesus? He should call out to Jesus to give him life! That’s the only thing he really needs. Dead people don’t need deliverance from whatever unpleasant circumstances they find themselves in. Dead people need life.
Now, we all know that zombies don’t exist. There aren’t any physically dead people walking around.
But, and this is a big but, God’s word tells us that spiritual zombies do exist, although they are not referred to as zombies in Scripture. God’s word speaks of people walking around that are physically alive but spiritually dead.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
― Ephesians 2:1–2 NAS
Here, the apostle Paul is writing to people whom he describes as having been dead and yet still walking around, living their lives. Paul is talking about spiritual zombies — people who are physically alive and yet spiritually dead.
This leads to two questions:
- Where do spiritual zombies come from?
- Who are the spiritual zombies?
Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages for sin is death” and in Romans 5:12 he says “just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” So, to answer our two questions, sin is the cause of a person’s spiritual death and since all have sinned, spiritual death spread to all turning all into spiritual zombies. Every person who has ever been born has been a spiritual zombie. The next logical question is: Is there any way that a spiritual zombie can be spiritually raised from the dead?
The answer: YES!
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
― Ephesians 2:4–5 NAS
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
― Ephesians 2:8–9 NAS
…a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus…
― Galatians 2:16 NAS
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
― Romans 10:13 NAS
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
― Romans 6:23 NAS
What an amazing truth! Through faith in Jesus Christ a spiritual zombie can be raised from the dead! Every spiritual zombie that calls out to Jesus to save him will have God spiritually raise him from the dead and give him eternal life!
Now, how does this all apply to you?
Every person reading this came into this world a spiritual zombie. You were born in sin and have walked in sin, resulting in your spiritual death. God’s word tells you to examine yourselves to see if you truly have been raised to life. It is important that you don’t assume that you have been raised to spiritual life just because you had an emotional experience or prayed a prayer or were baptized or have been a member of a church all your life. Those are not signs of spiritual life. So please, I beg you, examine yourselves. Ask God to speak clearly to you concerning this most important matter.
If you have not been raised to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, you will be like the zombie in the ocean, calling out to Jesus to deliver him from his circumstances, when what you should be calling out for is to be raised to life!