(The Reality of Being One of the LOST)
Jesus said in Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." He spoke of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Cor 4:3 "And even if our gospel is veiled, (hidden) it is veiled to those who are perishing."
The term perishing is used to describe the position or standing before God of every human being prior to personal salvation. It is God's assessment of the natural person, how God looks at us from His viewpoint. It implies that you and I are in a desperate condition and that there is nothing we can do to rescue ourselves from this dilemma. The unsaved person is totally unaware of their spiritual lostness until they are convicted of this reality by the Holy Spirit.
In this study you will discover why those who don't believe in and receive God the Son, Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord are considered lost.
I. THE REJECTION OF DIVINE REVELATION CONDEMNS HUMANITY.
A. God has revealed Himself through nature.
1. Psalms 14:1 "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."
2. Psalms 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
3. Psalms 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
4. Romans 1:19 "since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
5. Romans 1:18 "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness."
a. Paul stated that Gods existence, His power and intelligence can be known by every one through nature. But, because of our desire to sin instead of following God we "suppress the truth by our unrighteousness." To admit the existence of a God who created us would imply a moral responsibility to that God. And this is what we do. We suppress the truth because we don't want to change our behavior.
B. God has revealed truth about Himself through our personalities.
1. Gen. 1:26,27 "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
2. Gen. 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."
a. God created us in His own image. Therefore, the image of God in us must reflect some of the truth about the nature and character of God. This image still remains even after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
b. This also refers to our immaterial being, our soul and/or spirit and that we are a moral (understanding right and wrong) personality through our intellect, emotions and will. This we also call our conscience.
C. God has revealed Himself through special revelation. This is God’s written word the Bible.
1. 2 Tim 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
2. 2 Pet 1:20-21 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
a. All scripture is inspired "breathed out" from God. It is what God would say directly to us if He were standing physically in front of us right now. God directed men from the past what to say in the written commandments, "The law of Moses, the Pentateuch". Israel was given these laws, so they became, (and still are) more accountable to God if they don't follow those Laws. And today, Christians are just as accountable to God because we have the complete, finished Bible. Even those who live in the deepest part of the African jungles, or the most remote parts of the world are in the same dilemma as the sophisticated American intellectual.
3. Rom 1:22-25 "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen."
D. The Scriptures were given to mankind.
1. Romans 3:2 "Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God."
2. Exodus 20:1-26 "And God spoke all these words. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it."
3. Deut. 18:15-22 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die." The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death." You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."
4. Deut 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
E. The Messiah is revealed through Scripture. (See Appendix #2).
1. Luke 24:44 "He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
2. John 5:46 "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me."
3. Matt 11:20-25 "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."
F. For people to be saved they must receive by faith the Christ of the Gospel message.
1. 1 Cor 15:1-4 "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
2. 1 Cor 1:18 "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
3. John 3:18 "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
a. When we hear a Gospel message, we become accountable for the way we respond to that message. We can either accept or reject, but we can not remain neutral. If we reject the message, then God holds us guilty. If we regard the death of Jesus as foolishness, then we are numbered among those who are lost.
II. HUMAN BEINGS RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD CONDEMNS THEM.
A. All unsaved people are citizens of this world.
1. John 15:18-19 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
a. The unsaved love this world system and are opposed to all those who are not apart of it. Christians have been chosen out of this world by Jesus. The unsaved hates and persecutes the Christian because the system to which he belongs hated and persecuted Jesus.
2. John 17:6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. "
a. You were chosen out of this world, given by the Father to Jesus.
3. John 18:36 "Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
a. The world loves its own, but a Christian is no longer a member of the world family. Our kingdom is not of this world, so we don't belong to it. We are pilgrims, visitors here only for a short time. This world is not our home. We should not let the world drag us into all its pleasures because we don't belong here.
b. Remember, God loves, but the world hates.
B. The unsaved person is also a world conformist who walks according to the course of this world.
1. Eph 2:2 "in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
2. James 4:4 "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."
a. The unsaved person's pleasures are world-centered, their values are world-oriented, and their ambitions are world directed.
b. The unsaved person is dominated and controlled by the philosophy of this age.
c. The way they dress, the things they eat, and things they want and desire all reflect the bias and prejudice of their world conformity.
d. The unsaved have no desire to bring God into the center of their experience.
e. To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. As long as a person remains a world conformist, he or she is lost.
III. HUMAN BEINGS RELATIONSHIP TO SATAN CONDEMNS THEM.
A. Satan is a real personal being. He was a created Cherub who sinned against God.
1. Ezek 28:12-19 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more."
2. Isaiah 14:12-17 "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: 'Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?'"
a. The wisdom and beauty led to pride satan's subsequent downfall. Since his downfall, he has become the archenemy of God and His plan for us.
3. Matt 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
a. In his opposition to God, satan sustains a definite relationship to the world of mankind. Ever since Gen. 3, he has been active in the affairs of the world.
4. Rev 20:10 "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
a. One day he will be cast into the Lake of Fire, where he will be tormented forever and ever.
B. Every un-Born-Again Christian is actually a spiritual child of satan.
1. 1 John 3:10 "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother."
a. The unsaved person shows this by not doing what's right, and by not loving Christians. Spiritual children of God are just the opposite in position and in practice. Christians do what is right and love their brothers in Christ.
2. John 8:42-44 "Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.'"
a. Jesus told his Jewish opponents that if God had been their Father, they would have loved Him because He came from God.
b. Like begets like. If satan is your spiritual father, you will be just like him. If God is your Father, you will be just like Him.
C. Satan governs the unsaved, because he is a ruler.
1. Col. 1:13 "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."
2. John 12:31 "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out."
3. Eph 2:2 "in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
a. Christians are now placed into the Spiritual kingdom of Jesus. We were once under satan's rule. Jesus called him the Prince of this world. Paul called him "the Prince of the powers of the air", and "the god of this world".
4. Matt 4:8-9 "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.'''
a. When satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world, Jesus did not doubt his ability to give them. These passages clearly show that satan rules over a world of fallen Angels and men. They are his kingdom. And they not only obey him, but they worship him.
D. The unsaved person is also under the direct control of satan.
1. Eph 2:2 "in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
a. Paul said he walks not only in the ways of the world but also according to the prince of the power of the air. He is a satan conformist. Paul adds the thought that satan is a "spirit" that now works in the children of disobedience.
b. The Greek idea of work is energy. Satan energizes the unsaved to do his will.
2. 1 John 5:19 "We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."
a. The whole world lies in wickedness. The impression conveyed is that satan is in control of the world systems and the world can't do anything about it.
E. Satan blinds the minds and spiritual perception of people.
1. Gen. 1:3 "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."
a. Just as God created light to dispel darkness, so God today must create spiritual light to dispel the moral blindness of human beings.
2. 2 Cor 4:6 "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
3. 3. John 1:4-5 "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
4. John 9:41 "Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.'"
5. Eph 4:17-18 "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."
6. Cor 4:4 "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unBorn-Again Christians so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
a. When the physical eyes of people are blinded they cannot see the light of the Sun. But when they come to Jesus, they walk in the light, because He is the Light.
b. When people admit that they are spiritually blind, they will have taken the
first step to truth.
IV. HUMAN’S ARE CONDEMNED BECAUSE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SIN.
A. Sin is any lack of conformity to the character and will of God.
1. Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned".
a. When Adam sinned, every person potentially present in the genetic make-up of Adam, sinned. When Adam sinned, you and I sinned in him. God considers Adams's sin to be yours and my sin.
2. Heb 7:9-10 "One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor."
a. The Book of Hebrews argues that the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than that of Levi. To prove it, the author refers to the time when Abraham, the great, great Grandfather of Levi, paid tithes to Melchizedek. Levi, yet unborn, paid tithes in Abraham. So we, yet unborn sinned in Adam. If we had been in the Garden instead of Adam, we would have done the same thing because we are bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh.
B. God declared the penalty of sin long before Adam disobeyed.
1. Gen. 2:17 "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
a. When Adam sinned, he died spiritually and he began to die physically. The process of corruption and mortality set into his body. His state of spiritual death began immediately, evidenced by his shame for his nakedness, by his hiding from God, and by his excuses for his sin.
2. Gen. 3:7-13 "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
a. Every person born into the world, not only participates in Adams sin, but also in his punishment. He is born dead in sin and the body of the infant is destined to disease and to death.
C. Adam became guilty before God because of his sin rebellion. We are guilty before God because we are in Adam.
1. Romans 5:15-19 "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."
D. Human Beings inherited a sin nature from Adam. (Man begat man).
1. Gen. 5:13 "And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters."
a. Adams's sons were begotten in his likeness and image. They were no different than he was, no worse, no better in their position before God.
E. The presence of sin nature has thoroughly corrupted evert human’s total being.
1. Eph 4:18 "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."
a. Personality, intellect, emotions, and will are all turned away from God.
2. Romans 6:17-19 "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness."
3. Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
a. Human will is enslaved to sin, uncleanness, and deceitfulness.
4. Psalms 51:5 "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."
a. King David was aware of inherited sinfulness.
5. Gen. 8:21 "The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done."
a. People do not have to be taught to sin, they know how to do it intuitively.
F. People are also guilty because of their sinful acts and attitudes.
1. Mark 7:20-23 "He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean."
a. These acts and attitudes are the natural expressions or fruit of the sin nature.
b. People do this two ways, by their thoughts and emotions. And by their willful decisions. The sinful act is the manifestation of the sinful attitude.
2. Matt 12:34 "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."
a. The Scribes and Pharisees who were the religious leaders and teachers of their day refused to recognize these concepts. To them, the sin was in the act, not the thought. Human Beings are sinners, and God holds them responsible for both.
G. All unsaved men are under sin.
1. Romans 3:9 "What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin." Romans 7:14 "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am un-spiritual, sold as a slave to sin."
a. According to Paul, all unsaved men are under sin. Sin dominates them completely; past, present, future. Sin owns and controls people, making them its slave.
2. Gal 3:22 "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."
a. Humans do not see themselves in this predicament. They believe they can control the problems, the weaknesses, their sins, and of society. They do not know that they are actually under the iron fist rule of sin. But when they do, they are ready for salvation.
V. PEOPLE ARE CONDEMNED BECAUSE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD
A. Most people profess to believe in some kind of a god, but it is a god of their own making or one that has been passed down to them through tradition.
1. Eph 2:12 "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world."
2. Jude 1:19 "These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit."
a. Humans are without God in the fullest sense of the term "God." They have no claim on God. There is not a single bit of the presence of the genuine living God in their life. They are truly Godless or ungodly in that there is no vital relationship between themselves and God.
3. Romans 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."
4. 1 John 5:12 "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
5. John 1:4 "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men."
6. John 14:6 "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
a. There are two groups of people; those who are saved, (have the Holy Spirit living within them), and those who don't have the Holy Spirit living within them (the unsaved). There are no other possibilities. If a person does not have Jesus dwelling in them, they are NOT saved (Born-Again).
B. People are guilty before God. They have broken the moral law of God and they know it and are liable.
1. Romans 3:10-20 "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin.'"
a. People have no basis of appeal before God. They cannot blame their situation on heredity or the environment. THEY MUST BLAME THEMSELVES!
2. Romans 7:12 "So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good."
a. The law is holy, just, and good. But because of human weakness or inability, it could not produce righteousness.
3. Romans 8:3 "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man."
a. The law was given so that humanity could understand God’s character, recognize their own sinful being, and place their faith in God's provision for salvation.
C. Every non-Christian is under the wrath of God.
1. John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
a. This is the position of the unsaved person; however he will not experience God's wrath until after death in Hades or Hell and later on in the Lake of Fire.
2. Rev 20:11-15 "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
a. Deliverance is possible but it must come through receiving Jesus as the only begotten son of God. You either have everlasting life within you or the wrath of God upon you.
D. The unsaved man is without Hope.
1. Eph 2:12 "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world."
a. When hope dies or is absent, people can sink to new lows of mental, emotional, and spiritual depression. People without God are also without hope, both in this life and after.
2. Romans 8:24-25 "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
3. 1 Thess 1:3 "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
a. The Thessalonians were marked by their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope because they had put their faith (trust) in Jesus.
E. As far as God is concerned, human beings are lost.
1. Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
a. Human Beings are lost, and only God through Jesus can find them.
b. Human Beings are unsaved and condemned because they have rejected divine revelation. The relationships that they sustain to the world, to satan, to sin, and to God, makes them guilty. Psalms 8:4 says "what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"
c. The lostness of every individual human being makes them appear undesirable to a Holy God. But God is mindful of humanity. God has visited them in grace and redemption, and has provided salvation at the Cross through faith in God, the Son, JESUS!
Summary: The Bible depicts human beings as being morally and spiritually depraved. This does not mean that they are as bad as they can be. There are sinners who have sinned more, and others who have sinned less. There are moral sinners and immoral sinners. However, they are both sinners before God. Depravity does not mean that a person has no knowledge of God. Depravity means that there is nothing in the human race that will merit Gods approval. There is nothing that a person can do to gain acceptance before God. This is God’s estimation of humanity. It is not a person’s evaluation of themselves. It means that within every human, there is a total absence of holiness. The sense of each person’s depravity is hard to communicate. Depravity refers to a person’s position before God, not their practice. They are as bad off as they can be, but they are not necessarily as bad as they can be. Every human being is both dead and dying. Their spirit is dead and their body is dying. They must be delivered from both the guilt of sin and the effects of sin upon their body.
